Irina Patwardhan, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist at the Boys Town Translational Research Center. Dr. Patwardhan's research interests focus on the development of executive function and its associations with multiple health outcomes, including externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, and substance use. Dr. Patwardhan has a strong background in statistics and research methodology and has utilized state-of-the art quantitative techniques to work with multiple large nationally representative datasets. Her research demonstrates the potential of supportive environments on positive development of children and adolescents at-risk.
Dr. Patwardhan received her doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2015. Her dissertation research applied multilevel modeling to the complex nested design of the United States national longitudinal Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009) data in order to examine the role of the person-level (e.g. family living conditions) and group-level (e.g. classroom quality) characteristics on development trajectories of shyness and anxious withdrawal in young children attending Head Start. Findings from this study will assist in developing effective interventions to create better classroom and home environments that support the development of positive behaviors in shy children.
Prior to joining the Boys Town Child and Family Translational Research Center, Dr. Patwardhan held research positions at the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools; and the Early Development and Learning Research Lab at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Dr. Patwardhan has received multiple professional honors and awards, including a Fulbright research scholarship, Max Plank research scholarship (Germany), and a scholarship from the American Psychological Association, Division 15 (Educational Psychology). Her work is currently supported by the NICHD and NIH.
Education/Training
Moscow State Pedagogical University, Russia, M.A. (2002)
Educational Psychology
National Research University, Russia, Ph.D. (2008)
General & Experimental Psychology
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ph.D. (2015)
Educational Psychology
Selected publications
Parra, G. R,
Patwardhan, I., Mason, W. A.., Chmelka, M.B., Savolainen, J., Miettunen, J., & Järvelin, M. R. (2020). Parental Alcohol Use and the Alcohol Misuse of their Offspring in a Finnish Birth Cohort: Investigation of Developmental Timing. (in press).
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Duppong Hurley, K., Lambert, M.,
Patwardhan, I., Ringle, J., Thompson, R., & Farley, J. (2019). Randomized Trial of In-Home Family Services for Families of a Child with Emotional/Behavioral Issues (in press). Journal of Family Psychology
Mason, W. A., Chmelka, M.B.,
Patwardhan, I., Savolainen, J., Miettunen, J., & Järvelin, M. R. (2019). Associations of Cumulative Contextual Risk with Academic Performance and Substance Involvement: Tests of Moderation by Child Reading Engagement.
Substance Use and Misuse, 54 (10), 1679-1690.
Patwardhan I., Mason, W. A., Chmelka, B., Savolainen, J., Miettunen, J., & Jarvelin, M. R. (2019). Prospective Relations between Alexithymia, Substance Use and Depression: Findings from a National Birth Cohort.
Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 73(6), 340-348.
