Kharah M Ro
Biographic Data
| ID | 166174 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kharah M Ro |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kharah M |
| FAMILY NAME | Ro |
| SIGNATURE | RO K M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Calgary |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1472-5630 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 19 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
A pilot evaluation of the Alliance against Violence and Adversity (AVA) Triadic Mentorship Program
Background Both gender-based violence (GBV; violence enacted based on perceived or actual gender, predominantly affecting girls, women, and gender-diverse people) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; household adversities before 18 years of age such as physical abuse) reduce quality of life. ACEs can also amplify the risk of later GBV. Despite extensive study, GBV and ACEs remain inadequately addressed, largely linked to the siloed approaches…
Experiences of discrimination and snacking behavior in Black and Latinx children
Little is known about how discrimination contributes to health behaviors in childhood. We examined the association between children's exposure to discrimination and their snacking behavior in a sample of youth of color (N = 164, M age = 11.5 years, 49% female, 60% Black, 40% Hispanic/Latinx). We also explored whether children's body mass index (BMI) or sleepiness moderated the association between discrimination and calorie consumption. The signif…
Childhood Adversities and the ATTACHTM Program’s Influence on Immune Cell Gene Expression
Maternal ACEs could exert an intergenerational impact on child inflammatory activity, and this association could be moderated by participating in the ATTACHTM parenting intervention
Mothers’ and Children’s Mental Distress and Family Strain during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Mothers' mental distress, but not children's, was associated with family strain during the pandemic. More distressed individuals experienced greater family strain over time, suggesting that this association may become a chronic problem
Announcing the Alliance against Violence and Adversity (AVA)
Health psychology and behavioral medicine researchers in Canada
The purpose of this study is to characterize contemporary Canadian health psychology through an environmental scan by identifying faculty, research productivity and strengths, and collaborator interconnectivity. Profiles at Canadian universities were reviewed for faculty with psychology doctorates and health psychology research programs. Publications were obtained through Google Scholar and PubMed (Jan/18-Mar/21). A total of 284 faculty were iden…
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Canadian Social Connections
Background On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Responses to the pandemic response disrupted Canadian social connections in complex ways; because social connections are determinants of health and well-being, their disruption could adversely affect health and well-being. Moreover, understanding how pandemics and public health responses affect social connections could inform pandemic recovery stra…
Effect of Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) Parenting Program on Parent-Infant Attachment, Parental Reflective Function, and Parental Depression
High-risk families exposed to toxic stressors such as family violence, depression, addiction, and poverty, have shown greater difficulty in parenting young children. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of ATTACHTM, a 10−12 session manualized one-on-one parental Reflective Function (RF)-based parenting program designed for high-risk families. Outcomes of parent-child attachment and parental RF were assessed via the Strange Situation Proce…
Cross-Sectional Study Protocol for the Covid-19 Impact Survey of Mothers and Their 7–11 Year Old Children in Alberta, Canada
Objectives: Our aim is to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on families who have been followed longitudinally in two cohorts studied in Alberta, Canada. We will examine household infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, financial impact, domestic violence, substance use, child school and daily life and relationships in the home. We will identify risk and protective factors for maternal mental health outcomes using longitudinal data t…
Parental attachment anxiety
Growing evidence indicates that individual differences in attachment style are related to health outcomes. The present study extends this literature by examining whether attachment anxiety in both mothers and fathers predicts maternal health the year following the birth of a child in a sample of 698 low-income, racially diverse couples. We hypothesized that maternal perceptions of partner responsiveness would mediate these associations. Maternal …
Socioeconomic Status, Preeclampsia Risk and Gestational Length in Black and White Women
Compared to White women, Black women had increased preeclampsia risk. Higher SES attenuated risk for preeclampsia among White women, but not for Black women. Similarly, higher SES indirectly predicted longer gestational length via reduced preeclampsia risk among White women, but not for Black women. These findings are consistent with diminishing returns of higher SES for Black women with respect to preeclampsia
Interactions between race/ethnicity, poverty status, and pregnancy cardio-metabolic diseases in prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic health
Background: Prenatal health disparities exist for African Americans and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals when compared to non-Hispanic Whites and people of higher SES, particularly in cardio-metabolic diseases. Furthermore, having had a pregnancy-specific cardio-metabolic disease, e.g. preeclampsia, increases risk for future cardio-metabolic disease. Although these factors (race, SES and pregnancy cardio-metabolic disease) are interrela…
