Preston Britner, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Associate Department Head, Human Development & Family Studies 348 Mansfield Road Unit 2058 Storrs, CT 06269-2058 Phone: (860) 486-3765 Email: preston.britner@uconn.edu

Research Overview
As the editor for the Journal of Primary Prevention, Professor Britner studies the translation of prevention theory and research for relevant practitioners and policymakers. He explores attachment-caregiving relationships in child-parent dyads, bridging attachment theory with other theories of child social development and child-parent relations (e.g., theories of acceptance-rejection, emotion regulation, shyness, temperament), and the application of attachment research to child welfare contexts. His other research interests include child welfare and primary prevention (e.g., parent education, home visitation) of – and developmental correlates of – family violence; interventions (e.g., mentoring, life skills) associated with successful transitions to adulthood for youth in foster care; and research, evaluation, and social policy related to early childhood education, child maltreatment, foster care, and systemic child/family welfare programs.

Professor Britner serves on the Editorial Boards for Child Abuse & Neglect and the Journal of Child and Family Studies. He was presented with the AAUP Award for Teaching Promise in 2002, and he is a 2003-2004 University of Connecticut Teaching Fellow, the highest teaching honor at the university.

Education
Ph.D., University of Virginia, 1996 (developmental psychology)
M.A. University of Virginia, 1993 (developmental psychology)
B.A., University of Miami, 1990 (developmental psychology)

Featured Publications
Britner, P. A., Balcazar, F., Blechman, E., Blinn-Pike, L., & Larose, S. (in press). Mentoring special youth populations. Special issue on mentoring. Journal of Community Psychology.

Russell, B. S., & Britner, P. A. (in press). Measuring Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness: Preliminary reliability of a caregiver attitudes and beliefs survey. Journal of Child & Family Studies.

Russell, B. S., Britner, P. A., & Woolard, J. L. (in press). The promise of primary prevention home visiting programs: A review of potential outcomes. Special issue on Healthy Families America. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community.

Alpert, L. T., & Britner, P. A. (2005). Social workers’ attitudes toward parents of children in child protective services: Evaluation of a family-focused casework training program. Journal of Family Social Work, 9(1), 33-64.

Britner, P. A., & Alpert, L. T. (2005). Writing amicus curiae and policy briefs: A pedagogical approach to teaching family law and policy. Special issue: Teaching about families. Marriage and Family Review, 38(2), 5-21.

Britner, P. A., Marvin, R. S., & Pianta, R. C. (2005). Development and preliminary validation of the caregiving behavior system: Association with child attachment classification in the preschool Strange Situation. Attachment & Human Development, 7(1), 83-102.

Hughes, M., Blom, M., Rohner, R. P., & Britner, P. A. (2005). Bridging Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory and Attachment Theory in the Preschool Strange Situation. Ethos: Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology, 33(3), 378-401.

O’Neil, J. M., Anderson, S. A., Britner, P. A., Brown, I. Q., Holgerson, K., & Rohner, R. P. (2005). Psychological abuse in family studies: A psychoeducational and preventive approach. Special issue: Teaching about families. Marriage & Family Review, 38(4), 41-58.

Britner, P. A., Morog, M. C., Pianta, R. C., & Marvin, R. S. (2003). Stress and coping: A comparison self-report measures of functioning in families of young children with cerebral palsy or no medical diagnosis. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 12(3), 335-348.

O'Connor, T. G., Marvin, R. S., Rutter, M., Olrick, J., Britner, P. A., and The English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team (2003). Child-parent attachment following early institutional deprivation. Development and Psychopathology, 15(1), 19-38.

Britner, P. A., & Mossler, D. (2002). Professionals’ decision-making about out-of-home placements following instances of child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 26(4), 317-332.

Rohner, R. P., & Britner, P. A. (2002). Worldwide mental health correlates of parental acceptance-rejection: Review of cross-cultural and intracultural evidence. Cross-Cultural Research: The Journal of Comparative Social Science, 36(1), 16-47.

Redding, R. E., Fried, C., & Britner, P. A. (2000). Predictors of placement outcomes in treatment foster care: Implications for foster parent selection and service delivery. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 9(4), 425-447.

Britner, P. A., LaFleur, S. J., & Whitehead, A. J. (1998). Evaluating juveniles' competence to make abortion decisions: How social science evidence can inform the law. Special issue on psychology and the law. The University of Chicago Law School Roundtable, 5(1), 35-62.

Britner, P. A., & Reppucci, N. D. (1997). Prevention of child maltreatment: Evaluation of a parent education program for teen mothers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 6(2), 165-175.