Together with my collaborators, I continue to conduct a longitudinal study of high risk children and their families which began in 1975. (See the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children research lab.) The assessments, which were detailed and comprehensive, began before the birth of the first child and have continued at regular intervals through age 32. Originally we were interested in predicting good and poor parenting and parent-child relationship outcomes in our high risk sample with a particular interest in understanding the causes and consequences of child maltreatment. More recently we have examined the antecedents and developmental pathways leading to competence and maladaptation in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. This includes the study of drug and alcohol abuse, depression, conduct disorder, and personality disorders as well as resilience. Of particular interest is the study of continuity of adaptation and maladaption across the period of adolescence and young adulthood and to identify factors related to discontinuity.  We have collected DNA on all our participants and I'm currently in the process of using this data to further understand the antecedents and pathways to psychological competence and resilience.  

Our current goals also include: the study of parenting in the next generation and the quality of romantic relationships in young adulthood. Specifically, how does the quality of parent - infant attachment, peer competence and developmental adaptation in adolescence including one’s mental representation of the early attachment relationship influence quality of romantic relationship in early adulthood. The findings from this longitudinal study have been used to develop STEEP, a preventative intervention program for high risk parents and their infants. (See Harris Center for Infant and Toddler Development.)

For more on his longitudinal research with Andrew Collins, Alan Sroufe, and Jeffry Simpson. Also see “Center for Early Education and Development, Harris Programs”.

Selected Publications

1. Shaffer, A., Yates, T.M., and Egeland, B. (2009). The relation of emotional maltreatment to early adolescent competence: Developmental processes in a prospective study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 36-44.

2. Egeland, B. (2009). Taking stock: Childhood emotional maltreatment and developmental psychopathology.  Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 22-36.

3. Lorber, M.F., & Egeland, B. (2009). Infancy parenting and externalizing psychopathology from childhood through adulthood: Developmental trends.  Developmental Psychology, 45, 909-912.

4. Carlson, E.A., Egeland, B., & Sroufe, L.A. (2009).  A prospective investigation of the development of borderline personality symptoms. Development and Psychopathology, 21,  1311-1334.

5. Shaffer, A., Egeland, B., & Wang, K. (2010).  Risk and resilience among children referred to the child welfare system: A longitudinal investigation of child well-being in multiple domains.  In Bruce Webb, M., Dowd, K., Jones Harden, B., Landsverk, J., and Testa, M.F. (Eds.), Child Welfare and Child Well-Being: New Perspectives from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 83-106.

6. Yates, T.H., Obradovic, J., & Egeland, B. (2010). Transactional relations across contextual strain, parenting quality, and early childhood regulation and adaptation in a high-risk sample. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 539-555.

7. Erickson, M.F. and Egeland, B. (2011).  Child neglect: The invisible assault. In JEB Myers (Ed.), The Handbook of Child Maltreatment, 3rd Edition, p. 103-124.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

8. van Dulmen, M. H. M. and Egeland, B. (2011).  Analyzing Multiple Informant Data on Child and Adolescent Behavior Problems: Predictive Validity and Comparison of Aggregation Procedures.  International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 84-92.

9. Lorber, M.F. and Egeland, B. (in press).  Parenting and Temperament in Infancy:  Testing a Mutual Exacerbation Hypothesis to Predict Early Onset Conduct Problems. Developmental Psychology.