Current directions in SES disparities research
No abstract available
Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers' Health and Important Resources
In this issue of Psychosomatic Medicine , Mausbach and colleagues report that Alzheimer's disease caregivers who engage in more pleasant leisure activities had lower blood pressure for 5 years compared with those who engage in fewer leisure activities. This novel finding suggests that something as simple as taking more walks in the park or more time for reading books could protect the physical health of caregivers. In this editorial, we review po…
Early-Life Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Metabolic Health Disparities
OBJECTIVE: A quarter of the world's population have metabolic syndrome (MetS). MetS prevalence is stratified by socioeconomic status (SES), such that low SES is associated with higher MetS risk. The present study examined the relative roles of early-life SES and current SES in explaining MetS risk. METHODS: Participants (N = 354; ages = 15-55 years, M [SD] = 36.5 [10.7] years; 55% female; 72.9% white, 16.9% Asian, 10.2% others) were evaluated for…
Genome-Wide Profiling of RNA from Dried Blood Spots
Genome-wide transcriptional profiling has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing biological mechanisms underlying social gradients in health, but utilization in population-based studies has been hampered by logistical constraints and costs associated with venipuncture blood sampling. Dried blood spots (DBS) provide a minimally invasive, low-cost alternative to venipuncture, and in this article we evaluate how closely the substantive results fro…
Socioeconomic Status, Preeclampsia Risk and Gestational Length in Black and White Women
Compared to White women, Black women had increased preeclampsia risk. Higher SES attenuated risk for preeclampsia among White women, but not for Black women. Similarly, higher SES indirectly predicted longer gestational length via reduced preeclampsia risk among White women, but not for Black women. These findings are consistent with diminishing returns of higher SES for Black women with respect to preeclampsia
Genome-Wide Profiling of RNA from Dried Blood Spots
Genome-wide transcriptional profiling has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing biological mechanisms underlying social gradients in health, but utilization in population-based studies has been hampered by logistical constraints and costs associated with venipuncture blood sampling. Dried blood spots (DBS) provide a minimally invasive, low-cost alternative to venipuncture, and in this article we evaluate how closely the substantive results fro…
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Canadian Social Connections
Background On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Responses to the pandemic response disrupted Canadian social connections in complex ways; because social connections are determinants of health and well-being, their disruption could adversely affect health and well-being. Moreover, understanding how pandemics and public health responses affect social connections could inform pandemic recovery stra…
Interactions between race/ethnicity, poverty status, and pregnancy cardio-metabolic diseases in prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic health
Background: Prenatal health disparities exist for African Americans and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals when compared to non-Hispanic Whites and people of higher SES, particularly in cardio-metabolic diseases. Furthermore, having had a pregnancy-specific cardio-metabolic disease, e.g. preeclampsia, increases risk for future cardio-metabolic disease. Although these factors (race, SES and pregnancy cardio-metabolic disease) are interrela…
Parental attachment anxiety
Growing evidence indicates that individual differences in attachment style are related to health outcomes. The present study extends this literature by examining whether attachment anxiety in both mothers and fathers predicts maternal health the year following the birth of a child in a sample of 698 low-income, racially diverse couples. We hypothesized that maternal perceptions of partner responsiveness would mediate these associations. Maternal …
Genome-Wide Profiling of RNA from Dried Blood Spots
Genome-wide transcriptional profiling has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing biological mechanisms underlying social gradients in health, but utilization in population-based studies has been hampered by logistical constraints and costs associated with venipuncture blood sampling. Dried blood spots (DBS) provide a minimally invasive, low-cost alternative to venipuncture, and in this article we evaluate how closely the substantive results fro…
Current directions in SES disparities research
No abstract available
Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers' Health and Important Resources
In this issue of Psychosomatic Medicine , Mausbach and colleagues report that Alzheimer's disease caregivers who engage in more pleasant leisure activities had lower blood pressure for 5 years compared with those who engage in fewer leisure activities. This novel finding suggests that something as simple as taking more walks in the park or more time for reading books could protect the physical health of caregivers. In this editorial, we review po…
Early-Life Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Metabolic Health Disparities
OBJECTIVE: A quarter of the world's population have metabolic syndrome (MetS). MetS prevalence is stratified by socioeconomic status (SES), such that low SES is associated with higher MetS risk. The present study examined the relative roles of early-life SES and current SES in explaining MetS risk. METHODS: Participants (N = 354; ages = 15-55 years, M [SD] = 36.5 [10.7] years; 55% female; 72.9% white, 16.9% Asian, 10.2% others) were evaluated for…
