Kathryn L. Humphreys
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Human Development
Dr. Kathryn Humphreys is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. She has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and expertise in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental neuroscience. Her research program includes both basic and applied work, and she has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on child development, adversity, and caregiving. Her work is funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and private foundations. Dr. Humphreys has received several early career awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (NIMH BRAINS) award, and the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science.
Representative Publications
Selected Recent Publications (†equal contribution; underlined indicates current/past mentee).
Barnett, W., Hansen, C. L., Bailes, L. G., & Humphreys, K. L. (in press). Caregiver–child proximity as a dimension of early experience. Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579421001644
Matsumoto, M., Piersiak, H. A., Letterie, M., & Humphreys, K. L. (in press). Population-based estimates of associations between child maltreatment types: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211030502
Salo, V. C., Pannuto, P., Hedgecock, W., Biri, A., Russo, D. A., Piersiak, H. A., & Humphreys, K. L. (in press). Measuring naturalistic proximity as a window into caregiver–child interaction patterns. Behavior Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-021-01681-8
Humphreys, K. L., King, L. S., Guyon-Harris, K. L., & Zeanah, C. H. (2022). Caregiver regulation: A modifiable target promoting resilience to early adverse experiences. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 14, S63-S71. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001111
Humphreys, K. L., Piersiak, H. A., Panlilio, C. C., Lehman, E. B., Verdiglione, N., Dore, S., & Levi, B. (2021). A randomized controlled trial of a child abuse mandated reporter training: Knowledge and attitudes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 117, 105033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105033
Cárdenas E. F., Kujawa, A., & Humphreys, K. L. (2020). Neurobiological changes during the peripartum period: Implications for health and behavior. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15, 1097-1110. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsz091
Humphreys, K. L. (2020). Child maltreatment recurrence points to urgent need to improve systems for identification and prevention. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59, 1102-1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.07.005
Humphreys, K. L., Camacho, M. C., Roth, M. C., & Estes, E. C. (2020). Prenatal stress exposure and multimodal assessment of amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex connectivity in infants. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 46, 100877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100877
Humphreys, K. L., Guyon-Harris, K. L., Tibu, F., Wade, M., Nelson, C. A., Fox, N. A., & Zeanah, C. H. (2020). Psychiatric outcomes following severe deprivation in early childhood: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial at age 16. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88, 1079-1090. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000613
†Humphreys, K. L., †LeMoult, J., Wear, J. G., Piersiak, H. A., Lee, A., & Gotlib, I. H. (2020). Child maltreatment and depression: A meta-analysis of studies using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Child Abuse & Neglect, 102, 104361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104361
Humphreys, K. L., Machlin, L. S., Guyon-Harris, K. L., Nelson, C. A., Fox, N. A., & Zeanah, C. H. (2020). Psychosocial deprivation and receptive language: A two sample study. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 12, 36. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-020-09341-2
Humphreys, K. L., Myint, M. T., & Zeanah, C. H. (2020). Increased risk for family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics, 146, e20200982. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0982
Humphreys, K. L., Sisk, L. M., Mancszak, E. M., Lin, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2020). Depressive symptoms predict change in telomere length and mitochondrial DNA copy number across adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59, 1364-1370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.09.031
Humphreys, K. L. & Salo, V. C. (2020). Expectable environments in early life. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 36, 115-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.09.004