Developmental Psychology Colloquium Speaker: Dr. Lauren K. White, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

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Title: How Parents Shape Children’s Emotional Worlds: Intergenerational Pathways to Anxiety Risk and Resilience

Abstract: In this talk, I will explore how risk for anxiety unfolds across generations, beginning with early-emerging differences in children’s emotional responding and sensitivity to threat. I will highlight how patterns of emotional responding, particularly heightened sensitivity to threat, are shaped by intergenerational influences, including parental anxiety, caregiving patterns, and family history of risk. Drawing on a multidisciplinary approach that integrates clinical, behavioral, and neural measures, I will present evidence for how these processes become embedded within parent–child interactions, contributing to both vulnerability and resilience. I will conclude by discussing how an intergenerational lens can inform earlier identification and more effective, family-centered approaches to prevention and intervention.

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=HWxzTOUAAAAJ