Interactions between race/ethnicity, poverty status, and pregnancy cardio-metabolic diseases in prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic health
Background: Prenatal health disparities exist for African Americans and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals when compared to non-Hispanic Whites and people of higher SES, particularly in cardio-metabolic diseases. Furthermore, having had a pregnancy-specific cardio-metabolic disease, e.g. preeclampsia, increases risk for future cardio-metabolic disease. Although these factors (race, SES and pregnancy cardio-metabolic disease) are interrela…
Socioeconomic Status, Preeclampsia Risk and Gestational Length in Black and White Women
Compared to White women, Black women had increased preeclampsia risk. Higher SES attenuated risk for preeclampsia among White women, but not for Black women. Similarly, higher SES indirectly predicted longer gestational length via reduced preeclampsia risk among White women, but not for Black women. These findings are consistent with diminishing returns of higher SES for Black women with respect to preeclampsia
Parental attachment anxiety
Growing evidence indicates that individual differences in attachment style are related to health outcomes. The present study extends this literature by examining whether attachment anxiety in both mothers and fathers predicts maternal health the year following the birth of a child in a sample of 698 low-income, racially diverse couples. We hypothesized that maternal perceptions of partner responsiveness would mediate these associations. Maternal …
Cross-Sectional Study Protocol for the Covid-19 Impact Survey of Mothers and Their 7–11 Year Old Children in Alberta, Canada
Objectives: Our aim is to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on families who have been followed longitudinally in two cohorts studied in Alberta, Canada. We will examine household infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, financial impact, domestic violence, substance use, child school and daily life and relationships in the home. We will identify risk and protective factors for maternal mental health outcomes using longitudinal data t…
Effect of Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) Parenting Program on Parent-Infant Attachment, Parental Reflective Function, and Parental Depression
High-risk families exposed to toxic stressors such as family violence, depression, addiction, and poverty, have shown greater difficulty in parenting young children. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of ATTACHTM, a 10−12 session manualized one-on-one parental Reflective Function (RF)-based parenting program designed for high-risk families. Outcomes of parent-child attachment and parental RF were assessed via the Strange Situation Proce…
Mothers’ and Children’s Mental Distress and Family Strain during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Mothers' mental distress, but not children's, was associated with family strain during the pandemic. More distressed individuals experienced greater family strain over time, suggesting that this association may become a chronic problem
Announcing the Alliance against Violence and Adversity (AVA)
Health psychology and behavioral medicine researchers in Canada
The purpose of this study is to characterize contemporary Canadian health psychology through an environmental scan by identifying faculty, research productivity and strengths, and collaborator interconnectivity. Profiles at Canadian universities were reviewed for faculty with psychology doctorates and health psychology research programs. Publications were obtained through Google Scholar and PubMed (Jan/18-Mar/21). A total of 284 faculty were iden…
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Canadian Social Connections
Background On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Responses to the pandemic response disrupted Canadian social connections in complex ways; because social connections are determinants of health and well-being, their disruption could adversely affect health and well-being. Moreover, understanding how pandemics and public health responses affect social connections could inform pandemic recovery stra…
Childhood Adversities and the ATTACHTM Program’s Influence on Immune Cell Gene Expression
Maternal ACEs could exert an intergenerational impact on child inflammatory activity, and this association could be moderated by participating in the ATTACHTM parenting intervention
Experiences of discrimination and snacking behavior in Black and Latinx children
Little is known about how discrimination contributes to health behaviors in childhood. We examined the association between children's exposure to discrimination and their snacking behavior in a sample of youth of color (N = 164, M age = 11.5 years, 49% female, 60% Black, 40% Hispanic/Latinx). We also explored whether children's body mass index (BMI) or sleepiness moderated the association between discrimination and calorie consumption. The signif…
A pilot evaluation of the Alliance against Violence and Adversity (AVA) Triadic Mentorship Program
Background Both gender-based violence (GBV; violence enacted based on perceived or actual gender, predominantly affecting girls, women, and gender-diverse people) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; household adversities before 18 years of age such as physical abuse) reduce quality of life. ACEs can also amplify the risk of later GBV. Despite extensive study, GBV and ACEs remain inadequately addressed, largely linked to the siloed approaches…
Medicine (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Demography (5 works) · Psychiatry (5 works) · Biology (4 works) · Demography (4 works) · Environmental health (4 works) · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Birth, Development, and Health (3 works)