More About Initial AIMSS Study
Back in 2021, 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 social support systems on maternal mental health. Associate Professor of Psychology Betty-Shannon Prevatt, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Child Development Pamela Norcross, Ph.D., were the co-primary investigators (PIs) on this project.
The NIMH is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Meredith’s project was one of 20 to be funded. Through this project, Advancing Insight into Maternal Social Support (AIMSS), Norcross and Prevatt explored 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 partnered with 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 researchers were able to examine the mental health benefits of the CenteringPregnancy model.
The research project began by 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 that initial phase of the study was funded by a feasibility grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Foundation.
The project began in 2021. It involved gathering new data during pregnancy and during early parenting. Initial data data collection started during pregnancy with two follow ups after delivery, one at 6 weeks and then another at 6 months. This model was followed for three and a half years.
Meredith College undergraduate students worked on both aspects of the research under the supervision of Dr. Norcross and Dr. Prevatt. Students also had opportunities to identify some areas of their own interest, to develop their own research questions, and complete their own data anlysis using the new data collected.
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.