Personal Summary

Generally I am interested in parent-child relationships such as attachment and child guidance

At present my research focuses on the assessment of child guidance techniques used by parents.  We are developing two methodologies.  One relies on coding parents' responses to open-ended questions about what the parent might do given a particular scenario requiring child guidance.  The other also presents scenarios but requires that parents rate possible parent responses and justifications.  We anticipate that these measures will be more valid than most other non-observational techniques that currently exist and that they may be used to assess risk for abuse or neglect.

Recent thesis and dissertations I have supervised include a study of the effectiveness of an attachment-based early intervention program (Circle of Security), an examination of aspects of parental style as a mediator of the effects of parental depression on child adjustment; the effects of the father-daughter relationship on risky behaviors of adolescents; the effects of brief psychoeducation on adolescents' depression and perception of parents.

My other research interests focus on children's understanding of mental processes and metaphor, development of an observational measure of attachment style in school-aged children, examining how young children cope with exposure to parental discord, and how this contributes to psychopathology, studying the efficacy of psychotherapy for children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder.  My applied interests include child and family psychotherapy, psychotherapy for attachment disorders, and parenting plan and parental competence evaluations. I am also interested evolutionary theory and nonhuman primates' understanding of mind, and have written occasionally on that topic.

 

 

Education

Clinical re-specialization, The University of Montana, 1992, Child Clinical emphasis

Ph.D., The University of Georgia, 1977, Developmental Psychology. 

M.S., The University of Georgia, 1974, Developmental Psychology

B.A., Bucknell University, 1970, Psychology

Courses Taught

Psych 240 - Developmental Psychology
Psych 336 - Child & Adolescent Psychological Disorders

Psych 540 - Advanced Developmental Psychology

Psych 534 - Applied Clinical Methods
Psych 545 - Field Placement in Developmental Psychology
Psych 546 - Theories of Psychological Development

Psych 649 - Seminar in Developmental Psychology Psych

536 - Advanced Child and Adolescent Psychological Disorders

Projects

 

         

 

Field of Study

Parent-child relationships (especially attachment, attachment disorders, and child guidance), cognitive-emotional interaction in children, cognitive development, developmental psychopathology 

Selected Publications

Rostad, W. L., Silverman, P., & Mcdonald, M. M. (in press). Daddy’s little girl goes to college:

An investigation of females’ perceived closeness with fathers and later risky behaviors. Journal of American College Health.

Silverman, P. (2011). My mentor Ernst von Glasersfeld. Constructivist Foundations, 6, (2), 166-167.

Silverman, P. (2006). The cascade effect of poverty. The Prevention Connection, 11 (2), 1-3.

Cook, W.J., Painter, L.T., & Silverman, P. (2004). The application of therapeutic storytelling techniques with preadolescent children: a clinical description with illustrative case study. Psychotherapy and Private Practice, 11, 243-248.

Painter, L.,Cook, W.J., & Silverman, P.S. (1999). The effects of therapeutic storytelling and behavioral parent training on noncompliant behavior in young boys. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 21, 47-66.

Silverman, P,1997, A pragmatic approach to the inference of animal mind In R. W. Mitchell, N. S. Thompson, & H. L. Miles (Eds.) Anthropomorphism, Anecdotes and Animals: The Emperor's New Clothes. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press

Silverman, P., & Retzlaff, P., 1986, Cognitive state regression through hypnosis: Are earlier cognitive states retrievable? International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 34, 192-204

Silverman, P., 1986, Can a pigtail macaque learn to manipulate a thief? In R. W. Mitchell & N. S. Thompson (Eds.) Deception: Perspectives on human and nonhuman deceit. NY: Suny Press.

Silverman, P. 1983 Attributing mind to animals: The role of intuition Journal of Social and Biological Structures, 6, 231-247

Recent Presentations:

(* posters by my undergraduate students)

*Hinkle, A., Jackson, L.A., & Powers, A.M. (2013). Defeating the social desirability bias in

          child abusers. Poster presentation: University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate

         Research.

*Copeland, E., Helmer, R.C., Hogan, M.D., Jackson, L.A., Markuson, S.M., & Poss, L.R.

            (2013). Assessing maladaptive parenting through the use of follow-up questions to

            counter attempts to “fake good.” Poster presentation: University of Montana Conference

            on Undergraduate Research.

Rostad, W. L. & Silverman, P. (2012, April). The Influence of Dad: An Investigation of

            Adolescent Females’ Perceived Closeness with Fathers, Impulsivity, and Risky

            Behaviors. Paper presented at the Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conference.

