Dr. Booth-LaForce is Professor and Vice-Chair of Family & Child Nursing, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Affiliate, Center on Human Development and Disability and Affiliate, Center on Infant Mental Health and Development. Dr. Booth-LaForce's primary research interest is the social-emotional development of children. In longitudinal projects that follow children from infancy to adolescence, she investigates early experiences in various contexts to examine how these experiences affect children's development.

Dr. Booth-LaForce is one of the principal investigators of a 10-site national longitudinal study involving over 1200 families nationwide. In the study, she and her colleagues are using an ecological model to examine the effects of various aspects of child care, the home environment, school, and the out-of-school environment on children's cognition, language, social-emotional development, and health. In another longitudinal project, she is collaborating with other investigators to study the friendships and social-emotional adjustment of aggressive, socially withdrawn, and socially competent adolescents as they transition into high school.

Publications
Booth, C.L., Clarke-Stewart, K., Vandell, D.L., McCartney, K., & Owen, M.T. (2002). Child care usage and mother infant "quality time." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 16-26.

Booth, C. L., & Kelly, J. F. (2002). Child care effects on the development of toddlers with special needs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 171-196.

Vandell, D. L., McCartney, K., Owen, M. T., Booth, C. L., & Clarke-Stewart, K. A. (2003). Variations in grandparent care during the first three years. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 65, 375-381.

Booth, C. L., Kelly, J. F., Spieker, S. J., & Zuckerman, T. G. (2003). Toddlers' attachment security to child-care providers: The Safe and Secure Scale. Early Education & Development, 14, 83-100.

McElwain, N. L., & Booth-LaForce, C. (in press) Maternal sensitivity to infant distress and non-distress as predictors of infant-mother attachment security. Journal of Family Psychology.