College of Education and Human Development

Institute of Child Development

Elizabeth Carlson

  • Senior Research Associate; Affiliate Graduate Faculty; Director, Harris Programs

Elizabeth Carlson

Areas of interest

Development and psychopathology

Degrees

PhD, 1990, Teachers College, Columbia University

Biography

My research focuses on development and psychopathology.  I am especially interested in the ways that individuals become vulnerable to psychopathology early in development.  Recent research has addressed 1) the impact of trauma on development, including the developmental antecedents and consequences of attachment disorganization, 2) the interrelationship of socioemotional and representational experience in normative development and in the evolution of disorder (i.e., borderline and dissociative symptoms), and 3) representational models of the self and disorder. Future research directions include the impact of early trauma and stress on physical health across the lifespan.  

Publications

Carlson, E.A. (under review). Attachment disturbance, disorganization, and disorder. In E. Waters & B. Vaughn (Eds.), Attachment measurement. New York: Guilford Press

Young, E.S., Farrell, A.K., Carlson, E.A., Englund, M.M., Miller, G.E., Roisman, G.I., & Simpson, J.A. (in press). The dual impact of early and concurrent life stress on diurnal cortisol patterns: A longitudinal, prospective study. Psychological Science, 1-9.

Wright, C., Dallas, R., Moldenhauer, R, & Carlson, E.A. (2018). Practice and policy considerations for parents with opioid use disorders. Zero to Three Journal, 38.

Johnson, W.F., Huelsnitz, C.O., Carlson, E.A., Roisman, G.I., Englund, M.M., Miller, G.E., & Simpson, J.A. (2017). Child abuse and neglect and physical health in midlife: Prospective, longitudinal evidence. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 1935-1946.

Raby, K. L., Labella, M. H., Martin, J., Carlson, E. A., & Roisman, G. I. (2017).Childhood abuse and neglect and insecure attachment states of mind in adulthood: Prospective, longitudinal evidence from a high-risk sample. Development and Psychopathology, 29, 347-363.

Carlson, E.A. & Ruiz, S. (2016). Transactional processes in the development of adult personality disorder symptoms. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 639-651.

Carlson, E.A., Hostinar, C.E., Mliner, S.B., & Gunnar, M.R. (2014). The emergence of attachment following early social deprivation. Development and Psychopathology, 26(2), 479-489.

Bosquet Enlow, M., Egeland, B., Carlson, E.A., Blood, E., & Wright, R.J. (2013). Mother-infant attachment and the intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress disorder. Development and Psychopathology (4), 1-25.

Raby, K.L., Cicchetti, D., Carlson, E.A., Cutuli, J.J., Englund, M.M., & Egeland, B. (2012). Genetic and caregiving-based contributions to infant attachment: Unique associations with distress reactivity and attachment security. Psychological Science, 23, 1016-1023.

Sroufe, L.A., Coffino, B., Carlson, E.A. (2010). Conceptualizing the role of early experience: Lessons from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study. Developmental Review, 30 (1), 36-51.

Carlson, E.A., Egeland, B., Sroufe, L.A. (2009). A prospective investigation of the development of borderline personality symptoms. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 1311-1334.

Carlson, E.A., Yates, T.M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2009). Dissociation and development of the self. In P. F. Dell, J. O’Neil, & E. Somer (Eds.), Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM V and beyond (pp. 39-52). New York: Routledge.

Lawrence, C., Carlson, E.A., & Egeland, B. (2006). The impact of foster care on development. Development and Psychopathology, 28(1), 57-76.

Sroufe, L.A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E.A., & Collins, W.A. (2005). The place of early attachment in developmental context. In K. E. Grossmann, K. Grossmann, & E. Waters (Eds.), Attachment from infancy to adulthood: The power of longitudinal studies (pp. 48-70). New York: Guilford Press.

Carlson, E.A., Sroufe, L.A., & Egeland, B. (2004). The construction of experience: A longitudinal study of representation and behavior. Child Development, 75(1), 66-83.