Clinical Psychology

Erin E. Lewis

		Graduate Student  -  Primary Advisor: Mary Dozier Research Interests Recent Publications Vita elewis@psych.udel.edu Office: 411 Wolf Hall (302) 831-6328 (302) 831-3645 -fax Preferred contact method - email

Research Interests

Clinical, Developmental

Research Summary:

I am a fifth-year graduate student working with Dr. Mary Dozier. Our lab is currently evaluating the efficacy of an NIMH-funded attachment-based intervention for foster parents. We are currently evaluating the effects of the intervention on parent-child relationships and on the behavioral, social/emotional, and physiological outcomes of young children in foster care. More recently, the intervention has been extended to neglecting birth parents in Philadelphia as well as to families who have adopted children internationally. As a graduate research assistant in the lab, I conduct home and lab-based research visits with families, as well as code the data collected. Research visits involve conducting developmental assessments of infants; running the Strange Situation procedure with dyads (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978); and interviewing caregivers about their own childhood experiences, their parenting beliefs, and their relationships with their children. I code parent commitment, acceptance, and belief in influence, as assessed with the This is My Baby interview (TIMB; Bates & Dozier, 1998). I also code infant attachment security from the Strange Situation procedure as well as attachment state of mind from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1996).     

I am particularly interested in the effects of early caregiving experiences on children’s development of self-regulatory capacities, at both behavioral and physiological levels. I am interested in associations between early risk variables, caregivers’ attachment state of mind, and children’s development of joint attention and theory of mind abilities, which are important components of social development. I am also interested in the effects of early adversity on children’s regulation of the stress hormone, cortisol. I am particularly interested in how early caregiving experiences affect stress hormone regulation over time, and in relation to psychopathology.   

I have acquired clinical experience through training at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Delaware Guidance Services, and High Road School in Wilmington, as well as at the Psychological Services Training Center at the University of Delaware in Newark. Through these experiences, I have received training in therapy with children, adolescents, and adults, as well as training in psychological assessment with children between the ages of 2 and 15 years.

Recent Publications

Dozier, M., Peloso, E., Lewis, E., Laurenceau, J.P., & Levine, S. (2007). Effects of an attachment-based intervention on the cortisol production of infants and toddlers in foster care. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Lewis, E., Dozier, M., Ackerman, J., & Sepulveda-Kozakowski, S. (2007). The effect of placement instability on adopted children's inhibitory control abilities and oppositional behavior. Developmental psychology, 43, 1415-1427.

Dozier, M., Grasso, D., Lindhiem, O., & Lewis, E. (2007). The role of caregiver commitment in foster care: Insights from the This is My Baby interview. In D. Oppenheim & D.F. Goldsmith (Eds.), Attachment theory in clinical work with children: Bridging the gap between research and practice (pp. 309-330). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Lewis, E., Dozier, M., Maier, M., & Knights, M. (in press). Intervening with foster infants’ foster parents: Attachment and biobehavioral catch-up. In R.E. Lee & J. Whiting (Eds.), Handbook of relational therapy for foster children and their families. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.

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