Kristin Bernard, Ph.D.
University of Delaware (2013) Associate Professor, Clinical Psychology Dr. Kristin Bernard will NOT be reviewing graduate student applications for the 2025-2026 academic year.
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Contact: kristin.bernard@stonybrook.edu |
Research Interests:
Child maltreatment; Neurobiological consequences of early life adversity; Parent-child relationships; Early parenting interventions; Psychobiology of parenting and attachment.
Current Research:
My research investigates how early life stress influences children’s neurobiological and behavioral development and how optimal caregiving and preventative interventions may buffer at-risk children from problematic outcomes. Specifically, my ongoing research examines: (1) the effects of early adversity on children’s neurobiological development, (2) the buffering role of sensitive caregiving behavior and secure attachments in preventing maladaptive outcomes, (3) the psychophysiology of sensitive parenting, and (4) the efficacy of early parenting interventions in enhancing sensitive parenting and positive outcomes for at-risk children.
My lab works in close partnership with Power of Two (https://www.powerof2.nyc/), a non-profit organization based in New York City that aims to leverage the science of attachment to promote child, family, and community well-being.
CURRENT FUNDING
Integrating Epigenomics with Life Stress Measurement to Predict Accelerated Aging. (2019 – 2021). Stony Brook University Office of the Vice President for Research Seed Grant Program. [Co-I; PI: Stacey Scott).
Examining Mechanistic Links Between Maternal Attachment Representations and Young Children’s Telomere Length. (2019 – 2021). Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. [PI, R03 HD099372]
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up with Child Protective Services-Involved Parents: Testing Effectiveness in the Community. (2019 – 2023). National Institute of Mental Health. [PI, R01 MH119310]
PUBLICATIONS: Books
Dozier, M., & Bernard, K. (2019). Coaching Parents of Vulnerable Infants:The Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up Approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
PUBLICATIONS: Journal Articles
Garnett, M., Bernard, K., Hoye, J., Zajac, L., & Dozier. (In press). Parental sensitivity mediates the sustained effect of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up on cortisol in middle childhood: A randomized clinical trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Lee, A. H., Kuzava, S., & Bernard, K. (In press). Sociodemographic risk and infants’ emerging language ability: Examining the indirect effects of maternal sensitivity and nurturance to distress. Parenting: Science and Practice.
Lind, T., Raby, K. L., Goldstein, A., Bernard, K., Caron, E., Yarger, H. A., Wallin, A., & Dozier, M. (In press). Improving social-emotional competence in internationally adopted children with the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up intervention. Development and Psychopathology.
Perrone, L., Imrisek, S. D., Dash, A., Rodriguez, M., Monticciolo, E., & Bernard, K. (In press). Changing parental depression and sensitivity: Randomized clinical trial of ABC’s effectiveness in the community. Development and Psychopathology.
Dagan, O., Facompre, C., Nivison, M., Roisman, G. I., & Bernard, K. (2020). Preoccupied and dismissing attachment representations are differentially associated with anxiety in adolescence and adulthood: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychological Science, 8, 614-640.
Kuzava, S., Frost, A., Perrone, L., Kang, E., Lindhiem, O., & Bernard, K. (2020). Adult processing of child emotional expressions: A meta-analysis of ERP studies. Developmental Psychology, 56, 1170-1190.
Lind, T., Bernard, K., Yarger, H. A., & Dozier, M. (2020). Promoting compliance in children referred to child protective services (CPS): Effects of an early parenting intervention. Child Development, 91, 563-576.
Mukherjee, S., Clouston, S., Bromet, E., Leibowitz, G., Scott, S., Bernard, K., Kotov, R., & Luft, B. (2020). Past experiences of getting bullied and assaulted and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a severe trauma in adulthood. A study of World Trade Center responders. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma, 16, 167-185.
Yarger, H., Bernard, K., Caron, E., Wallin, A., & Dozier, M. (2020). Enhancing parenting quality for young children adopted internationally: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49, 378-390.
Bernard, K., Frost, A., Jelinek, C., & Dozier, M. (2019). Secure attachment predicts lower body mass index in young children with histories of child protective services involvement. Pediatric Obesity, 14, e12510.
