CCF Newsletter, Issue 83, February 2024

Newsletter, February 2024

Center for Children and Families Names New Leader

Dr. Mandy Maguire, associate professor of speech, language, and hearing, has been named director of The University of Texas at Dallas Center for Children and Families (CCF), which provides research and training for students in developmental science in addition to service to local children and families. “CCF is a link between ‘ivory tower’ science and making an impact in the lives of children,” Maguire said. “The director builds the connections between research, outreach and student training in a way that maximizes the benefits of all three, so that our research has more real-world implications; the students get real-world training; and the science improves based on that experience.” Read more...

For Oak Cliff Partnership

CCF has started a new partnership with the nonprofit agency For Oak Cliff to serve young children and parents in south Oak Cliff. In January, we held a screening fair in that community, providing developmental and hearing screenings for children, in partnership with the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders. Our Play With Me program at For Oak Cliff began this month. Thank you to those who contributed to our ImpactUTD crowdfunding campaign last Fall to help support this expansion of our program!

Spring Lecture Series and Forum to Honor Dr. Margaret T. Owen

Join us for our 16th annual Spring Lecture Series entitled "The Owen Eras Tour." Honoring former CCF Director Dr. Margaret T. Owen, the series features talks by local researchers working in language development, risk and resilience, and active playful learning--some of the many areas of work in Dr. Owen's career. Register to attend using the links on our website.

"The Effect of Infant-Directed Speech (Parentese) on Language Learning in Autistic Children and Bilingual Children” with Dr. Pumpki Lei Su; View recording here
Friday, February 23rd, 9:30am - 10:30am, “Active Playful Learning in a Research to Practice Partnership” with Dr. Annie Wright
Friday, March 8th, 9:30am - 10:30am, “A Tale of Two Cities: Redressing Behavioral Health Disparities Through A Reimagined Workforce” with Dr. Camilo Ruggero

And, SAVE THE DATE for a culminating spring forum on school readiness on Friday, April 19th at Communities Foundation of Texas!

Recent Faculty Research

Faculty affiliates of the Center are highly productive scholars whose research crosses the fields of human development ranging from parent-child relationships to social-emotional health. Recent publications include:

Poudel, S. Denicola-Prechtl, K. Nelson, J., Behdoudi, M.H, Benitez-Barrera, C. Castro, S. & Maguire, M.J. (2023). Rethinking household crowding and children’s language environment. Developmental Psychology, 60(1), 159-169. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001650.

Su, P.L., Rojas, R., de Villiers, J., Golinkoff, R., & Iglesias, A. (2024) Receptive dual language profiles in Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 116(1), 102-122. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu000081 6.

Walsdorf, A., Caughy, M., Osborne, K., Valdez, C., King, V., & Owen, M.T. (2024). Acculturation stress magnifies child depression effect of stressful life events for Latinx youth 3 years later. Journal of Latinx Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000251.

Weiss, S.J.; Goodman, S.H.; Kidd, S.A.; Owen, M.T.; Simeonova, D.I.; Kim, C.Y.; Cooper, B.; Rosenblum, K.L.; Muzik, M. (2023). Unique characteristics of women and infants moderate the association between depression and mother–infant interaction. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 12(17), 5503. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12175503.

Resources for Parents

UT Dallas PhD and master's students recently reviewed the latest developmental research and provided the following resources for parents:

“A Review of Children’s Screen Time and Self-Regulation.” PhD student and occupational therapist Mia Koch provides a review of research on children’s self-regulation and the use of electronics in their development.

“The Multifaceted Influence of Storytelling, Family Traditions, And Shared Experiences in Generational Value Transmission.” UT Dallas master’s degree student Sreoshi Chowdhury provides insights on the influence of storytelling in passing down family values.

“Parent Impacts on Child Temperament.” UT Dallas PhD student Sarah Crow provides insights on the impacts of parents’ and children’s temperament and how they relate to each other.

More resources on our website here.

From the Director

I'm thrilled to begin my tenure as the next director of the Center for Children and Families. I've been increasingly involved in CCF over the past few years and look forward to building upon the firm foundation that Dr. Margaret Owen laid. I'm particularly excited about our expansion into South Oak Cliff and providing supports for families there. The student training, research, and outreach possibilities seem endless (in a really good way!) and I can't wait to share plans for our future!

-Mandy Maguire, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, Center for Children and Families, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences

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