Faculty

Robert Nix
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 1999

Research Associate, Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development

Contact Information

S106C Henderson Building

rnix@psu.edu

Phone: 814-863-1199
Fax: 814-865-2530

http://www.prevention.psu.edu/

Research Interests

Implementation and process within interventions designed to prevent children's behavior problems and promote optimal adjustment.  Social-cognitive aspects of parenting in high-risk neighborhoods.

Examples of Current Prevention Projects

Multisite Prevention of Conduct Disorders: The Fast Track Project
National Institute of Mental Health (NIH)
Start Date: 1990
Project Web Site: www.fasttrackproject.org
The major goals of this project are to develop, implement, and evaluate an intervention for children, youth and families focused on the prevention of conduct disorder and other adolescent problem behaviors.

Head Start (Head Start REDI––Research-based, Developmentally Informed)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Start Date: 2003
This project will evaluate the impact of infusing current Head Start programs with social-emotional support curricula (e.g., Preschool PATHS) and language and emergent literacy skill support curricula. A randomized trial will examine the impact on child school readiness at the end of Head Start and on adjustment and achievement in kindergarten and first grade.

Recent Publications

Nix, R. L., Pinderhughes, E. E., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S., & McFadyen-Ketchum, S. A. (1999). The relation between mothers' hostile attribution tendencies and children's externalizing behavior problems: The mediating role of mothers' harsh discipline practices. Child Development, 70, 896-909.

Pinderhughes, E. E., Nix, R. L., Foster, E. M., Jones, D., & the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2001). Parenting in context: Impact of neighborhood poverty, residential stability, public services, social networks, and danger on parental behaviors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 941–953.

Jones, D. E., Dodge, K. A., Foster, E. M., Nix, R. & the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2002). Early identification of children at risk for costly mental health service use. Prevention Science, 3, 247–256.

Lavallee, K. L., Bierman, K. L., Nix, R. L., & the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (in press). The impact of first-grade "Friendship Group" experiences on child social outcomes in the Fast Track Program.  Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.