Jacqueline Sims Awarded Grant to Study Black Maternal Depression
Jacqueline Sims Awarded Grant to Study Black Maternal Depression
Jacqueline Sims, a research scientist in educational leadership & policy studies at BU Wheelock, has received a research grant from the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) National Science Foundation Research Grants program to support her study, “Prospective Links Between Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Children’s School Readiness Skills and Well-Being among Black/African American Families: Early Care and Education as a Protective Resource.”
Sims will examine depressive symptoms in Black mothers and their effect on their children’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. Drawing from a nationally representative sample, she will investigate whether rates of depressive symptoms differ for Black mothers from different socioeconomic and immigrant backgrounds and how early care and education settings can support children of mothers experiencing depressive symptoms.
“Extensive research has demonstrated the strain that racism places on mental health,” says Sims. “I am grateful for the opportunity to focus on depressive symptoms among Black mothers and how they are linked with Black children’s well-being.”
Throughout the project, Sims will collaborate with Olivia Chi, an assistant professor in educational leadership & policy studies, whose research uses quantitative methods to study the economics of education, with a focus on policies that reduce educational inequality.
At BU Wheelock, Dr. Sims works with the RISER (Researchers Investigating Sociocultural Equity and Race) Network at the Center on the Ecology of Early Development. In this role, her works focuses on examining how racism impacts health and education opportunities for Black children.
CEED Director Stephanie Curenton credits Sims with being the driving force behind the center’s expanding work in health equity. “We look forward to this new opportunity to explore this area, which has critical significance for children and families,” she says.
Sims’s study is one of eight that were selected to receive an award from the AERA’s National Science Foundation Research Grants program, which provides funding for faculty at institutions of higher education, postdoctoral researchers, and other doctoral level scholars studying educational research and STEM.
“Too often, research does not take into consideration the diversity of Black families,” says Sims. “This study will provide a rich description of experiences across Black families from different socioeconomic, language, and nativity backgrounds.”