More About Initial AIMSS Study
Two Meredith College faculty members received a $350,000 multi-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to fund research examining the benefit of support systems on maternal mental health. Assistant Professor of Psychology Betty-Shannon Prevatt, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Child Development Pamela Norcross, Ph.D., are the co-primary investigators (PIs) on this project.
The NIMH is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Meredith’s project is one of 20 to be funded. Through their project, Advancing Insight into Maternal Social Support (AIMSS), Norcross and Prevatt will explore how social support interventions during pregnancy affect occurrence of postpartum mood disorders (PPMD).
About The Study
Postpartum mood disorders affect 8-13% of new mothers, with another 16-23% experiencing elevated symptomology throughout the infant’s first year of life. A variety of interventions for PPMD exist, including pharmacological and psychosocial treatments such as social support. However, existing research on advantages of social support programs has been limited to the postpartum period. Benefits of social support programs during pregnancy have not been established and little is known about the conditions under which these programs may affect PPMD.
Meredith researchers will partner with multisite obstetrics and gynecology practices that offer CenteringPregnancy, a group-based prenatal care model with demonstrated positive maternal and infant health outcomes when compared to prenatal care-as-usual. Through this partnership, the project will examine the mental health benefits of the CenteringPregnancy model.
As faculty members in psychology and child development, Norcross and Prevatt bring the perspectives of their disciplines to the project. With its focus on mental health, their research fills an important gap in what is currently understood about maternal health and wellbeing.
The research project will begin using a pre-existing dataset to examine the CenteringPregnancy model versus typical care, and how these options affect maternal depression outcomes. The data collection for this initial phase of the study was funded by a feasibility grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Foundation.
The project will also involve gathering new data during pregnancy and during early parenting, a process scheduled to begin in fall 2021. There will be an initial data collection during pregnancy and then two follow ups after delivery. This model will be followed for the next three and a half years.
Meredith College undergraduate students will work on both aspects of the research under the supervision of Norcross and Prevatt. Students will also have opportunities to identify some areas of their own interest and to develop their own research questions.
About the NIMH Grant
The project at Meredith College was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health through an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate Focused Institutions under Award Number R15MH126403.
The purpose of AREA funding is to support small scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from the National Institutes of Health, with an emphasis on providing biomedical research experiences primarily for undergraduate students, and enhancing the research environment at these applicant institutions.
Project Aims
- Collaborate with undergraduate students to use a pre-existing dataset to determine under what conditions the CenteringPregnancy model versus CAU affects maternal depression outcomes.
- Work with undergraduate students to gather new data to examine impacts of the CenteringPregnancy model as a clinical intervention on relevant maternal outcomes (e.g., PPMD; interaction effects of PPMD and early parenting), while simultaneously observing and gathering information on implementation in order to maximize clinical efficacy utility, and facilitate sustainability and scalability as an effective intervention and prevention strategy for PPMD.
- Strengthen Meredith’s research environment and engage undergraduate students in collaborative research while mentoring and instructing them in research concepts and processes (e.g., research methodology, participant recruitment, ethical and professional standards, data collection and analysis, and scholarly productivity) as they relate to the CenteringPregnancy model, maternal mental health, and relevant outcomes.
Announcements
AIMSS Lab Alumni, Claire Jacoby, receives Fulbright Research Award to Italy.
Three AIMSS undergraduate researchers presented their study findings at the 2025 Carolina Psychology Conference. Navigate to the Study Findings page to view their posters and presentation!
A graduate student of Purdue University presented at the 2025 Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. Navigate to the Study Findings page to view the poster that she developed along with Dr. Prevatt and Dr. Norcross using AIMSS Study data!
An AIMSS undergraduate researcher was selected to share her Strong Story, and won the 2025 Outstanding Senior in Psychology award.
An AIMSS undergraduate researcher won the 2025 Psi Award for Outstanding Contributions to Psychology.
Co-Principle Investigators, Drs. Betty-Shannon Prevatt and Pamela Norcross, have been accepted to the 2023 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) biennial meeting!
