Dr. Twomey's research interests include developmental outcomes of substance-exposed infants with Child Protective Service involvement, maternal risk factors and child developmental outcomes, long-term trajectories of participants of the RI Family Treatment Drug Court, and the impact of infant colic on maternal mental health.

Biography

Jean Twomey holds an MSW from the University of Michigan (1983) and a PhD in clinical social work from Smith College (1998). Her roles at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk include heading the social work component of the NIH longitudinal Maternal Lifestyle Study of prenatal cocaine/opiate exposure and child outcome. Her research includes developmental outcomes of substance exposed infants with Child Protective Service involvement, maternal risk factors and child developmental outcomes, and the trajectories of graduates from the RI Family Treatment Drug Court. She has worked as a child and family therapist for many years and continues to provide clinical services at the Infant Behavior, Cry and Sleep Clinic and Behavior and Development Clinic. Her clinical interests include disorders of infancy and early childhood, colic, parent-infant relationships, fathers, and perinatal substance users and their partners.

Institutions

Epb

Research Description

I am co-investigator on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded grant, After ASFA: Outcome of the Rhode Island Family Treatment Drug Court,that studies the trajectories of substance-using parents and their children's developmental outcome over the course of the 18 months following graduation from FTDC. This is a pioneering study on the relationships among FTDC, the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), and child protective services, and long-term follow-up of infant and parental outcomes following drug court involvement. I am also affiliated with the Maternal Lifestyle Study (MLS) and IDEAL, longitudinal studies on the effects of prenatal substance exposure on child development.

Awards

n/a

Affiliations

International Association of Women's Mental Health
International Society on Infant Studies
Massachusetts Association forPsychoanalytic Psychotherapy
National Association of Social Workers
Rhode Island Association for Infant Mental Health
Society for Research in Child Development

Funded Research

After ASFA: Outcome of the Rhode Island Family Treatment Drug Court. Robert Wood Johnson Substance Abuse Policy Research Program. Co-investigator (B. Lester, PI). November 2004 - October 2007. A study to investigate the long-term trajectories of graduates of the Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC), assess developmental outcomes of substance-exposed infants up to the age of 30 months and determine the success of FTDC in complying with the Adoption and Safe Families Act guidelines for permanent placement.

View My Full Publication List in pdf format

Selected Publications

• Twomey, J. E., Soave, R., Gil, L., & Lester, B. M. (2005). Permanency planning and social service systems: A comparison of two families with prenatally substance exposed infants, Infant Mental Health Journal, 26, 250-267.(2005)
• Lester, B. M., Boukydis, C. F. Z., & Twomey, J. E. (1999). Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Outcome. In: C. H. Zeanah, Jr. (Ed.) Handbook of Infant Mental Health Second Edition. New York: Guilford Press, 161-175.(1999)
• St-Andre, M. & Twomey, J. E. (1996). A transgenerational conceptualization of psychosomatic distress during pregnancy: Implications for infant mental health. Infant Mental Health Journal,17, 43-57.(1996)