Parenting
& Families Lab
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Tamara Del Vecchio, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
631-218-7714
(office)
631-218-7721
(lab)
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“Topic: I'm gonna end up on Super
Nanny” posted March 6, 2007
“I
haven't applied or anything, but with the way my 16 month old is going, I just
know we're going to end up there one day!
Dd2 is a wild child. For the past 2 months (so since 14 months), she has been
physically aggressive if she doesn't get her way. She does it all - hits,
kicks, yells, bites, squeezes, and pulls hair. I feel like all I do all day is
say "No biting, no hitting, etc." I don't want to overuse NO, so I
try to say, "Hands are not for hitting. Soft touch. Hugs and kisses. Love
your sister. We don't hit people we love..." I don't say it all once, but
those are examples of different things I say. I redirect her. We don't spank or
raise our voices...My gosh, I'm about ready to pull my hair out!”
**Posted on
Parents.com, http://dgroups.parents.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=27883.1&nav=messages&webtag=pt-toddler
“Topic: Biting Problems” posted March 23, 2007
“My
17 month old got bitten by a 20 month old yesterday at daycare. There are 3
bite marks above his eyebrow and then one on his temple, which the skin was
broken. There was no explainable reason for him to bite my son, there were
no toys or blankets involved. I know toddlers at this age can't talk all that
well so they do other things to express their anger. The other daycare parent
feels really bad and says she has bitten him back when he bites his older sister,
but only a pinch. He has bitten other daycare kids. I just don't know what is
the right way to handle this… Do we separate them or do slap him
mouth lightly or what???? At this age its so hard to discipline without
feeling like your doing too much or too little. If anyone has any advice or
suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.”
**Posted on Parents.com, http://dgroups.parents.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=28190.2&nav=messages&webtag=pt-toddler
Research Interests
My research interests include:
-
development of early child aggression
-
dysfunctional parenting exhibited
before and after child aggression that maintains or exacerbates aggression
-
parent cognitions and/or affect that
relates to dysfunctional parenting
-
early prevention and intervention for
parents of difficult toddlers (i.e., externalizing behavior problems, especially
aggression)
Current Projects
Current projects are designed:
-
to investigate the relations between
lax and overreactive parenting in predicting child misbehavior and negative
affect.
-
to differentiate between discipline
skill acquisition and skill application difficulties.
-
to further identify parent cognitions
that influence parent discipline behavior.
In the future, I am particularly
interested in evaluating brief intervention methods for parents of toddlers.
Del Vecchio, T., Walter, A. &
O’Leary, S. G. (In Press). Del Vecchio, T., Walter, A. L. & O’Leary, S. G.
(in press). Affective and physiological factors predicting maternal response to
infant crying. Infant Behavior and Development.
Del Vecchio,
T., & O’Leary, S. G. (2008). Predicting maternal discipline responses to early child aggression:
The role of cognitions and affect. Parenting:
Science and Practice, 8, 1–17.
Del Vecchio, T., & O’Leary, S. G.
(2006). Antecedents of toddler aggression: Dysfunctional parenting in
mother-toddler dyads. Journal of Clinical
Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 194–202.
Del Vecchio, T., & O’Leary, K. D.
(2004). The effectiveness of anger treatments for specific anger problems: A
meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology
Review, 24, 15-34.
PSY
1000C Introduction
to Psychology
PSY 623 Developmental
Psychology I
PSY 726 Psychopathology I
PSY 727 Psychopathology II
Last updated 6/1/08