Rebecca M Pearson
Biographic Data
| ID | 5763741 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rebecca M Pearson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rebecca M |
| FAMILY NAME | Pearson |
| SIGNATURE | PEARSON R M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bristol |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8527-3400 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 14 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1977 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Contemplative Training for Mindful Aging
Contemplative practices offer a promising lens for thinking about how people navigate change, vulnerability, and the emotional texture of later life. This article examines how such practices extend ideas of healthy aging, drawing on interviews and focus groups ( n = 24) from an 8-week mind–body course. Participants reported strong satisfaction with the course, noting improvements in physical and mental health, and a notable shift towards greater …
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Compassion Fatigue in Parents who Adopt Children with Trauma Histories
The challenges of caring for children with early life adversity have been identified as contributing to feelings of compassion fatigue (CF)—an emotional disconnection resulting from repeated exposure to another’s trauma. Although extensive studies have focused on contributors to trauma-inducing workplace stress and well-being, research on trauma-related stress in the home, especially in adoptive parent populations, is relatively underexplored. Th…
A Quantitative Evaluation of Thin Slice Sampling for Parent–Infant Interactions
Behavioural coding is time-intensive and laborious. Thin slice sampling provides an alternative approach, aiming to alleviate the coding burden. However, little is understood about whether different behaviours coded over thin slices are comparable to those same behaviours over entire interactions. To provide quantitative evidence for the value of thin slice sampling for a variety of behaviours. We used data from three populations of parent-infant…
Masculinity and emotionality in education
Despite the widespread concern regarding young people’s wellbeing, the interaction between gender and mental health appears to be generally overlooked within education and is more commonly focused on concern about rising figures of female mental health. The absence of discussions around gender is surprising, given the ongoing debate regarding the impact of masculinity on men’s emotional expression and the increasing encouragement for men to talk …
Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and offspring emotional and behavioral development at age 7 years in a U.K. birth cohort
There is considerable variability in developmental outcomes of children whose mothers experience depression. Few longitudinal studies have examined contributions of paternal involvement in the association between maternal postnatal depression (PND) and offspring development. We examined pathways from maternal PND at 8 weeks (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; total score) to offspring emotional and behavioral development at 7 years (Strengths …
Mental health before and during the Covid-19 pandemic in two longitudinal UK population cohorts
Background The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures are likely to have a marked effect on mental health. It is important to use longitudinal data to improve inferences. Aims To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety and mental well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to identify groups at risk of depression and/or anxiety during the pandemic. Method Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (…
Polygenic risk for depression, anxiety and neuroticism are associated with the severity and rate of change in depressive symptoms across adolescence
BACKGROUND: Adolescence marks a period where depression will commonly onset. Twin studies show that genetic influences play a role in how depression develops and changes across adolescence. Recent genome-wide association studies highlight that common genetic variants - which can be combined into polygenic risk scores (PRS) - are also implicated in depression. However, the role of PRS in adolescent depression and changes in adolescent depression i…
Relative effects of breastfeeding intention and practice on maternal responsiveness
Our objective was to examine the differential effects of antenatal breastfeeding intention (BI) and breastfeeding practice (BP) on maternal postnatal responsiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from a subsample of 962 mother–infant dyads from a U.K.‐based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposures were BI and BPs measured at 32 weeks of gestation and 18 months’ postpartum. The outc…
Relationship between children’s cognitions and later educational progress in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) who remain in school have better health and employment outcomes. South Africa, like many LMICs, has a secondary school completion rate under 50%, leaving room for improvement if we can identify factors that affect educational attainment. This is the first longitudinal study to examine the effects of childhood mental health and cognitions on educational outcomes in LMIC. METHOD…
Identifying Critical Points of Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Childhood to Young Adulthood
Depression is a common mental illness and research has focused on late childhood and adolescence in an attempt to prevent or reduce later psychopathology and/or social impairments. It is important to establish and study population-averaged trajectories of depressive symptoms across adolescence as this could characterise specific changes in populations and help identify critical points to intervene with treatment. Multilevel growth-curve models we…
Association of Persistent and Severe Postnatal Depression With Child Outcomes
Persistent and severe PND substantially raises the risk for adverse outcome on all child measures. Meeting criteria for depression both early and late in the postnatal year, especially when the mood disturbance is severe, should alert health care professionals to a depression that is likely to be persistent and to be associated with an especially elevated risk of multiple adverse child outcomes. Treatment for this group should be prioritized.
Maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and intelligence quotients in the offspring at 8 years of age
Dietary intake during pregnancy may influence child neurodevelopment and cognitive function. This study aims to investigate the associations between dietary patterns obtained in pregnancy and intelligence quotients (IQ) among offspring at 8 years of age. Pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children completed a food frequency questionnaire at 32 weeks' gestation (n = 12,195). Dietary patterns were obtained by clus…
Dietary patterns by cluster analysis in pregnant women
Little is known about how dietary patterns of mothers and their children track over time. The objectives of this study are to obtain dietary patterns in pregnancy using cluster analysis, to examine women's mean nutrient intakes in each cluster and to compare the dietary patterns of mothers to those of their children. Pregnant women (n = 12 195) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children reported their frequency of consumption of 47 …
Are fetal growth impairment and preterm birth causally related to child attention problems and ADHD? Evidence from a comparison between high-income and middle-income cohorts
BACKGROUND: Cross-cohort comparison is an established method for improving causal inference. This study compared 2 cohorts, 1 from a high-income country and another from a middle-income country, to (1) establish whether birth exposures may play a causal role in the development of childhood attention problems; and (2) identify whether confounding structures play a different role in parent-reported attention difficulties compared with attention def…
The Impact of Depression on Maternal Responses to Infant Faces in Pregnancy
Research has suggested that prenatal depression may be associated with disrupted maternal responses to infant stimuli, with depressed pregnant women not showing the bias toward distressed infants as that observed in nondepressed pregnant women. The current study examined the effects of depression on self- reported responses to infant stimuli, in early pregnancy. Women with clinical depression (n = 38), and nondepressed women (n = 67) were recruit…
Effects of perinatal mental disorders on the fetus and child
A case control study of carcinoma of the ovary
There is increased concern over the apparent rise in incidence of patients with carcinoma of the ovary, particularly in older women. In an attempt to identify aetiological factors 300 women with cancer of the ovary diagnosed at laparatomy were studied. A questionnaire was administered to these women (Group A) and to two control groups matched by age. The first control group (Group B) comprised patients in a gynaecological ward and the second (Gro…
Identifying Critical Points of Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Childhood to Young Adulthood
Depression is a common mental illness and research has focused on late childhood and adolescence in an attempt to prevent or reduce later psychopathology and/or social impairments. It is important to establish and study population-averaged trajectories of depressive symptoms across adolescence as this could characterise specific changes in populations and help identify critical points to intervene with treatment. Multilevel growth-curve models we…
The Impact of Depression on Maternal Responses to Infant Faces in Pregnancy
Research has suggested that prenatal depression may be associated with disrupted maternal responses to infant stimuli, with depressed pregnant women not showing the bias toward distressed infants as that observed in nondepressed pregnant women. The current study examined the effects of depression on self- reported responses to infant stimuli, in early pregnancy. Women with clinical depression (n = 38), and nondepressed women (n = 67) were recruit…
A case control study of carcinoma of the ovary
There is increased concern over the apparent rise in incidence of patients with carcinoma of the ovary, particularly in older women. In an attempt to identify aetiological factors 300 women with cancer of the ovary diagnosed at laparatomy were studied. A questionnaire was administered to these women (Group A) and to two control groups matched by age. The first control group (Group B) comprised patients in a gynaecological ward and the second (Gro…
Effects of perinatal mental disorders on the fetus and child
The Impact of Depression on Maternal Responses to Infant Faces in Pregnancy
Research has suggested that prenatal depression may be associated with disrupted maternal responses to infant stimuli, with depressed pregnant women not showing the bias toward distressed infants as that observed in nondepressed pregnant women. The current study examined the effects of depression on self- reported responses to infant stimuli, in early pregnancy. Women with clinical depression (n = 38), and nondepressed women (n = 67) were recruit…
Dietary patterns by cluster analysis in pregnant women
Little is known about how dietary patterns of mothers and their children track over time. The objectives of this study are to obtain dietary patterns in pregnancy using cluster analysis, to examine women's mean nutrient intakes in each cluster and to compare the dietary patterns of mothers to those of their children. Pregnant women (n = 12 195) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children reported their frequency of consumption of 47 …
Are fetal growth impairment and preterm birth causally related to child attention problems and ADHD? Evidence from a comparison between high-income and middle-income cohorts
BACKGROUND: Cross-cohort comparison is an established method for improving causal inference. This study compared 2 cohorts, 1 from a high-income country and another from a middle-income country, to (1) establish whether birth exposures may play a causal role in the development of childhood attention problems; and (2) identify whether confounding structures play a different role in parent-reported attention difficulties compared with attention def…
Maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and intelligence quotients in the offspring at 8 years of age
Dietary intake during pregnancy may influence child neurodevelopment and cognitive function. This study aims to investigate the associations between dietary patterns obtained in pregnancy and intelligence quotients (IQ) among offspring at 8 years of age. Pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children completed a food frequency questionnaire at 32 weeks' gestation (n = 12,195). Dietary patterns were obtained by clus…
Association of Persistent and Severe Postnatal Depression With Child Outcomes
Persistent and severe PND substantially raises the risk for adverse outcome on all child measures. Meeting criteria for depression both early and late in the postnatal year, especially when the mood disturbance is severe, should alert health care professionals to a depression that is likely to be persistent and to be associated with an especially elevated risk of multiple adverse child outcomes. Treatment for this group should be prioritized.
