Parenting and Children's Resilience in Military Families

Abigail Gewirtz's primary interests are in trauma, resilience, and promoting children’s healthy development with two distinct but interrelated research foci: the impact of exposure to traumatic stressors on parenting and child functioning, and the development, testing, and widespread implementation of family-based interventions. She is Principal Investigator on a National Institute of Drug Abuse-funded randomized controlled trial to develop and test a web-enhanced parenting program for National Guard families with parents returning from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Gewirtz also directs Ambit Network, a SAMHSA/National Child Traumatic Stress Network Community Services and Treatment center focusing on the implementation of evidence-based interventions for traumatized school-aged children and their parents. Other studies currently underway include a study of families exposed to rocket attacks on the Israel-Gaza border, and a randomized preference trial to examine motivational cognitions and parent preferences for delivery format of parenting interventions. Dr. Gewirtz has written and has presented widely at both the local and national level on prevention and intervention for highly stressed children.