Research
The overarching goal of Dr. Lavallée’s research program is to investigate multi-level bio-behavioral, emotional, and experiential mechanisms of dyadic parent-child face-to-face interactions that shape socio-emotional development and functioning.
To that end, she serves as Principal Investigator of the Interpersonal Synchrony and Connection (InSynC) lab: the first lab specifically dedicated to uncovering the emotional and biobehavioral mechanisms underlying dyadic emotional synchrony.
InSynC uses cutting-edge technology to
observe, code, and evaluate the bidirectional
exchanges between parents and children, down
to microsecond interactions. This novel research
leverages interdepartmental and inter-institutional
collaborations that include specialties ranging from
from Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, to
Machine Learning and Neuroengineering, to
Psychiatry and Obstetrics.
The goal of this work is to establish an evidence base for developing effective precision interventions that improve
socio-emotional functioning, and ultimately promoteing long-term health and well-being.
Projects
Project 1: Bio-Behavioral Determinants of Mother-Infant Face-to-Face Interactions
Funding source: K99HD115784
The coordination of physiological, neural, and behavioral interpersonal signals during reciprocal interactions acts as a foundation for social functioning across the lifespan. In this study, we hypothesize that the strength of shared parent-infant emotions during face-to-face interactions is positively associated with the strength of biobehavioral synchrony and with distinct subjective maternal embodied feelings.
To test this hypothesis, we bring mother-infant dyads into the lab at 4 months postpartum, and record electrophysiology (hyper-scanning EEG & ECG in both mother & infant) using minimally invasive, portable wireless technology. Crucially, this is paired with behavioral conditions, including a series of face-to-face interaction paradigms, to test the hypothesis across a variety of shared experiences.
Project 2: Building the Evidence Base for Dyadic Caregiver–Infant Interventions
Funding source: Einhorn Collaborative
In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published an influential policy statement reorienting pediatric care away from a focus on toxic stress and toward the promotion of positive caregiver-child relationships. In response to this paradigm-shifting policy statement, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of dyadic parent/caregiver-infant interventions, initiated in the first 6 months of life, aimed primarily at promoting early relational health, and secondarily at child development and parent/caregiver mental health.
This work, which was initially preprinted in 2023, is currently being updated with studies published in the last 2 years.
Project 3: Parent-Child Connection Interviews
Funding source: Einhorn Collaborative
Early relational health has not traditionally been studied from the lived experience of parents and caregivers. Therefore, while there is growing evidence on researcher-developed constructs of early relational health, the field has yet to explore important novel constructs that may emerge from qualitative research on parent/caregiver perspective.
The goal of this study is to understand the different ways parents and caregivers connect with their children, and how they describe the relationships they form with their young children in the context of family & community heritage and history. Partnering with the Nurture Connection Family Network Collaborative (FNC), parent leaders (interviewers) conducted semi-structured interviews with parents in their communities (interviewees), using an interview guide we co-developed with parent leaders and clinical and implementation researchers.
Results will contribute to the development of a comprehensive early relational health taxonomy—a critical foundation for understanding and harnessing social connection in long-term flourishing for families.
Featured Publications & Press
Publications
Development of a revised and abbreviated version of the postpartum bonding questionnaire (PBQ-R): First U.S. validation and association to child outcomes
Lavallée A, Warmingham JM, Reimers MA, Curtin P. Kyle MH, Austin J, Lee S, Barker T, Hussain M, Arduin E, Ahmed I, Atwood G, Ettinger S, Smotrich G, Turner JB, Fisher PW, Marsh R, Dumitriu D. Infant Ment Health J. 2025.
PUBLICATIONS
Advancing early relational health: a collaborative exploration of a research agenda
*Dumitriu D, *Lavallée A, Riggs JL, Frosch CA, Barker TV, Best DL, Blasingame B, Bushar J, Charlot-Swilley D, Erickson E, Finkel MA, Fortune B, Gillen L, Martinez M, Ramachandran U, Sanders LM, Willis DW, Shearman N. Front Pediatr. 2023;11:1259022. *Shared first authorship.
PUBLICATIONS
Early dyadic parent/caregiver-infant interventions to support early relational health: a meta-analysis
Lavallée A, Pang L, Warmingham J, Atwood G, Ahmed I, Lanoff M, Finkel MA, Xu R, Arduin E, Hamer K, Fischman R, Ettinger S, Hu Y, Fisher K, Greeman E, Kuromaru M, Durr S, Flowers E, Gozali A, Willis D, Dumitriu D. Preprint at medRxiv. 2022.