About
Lorraine McKelvey, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine within the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Her research program has focused primarily on understanding factors that place children at risk for less optimal development, such as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and other family and environmental risks. In addition to ACEs, her work has examined specific risk factors such as parental and family stress, family and environmental conflict and violence, and low socioeconomic status. Her work has explored the impact of ACEs, family, school, and community violence on children’s physical and behavioral health outcomes. She has also studied how environmental and demographic risks affect parenting. By identifying how risk factors operate, we gain knowledge about factors that promote resilience.
Dr. McKelvey is dedicated to discovering the most effective intervention strategies to support optimal parenting and child development. She has primarily studied parenting education provided in-home, or home visiting services. She directs the research for the state of Arkansas’ Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting projects (models including Healthy Families America, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, Parents as Teachers, and a promising approach known as Following Baby Back Home), and Family First Prevention Services (models including SafeCare, Family Centered Treatment, and Intercept).