Bernard, K., Hostinar, C., & Dozier, M. (2019). Longitudinal associations between secure attachment in infancy, C-reactive protein in early childhood, and BMI in middle childhood: Preliminary evidence from a CPS-referred sample. Attachment & Human Development, 21, 5-22.
Chernego, D., Muhamedrahimov, R., Bernard, K., Martin, C., Gordon, M. K., & Dozier, M. (2019). Effect of institutional rearing on children’s diurnal cortisol production. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 106, 161-164.
Frost, A., Kessel, E., Black, S., Goldstein, B., Bernard, K., & Klein, D. (2019). Homotypic and heterotypic continuity of internalizing and externalizing symptoms from age 3 to age 12: The moderating role of diurnal cortisol. Development and Psychopathology, 31, 789-798.
Kuzava, S., Nissim, G., Frost, A., Nelson, B., & Bernard, K. (2019). Latent profiles of maternal neural response to infant emotional stimuli: Associations with maternal sensitivity. Biological Psychology, 143, 113-120.
Bernard, K., Kuzava, S., Simons, R., & Dozier, M. (2018). CPS-referred mothers’ psychophysiological responses to own versus other child predict sensitivity to distress. Developmental Psychology, 54, 1255-1264.
Bernard, K., Nissim, G., Vaccaro, S., Harris, J. L., & Lindhiem, O. (2018). Association between maternal depression and maternal sensitivity from birth to 12 months: A meta-analysis. Attachment & Human Development, 20, 578-599.
Dagan, O., Asok, A., Steele, H., Steele, M., & Bernard, K. (2018). Attachment security moderates the link between adverse childhood experiences and cellular aging. Development and Psychopathology, 30, 1211-1223.
Dagan, O., Facompré, C., & Bernard, K. (2018). Adult attachment representations and depressive symptoms: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 236, 274-290.
Dozier, M., Roben, C. K., Caron, E., Hoye, J., & Bernard, K. (2018). Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up: An evidence-based intervention for vulnerable infants and their families. Psychotherapy Research, 28, 18-29.
Facompre, C., Bernard, K., & Waters, T. (2018). Effectiveness of interventions in preventing disorganized attachment: A meta-analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 30, 1-11.
Frost, A., Jelinek, C., Bernard, K., Lind, T., & Dozier, M. (2018). Longitudinal associations between low morning cortisol in infancy and anger dysregulation in early childhood in a CPS-referred sample. Developmental Science, 21, 1-11.
Imrisek, S., Castaño, K., & Bernard, K. (2018). Developing self-regulation in a dysregulating world: Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up for a toddler in foster care. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74, 1308-1318.
Kuzava, S., & Bernard, K. (2018). Maternal report of infant negative affect predicts attenuated brain response to own infant. Developmental Psychobiology, 60, 927-937.
Bernard, K., Frost, A., Bennett, C. B., & Lindhiem, O. (2017). Maltreatment and diurnal cortisol regulation: A meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 78, 57-67.
Bernard, K., Lee, A. H., & Dozier, M. (2017). Effects of the ABC intervention on foster children's receptive vocabulary: Follow-up results from a randomized controlled trial. Child Maltreatment, 22, 174-179.
Dozier, M., & Bernard, K. (2017). Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up: Addressing the needs of infants and toddlers exposed to inadequate or problematic caregiving. Current Opinion in Psychology, 15, 111-117.
Granqvist, P., Sroufe, L. A., Dozier, M., Hesse, E., Steele, M., van IJzendoorn, M., … Duchinsky, R. (2017). Disorganized attachment in infancy: A review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers. Attachment & Human Development, 19, 534-558.
Roben, C., Dozier, M., Caron, EB, & Bernard, K. (2017). Moving an evidence-based parenting program into the community. Child Development, 88, 1447-1452.
Caron, EB, Bernard, K., & Dozier, M. (2016). In vivo feedback predicts parent behavior change in the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up intervention. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology [online].
Fogelman, N., Mikhailik, A., Mueller-Alcazar, A., Bernard, K., & Turhan, C. (2016). Stressing over anxiety: A novel interaction of 5-HTTPLR genotype and anxiety-related phenotypes in older adults. Psychoneurendocrinology, 71, 36-42.