            Missoula, MT.

Rostad, W. L. & Silverman, P. (2012, March). The Influence of Dad: An Investigation of

            Adolescent Females’ Perceived Closeness with Fathers, Impulsivity, and Risky

            Behaviors. Poster presented at the 14th Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial

            Meeting. Vancouver, BC, Canada.

*Walsh, J. & Petrie, J. (2012). Catching abusers when they lie. Poster presentation: University of

            Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research.

*Chan, K., Chapieski, T., Gahagan, K., & Stoker. N. (2012). Can the motivation of child abusers

            to "fake good" be negated through an interview? Poster presentation: University of

            Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research.

*O’Connell, B. & Kowalski, P. (2012). Empathy and narcissism as predictors of child abuse.  

            Poster presentation: University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research.

*Caquelin, K., Jackson, L., linsey, Powers, A., Foster, J.S., Ruby, C.M., & Kees, K. (2012). 

            Some risk factors for child abuse. Poster presentation: University of Montana Conference

            on Undergraduate Research.

*Anderson, S., Bjerke, M., Gahagan, K., & Walsh, J. (2011).Intergenerational transmission of

            child physical abuse. Poster presentation: University of Montana Conference on

            Undergraduate Research.

*Caqueline, K.,  Chapieski, T., Scullin, S.P., & Walsh, J.K. (2011).  Preventing the social

            desirability bias in parental assessments: a comparison of measures. Poster presentation:

            University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research.

*Ingman, H. (2010). Predicting child abuse potential. Poster presentation: National Conference

            on Undergraduate Research.

*Ingman, H. (2009). Coding system for the trantruming scenario on the Child Guidance

            Interview. Poster presentation: University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate

            Research.
Rostad, W. & Silverman, P. (2011). The Influence of Dad: An Investigation of Adolescent

            Females’ Perceived Closeness with Fathers, Impulsivity, and Risky Behaviors. Poster

            presented at the 14^th Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting. Vancouver,

            BC, Canada.

Campfield, D., Silverman, P., Wallace, K. & Fiore, C. (2005). Perceived experience of abuse and shelter stay

            of battered women and their children. Poster presentation: 10th Annual Family Violence Conference, San

            Diego, CA,  9/2005

Campfield, D., Wallace, K., Silverman,P., Fiore, C. Battered women: perceived impact of abuse on parenting and 

            parent child relationships. Poster presentation: Oklahoma University Health Science Center Research

            Conference, Oklahoma City, OK,  6/2007.

Simon-Thomas, J., Kamman, T.J., Silverman, P. & Rothman, W.M.. (2001), Child coping moderates the effects of

             interparental conflict on child adjustment. Poster presented at Society for Research in Child Development,

            Minneapolis, MN.

Simon-Thomas, J., Pray, N., Silverman, P., & Fiore, C. (2000). Flagship Evaluation Report. (Presented to the

            Montana Interagency Coordinating Council), Helena, MT.

Byrne, C., & Silverman, P. (1999). Examination of a humanistic immersion intervention with an autistic child. Poster

             presented at the Western Psychological Association.

Rothman, W., Kamman, T., Simon-Thomas, J., McLean, D., Meyers, V., Planalp, C., Pyfer, L., & Silverman, P.

              (1999). The relationship between regulation of emotional complexity and the use of denial as a coping

              strategy in children. Poster presented at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Fort Collins,

              CO.

Silverman, P., Kamman, T., & Terwilliger, L. (1999). Effects of emotional understanding and parental discord on

                children psychological adjustment. Poster presented at Society for Research in Child Development.

Simon-Thomas, J., Kamman, T., Terwilliger, L., McLean, D., & Silverman, P. (1999). Young children’s coping

                responses to fictitious and recalled parental conflict as predictors of behavioral adjustment. Poster

                presented at Rocky Mountain Psychological Association.

Langley, R., Henrie, D., Slut ky, K., Ziegler, S., Kamman, T., & Silverman, P. Children's understanding of emotion:

                an ongoing study. Montana Psychological Association, May 2, 1998.

Painter, L., Silverman, P., & Cook, W. Effects of therapeutic storytelling and parent training on childhood

                 psychopathology. Poster presentation at the Joint RegionalConference, WPA-RMPA, Albuquerque, New

                Mexico, April 16-19, 1998.

 

Specialized Skills

Clinical Psychology

Hobbies

Wooden boats, woodwork, sailing, skiing, playing the concertina, reading, playing with my grandchildren!