Relationship between children’s cognitions and later educational progress in rural South Africa
BACKGROUND: Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) who remain in school have better health and employment outcomes. South Africa, like many LMICs, has a secondary school completion rate under 50%, leaving room for improvement if we can identify factors that affect educational attainment. This is the first longitudinal study to examine the effects of childhood mental health and cognitions on educational outcomes in LMIC. METHOD…
Identifying Critical Points of Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Childhood to Young Adulthood
Depression is a common mental illness and research has focused on late childhood and adolescence in an attempt to prevent or reduce later psychopathology and/or social impairments. It is important to establish and study population-averaged trajectories of depressive symptoms across adolescence as this could characterise specific changes in populations and help identify critical points to intervene with treatment. Multilevel growth-curve models we…
Relative effects of breastfeeding intention and practice on maternal responsiveness
Our objective was to examine the differential effects of antenatal breastfeeding intention (BI) and breastfeeding practice (BP) on maternal postnatal responsiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from a subsample of 962 mother–infant dyads from a U.K.‐based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposures were BI and BPs measured at 32 weeks of gestation and 18 months’ postpartum. The outc…
Mental health before and during the Covid-19 pandemic in two longitudinal UK population cohorts
Background The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures are likely to have a marked effect on mental health. It is important to use longitudinal data to improve inferences. Aims To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety and mental well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to identify groups at risk of depression and/or anxiety during the pandemic. Method Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (…
Polygenic risk for depression, anxiety and neuroticism are associated with the severity and rate of change in depressive symptoms across adolescence
BACKGROUND: Adolescence marks a period where depression will commonly onset. Twin studies show that genetic influences play a role in how depression develops and changes across adolescence. Recent genome-wide association studies highlight that common genetic variants - which can be combined into polygenic risk scores (PRS) - are also implicated in depression. However, the role of PRS in adolescent depression and changes in adolescent depression i…
A Quantitative Evaluation of Thin Slice Sampling for Parent–Infant Interactions
Behavioural coding is time-intensive and laborious. Thin slice sampling provides an alternative approach, aiming to alleviate the coding burden. However, little is understood about whether different behaviours coded over thin slices are comparable to those same behaviours over entire interactions. To provide quantitative evidence for the value of thin slice sampling for a variety of behaviours. We used data from three populations of parent-infant…
Masculinity and emotionality in education
Despite the widespread concern regarding young people’s wellbeing, the interaction between gender and mental health appears to be generally overlooked within education and is more commonly focused on concern about rising figures of female mental health. The absence of discussions around gender is surprising, given the ongoing debate regarding the impact of masculinity on men’s emotional expression and the increasing encouragement for men to talk …
Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and offspring emotional and behavioral development at age 7 years in a U.K. birth cohort
There is considerable variability in developmental outcomes of children whose mothers experience depression. Few longitudinal studies have examined contributions of paternal involvement in the association between maternal postnatal depression (PND) and offspring development. We examined pathways from maternal PND at 8 weeks (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; total score) to offspring emotional and behavioral development at 7 years (Strengths …
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Compassion Fatigue in Parents who Adopt Children with Trauma Histories
The challenges of caring for children with early life adversity have been identified as contributing to feelings of compassion fatigue (CF)—an emotional disconnection resulting from repeated exposure to another’s trauma. Although extensive studies have focused on contributors to trauma-inducing workplace stress and well-being, research on trauma-related stress in the home, especially in adoptive parent populations, is relatively underexplored. Th…
Contemplative Training for Mindful Aging
Contemplative practices offer a promising lens for thinking about how people navigate change, vulnerability, and the emotional texture of later life. This article examines how such practices extend ideas of healthy aging, drawing on interviews and focus groups ( n = 24) from an 8-week mind–body course. Participants reported strong satisfaction with the course, noting improvements in physical and mental health, and a notable shift towards greater …
Medicine (13 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Psychiatry (11 works) · Developmental psychology (10 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works) · Longitudinal study (8 works) · Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging (7 works) · Mental health (7 works) · Pregnancy (7 works) · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum (6 works)