Salis, K. L., Bernard, K., Black, S. R., Dougherty, L. R., & Klein, D. (2016). Examining the concurrent and longitudinal relationship between diurnal cortisol rhythms and conduct problems during childhood. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 71, 147-154.
Bernard, K., Simons, R., Dozier, M. (2015). Effects of an attachment-based intervention on high-risk mothers’ event-related potentials to children’s emotions. Child Development, 86, 1673-1684.
Bernard, K., Zwerling, J., & Dozier, M. (2015). Blunted diurnal cortisol mediates the association between maltreatment risk and externalizing behavior. Developmental Psychobiology, 57, 935-947.
Bernard, K., Hostinar, C., & Dozier, M. (2015). Intervention effects on diurnal cortisol rhythms of CPS-referred infants persist into early childhood: Preschool follow-up results of a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics, 169, 112-119.
Bernard, K., Peloso, E., Laurenceau, J-P., Zhang, Z., & Dozier, M. (2015). Examining change in cortisol patterns during the 10-week transition to a new childcare setting. Child Development, 86, 456-471.
Bernard, K., Dozier, M., Bick, J., & Gordon, M. K. (2015). Normalizing blunted diurnal cortisol rhythms among children at risk for neglect: The effects of an early intervention. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 829-841.
Lind, T., Bernard, K., Ross, E. K., & Dozier, M. (2014). Intervention effects on negative affect in CPS-referred children: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38, 1459-1467.
Asok, A., Bernard, K., Rosen, J. B., Dozier, M., & Roth, T. L. (2014). Infant-caregiver experiences alter telomere length in the brain. PLOS ONE, 9, e101437.
Meade, E. B., Dozier, M., & Bernard, K. (2014). Using video feedback as a tool in training parent coaches: Promising results from a single-subject design. Attachment and Human Development, 16, 356-370.
Bernard, K., Meade, E. B., & Dozier, M. (2013). Parental synchrony and nurturance as targets in an attachment based intervention: Building upon Mary Ainsworth’s insights about mother-infant interaction. Attachment and Human Development, 15, 507-523.
Dozier, M., Zeanah, C., & Bernard, K. (2013). Infants and toddlers in the child welfare system. Child Development Perspectives, 7, 166-171.
Asok, A., Bernard, K., Roth, T., Rosen, J., & Dozier, M. (2013). Parental responsiveness moderates the association between early-life stress and reduced telomere length. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 577-585.
Bick, J., Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Grasso, D., & Simons, R. (2013). Foster mother-infant bonding: Associations between foster mothers’ oxytocin production, electrophysiological brain activity, feelings of commitment, and caregiving quality. Child Development.
Bernard, K., Dozier, M., Bick, J., Lewis-Morrarty, E., Lindhiem, O., & Carlson, E. (2012). Enhancing attachment organization among maltreated children: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Child Development, 83, 623-636.
Lewis-Morrarty, E., Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Moore, S., & Terraciano, S. (2012). Cognitive flexibility and theory of mind outcomes among foster children: Preschool follow-up results of a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51, 17-22.
Bernard, K., & Dozier, M (2011). This is My Baby: Foster parents’ feelings of commitment and displays of delight. Infant Mental Health Journal, 32, 251-262.
Lindhiem, O., Bernard, K., & Dozier, M. (2011). Maternal sensitivity: Within-person variability and the utility of multiple assessments. Child Maltreatment, 16, 41-50.
Bernard, K., Butzin-Dozier, Z., Rittenhouse, J., & Dozier, M. (2010). Young children living with neglecting birth parents show more blunted daytime patterns of cortisol production than children in foster care and comparison children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 164, 438-443.
Bernard, K., & Dozier, M. (2010). Examining infants’ cortisol responses to laboratory tasks among children varying in attachment disorganization: Stress reactivity or return to baseline? Developmental Psychology, 46, 1771-1778.
Sumner, M. M., Bernard, K., & Dozier, M. (2010). Young children's full-day patterns of cortisol production on childcare days: Evidence for return to typical bedtime values.Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164, 567-571.
Dozier, M., Lindhiem, O., Lewis, E., Bick, J., Bernard, K., & Peloso, E. (2009). Effects of a foster parent training program on young children’s attachment behaviors: Preliminary evidence from a randomized clinical trial. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal. Special Issue: Attachment theory and its application to practice, 26, 321-332.