Co-Principle Investigators, Drs. Betty-Shannon Prevatt and Pamela Norcross, have been award the Pauline Davis Perry Award for Research, Publication, and/or Artistic Achievement this Fall 2022!
Our undergraduate research assistants, Rayna Maleki and Joselyn Marroquin Aparicio, have been accepted to present at the annual meeting for the American Public Health Association. Navigate to the Study Findings page to view their posters!
During the 2022 International Congress of Infant Studies, our previous undergraduate research assistant, Joselyn Marroquin Aparicio, was recognized as a runner-up to the Outstanding Undergraduate Submission Award for her poster on the role of maternal race and SES in the risk of prenatal depression and anxiety symptoms on birth outcomes. See her recognition on the ICIS 2022 website.
Congratulations to Joselyn Marroquin Aparicio for graduating Meredith College and the AIMSS lab this May, 2022! Joselyn will work in a clinical research lab after graduation and plans to apply to medical school in the following application cycle.
Our undergraduate research assistant, Joselyn Marroquin Aparicio, was selected to share her Strong Story and her motivations for prioritizing maternal mental health.
Co-Principal Investigators, Drs. Pamela Norcross and Betty-Shannon Prevatt, and undergraduate research assistant, Joselyn Marroquin Aparicio, have been accepted to present at the International Congress of Infant Studies in 2022. Navigate to the Study Findings page to view their posters!
Congratulations to Alia Hassan for graduating Meredith College this December, 2021! Alia is also the first undergraduate research assistant to graduate from the AIMSS lab.
Relevant Publications
Crank, A., Norcross, P., & Prevatt, B.S. (2024, July). Social Support and Participant Characteristics as Predictors for CenteringPregnancy Participation. [Poster presentation] Postpartum Support International Conference, Washington, D.C.
Jacoby, C., Norcross, P., Prevatt, B.S., Rade, C. (2024, July). A QuantCrit Approach to Postpartum Depression Scores. [Poster presentation] Postpartum Support International Conference, Washington, D.C.
Nordgren, I.,Norcross, P., & Prevatt, B.S. (2024, July). Associations with infant birthweight and trust in US physicians during pregnancy. [Poster presentation] International Congress of Infant Studies, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Norcross, P. L., Maleki, R., Prevatt, B.S. (March, 2023). Maternal Depression and Screening Effectiveness: Role of Prenatal Group Social Support. [Poster presentation] Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD). Salt Lake City, Utah.
Norcross, P.L., & Prevatt, B.S. (March, 2023). Strengthening UndergraduateResearch Assistants: Role of Supportive Pedagogy. [Poster presentation] Developmental Science Teaching Institute; Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD), Salt Lake City, Utah.
Maleki, R.*, Prevatt, B.-S., Norcross, P.L., & Frye, P. (2022, Nov. 8). Suicidal ideation during the antepartum and postpartum period. American Public Health Association annual meeting, Boston, MA.
Marroquin-Aparicio, J.*, Frye, P., Prevatt, B.-S., & Norcross, P.L. (2022, Nov. 8). Examining pre-pandemic and COVID-19-era postpartum mental health. American Public Health Association annual meeting, Boston, MA.
Prevatt, B.-S., Norcross, P.L., & Perkins, H. (2022, July 7-11). Importance of patient-provider racial minority concordance in postpartum depression screening. [Poster presentation] International Congress on Infant Studies (ICIS) annual conference, Ottowa, Canada.
Norcross, P.L., Prevatt, B.-S., & Perkins, H. (2022, July 7-11). Prenatal group care as a facilitator of maternal mental health screening. [Poster presentation] International Congress on Infant Studies (ICIS) annual conference, Ottowa, Canada.
Marroquin-Aparicio, J.*, Norcross, P.L., Prevatt, B.-S., & Perkins, H. (2022, July 7-11). Risk of prenatal depression and anxiety symptoms on birth outcomes: Role of maternal race and SES. [Poster presentation] International Congress on Infant Studies (ICIS) annual conference, Ottowa, Canada.