Dr. Lipscomb conducts research to identify effective ways of building resilience among young children and families facing adversity. Key areas of focus include: (1) the role of early childhood education in the lives of children involved in child welfare, foster care, and/or impacted by trauma; (2) the interplay between children's risks and their early experiences on development, and (3) early childhood programs and systems.
ELSI’s purpose is to develop and implement a statewide center that works with partners to support tailored and coordinated ongoing professional learning opportunities that meet the diverse needs of Oregon’s early educator workforce. The initiative aims to: 1) Amplify access to respectful, effective and equitable professional learning opportunities, 2) Support early educators who care for children from historically marginalized populations, 3) Listen and respond to workforce needs with high quality training. Note: the Roots of Resilience intervention developed by Dr. Lipscomb and team, is now being scaled-up with trainings of trainers, workshops and online courses through ELSI in Spanish and English.
Early Childhood Core of the Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families
The Early Childhood Core focuses on optimizing children's development and well-being in families, early care and educational settings, and communities.
Current Projects
The Community Belonging Measurement (CBM) Project
PIs: Shannon Lipscomb, Ph.D. & Brianne Kothari (OSU subaward) and Jackilyn Shannon (OHSU PI)
Funding: Central Oregon Health Council and the United Way of Central Oregon
This project aims to measure belonging and resilience in Central Oregon (Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, Northern Klamath Counties, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) to provide information that is useful for the creation, revision, and/or expansion of public health programs throughout the region. A community-engaged and equity-focused approach was used to collected survey and focus group data from Central Oregonians. Findings are currently being co-interpreted with community partners. Stay tuned!
Sharing Research Results with Families using a Trauma-Informed Lens.
PIs: Molly Kile, Sc.D. and Shannon Lipscomb, Ph.D.
Funding: National Institutes of Health (2023-2024)
Award number: R01 ES029497-01A1 Bioethics Supplement
This project will develop trauma-informed health messaging and report back strategies to research participants by engaging with the existing cohort of young children (preschool-kindergarten) and their parents. We will assess parent preferences to thoughtfully inform development of health messaging and report design. This research will focus on developing and improving messaging to support families, and that could be utilized in a future behavioral intervention to accelerate research translation for children’s environmental health.
Flame Retardants and Children’s School Readiness Study
PIs: Molly Kile, Sc.D. and Shannon Lipscomb, Ph.D.
Funding: National Institutes of Health (2019-2024)
Award number: R01 ES029497-01A1
This interdisciplinary study aims to improve our understanding of children’s exposures to flame retardant compounds, as well as to examine the interplay between flame retardants and adverse social experiences on children’s neuro-cognitive, executive functioning, and behavioral development. The study recruits 600 children aged 4-8 years in preschool and follow them for 3 years until they graduate from first grade. Recruitment occurs in two waves (2020-2021 and 2021-2022). The primary aims are: (1) assess exposure to OPFRs and BDE among a diverse group of children to improve our understanding of factors that contribute to inter- and intra-individual variability, (2) examine the exposure-response relationship between OPFRs and children’s development between ages 4-8 years, and examine the potential for sex to modify these associations, and (3) examine the moderating influences of social stressors on the association between flame retardant exposures and children’s development.
Measuring Resilience to Support Collective Impact with TRACEs (Trauma, Resilience, and Adverse Childhood Experiences) of Central Oregon
Co-PIs: Shannon Lipscomb, PhD and Brianne Kothari, PhD
Funding: United Way of Deschutes County 2018-2021
Through a partnership between TRACEs of Central Oregon, Oregon State University-Cascades, and Better Together of the High Desert Education Service District this project launched shared measurement of resilience throughout Central Oregon. TRACEs partners are engaged in shared measurement across sectors such as health, education, and social services. The goals are to use shared measures to understand our communities, continuously improve conditions to nurture resilience, track progress, and celebrate successes.
"Central Oregon Embraces Shared Measurement: Positive Factors to Promote Resilience," Trauma Informed Oregon Blog, 2018
Recent Projects
Roots of Resilience: Teachers Awakening Children’s Healing
PI: Shannon Lipscomb, Ph.D.
Funding: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2015-2020
Award number: R305A150107
Roots of Resilience is a professional development program to help early childhood teachers promote resilience with children impacted by trauma. Early childhood trauma poses a serious threat to the well-being of children, families, and communities. With the majority of children attending early care and education prior to kindergarten, the opportunity to help them start school ready to succeed is profound. Roots of Resilience provides professional supports (workshops, online course, video-based coaching) to help early childhood professionals nurture resilience in themselves, and in the children and families they serve. Initial results indicate that Roots of Resilience is feasible for teachers, and helps them to use trauma-responsive practices and to feel confident that they are making a difference in children’s lives. Additional research is underway.
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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