Sigan Hartley, PhD

Position title: Professor, 100 Women Chair in Human Ecology

PhD, University of Wyoming
Associate Director, Training
Professor, Human Development & Family Studies

Contact Information

Waisman Center
1500 Highland Ave
Room 559
Madison, WI 53705
608.262.8860
slhartley@wisc.edu
Lab Website: Hartley Lab

Research Statement

My research examines the individual resources and family contexts underlying positive well-being in adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, down syndrome, and fragile X syndrome are lifelong conditions. Yet research and services are heavily focused on the early stages of the life course; relatively little is known about the mechanisms promoting well-being during adulthood. Even less is known about the experiences and well-being of aging parents, and particularly fathers, who have an adult child with a developmental disability. My research explores the biological and environmental risk and resiliency factors related to psychological and physical well-being in aging parents caring for adult children with developmental disabilities.

The challenges of parenting a child with a developmental disability or mental health condition can take a toll on marriages. One line of my research is focused on understanding the factors that promote resiliency in marriages in the context of stressful parenting. My research also examines the bidirectional relation between marital quality and child psychological well-being and functioning across the lifespan.

I am also interested in understanding the factors contributing to mental health disorders and the experience of stress in adults with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. My research explores how biological, cognitive, and behavioral factors interact with the environmental context, including the family, support services, and broader community, to contribute to these experiences. The long-term objective of this research is to develop interventions aimed at promoting effective emotion regulation and adaptive coping to improve the psychological well-being of adults with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. The research in my lab is done in collaboration with other Waisman Center Investigators including Marsha Mailick Seltzer, Jan Greenberg, Leonard Abbeduto, and Brad Christian.

Selected Publications

Pubmed

Fleming, V., Piro-Gambetti, B., Handen, B., Christian, B. T., Cohen, A., Tudorascu, D., Plante, D. T., Okonkwo, O., & Hartley, S. L. (2022). Physical activity and physical and mental health in middle-aged adults with Down syndrome. Journal of policy and practice in intellectual disabilities, 19(4), 408–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12434
Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Hartley, S., Hom, C., Pulsifer, M., Clare, I., Handen, B. L., Lott, I. T., Schupf, N., Silverman, W., & Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium—Down Syndrome (ABC‐DS) Investigators (2022). A modified Cued Recall Test for detecting prodromal AD in adults with Down syndrome. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 14(1), e12361. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12361
Hartley, S. L., Fleming, V., Piro-Gambetti, B., Cohen, A., Ances, B. M., Yassa, M. A., Brickman, A. M., Handen, B. L., Head, E., Mapstone, M., Christian, B. T., Lott, I. T., Doran, E., Zaman, S., Krinsky-McHale, S., Schmitt, F. A., Hom, C., Schupf, N., & ABC-DS Group (2022). Impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on daily life, mood, and behavior of adults with Down syndrome. Disability and Health Journal, 15(3), 101278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101278
Greenlee, J. L., Piro-Gambetti, B., Putney, J., Papp, L. M., & Hartley, S. L. (2022). Marital satisfaction, parenting styles, and child outcomes in families of autistic children. Family process, 61(2), 941–961. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12708
Hartley, S. L., Handen, B. L., Tudorascu, D., Lee, L., Cohen, A., Piro-Gambetti, B., Zammit, M., Klunk, W., Laymon, C., Zaman, S., Ances, B. M., Sabbagh, M., & Christian, B. T. (2022). Role of tau deposition in early cognitive decline in Down syndrome. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 14(1), e12256. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12256
Padilla, C., Montal, V., Walpert, M. J., Hong, Y. T., Fryer, T. D., Coles, J. P., Aigbirhio, F. I., Hartley, S. L., Cohen, A. D., Tudorascu, D. L., Christian, B. T., Handen, B. L., Klunk, W. E., Holland, A. J., & Zaman, S. H. (2022). Cortical atrophy and amyloid and tau deposition in Down syndrome: A longitudinal study. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 14(1), e12288. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12288
Piro-Gambetti, B., Greenlee, J., Hickey, E. J., Putney, J. M., Lorang, E., & Hartley, S. L. (2022). Parental Depression Symptoms and Internalizing Mental Health Problems in Autistic Children. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 10.1007/s10803-022-05518-x. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05518-x
Kristensen, K., Lorenz, K. M., Zhou, X., Piro-Gambetti, B., Hartley, S. L., Godar, S. P., Diel, S., Neubauer, E., & Litovsky, R. Y. (2022). Language and executive functioning in young adults with Down syndrome. Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 66(1-2), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12868/10.1111/jir.12868
Bazydlo, A. M., Zammit, M. D., Wu, M., Lao, P. J., Dean, D. C., 3rd, Johnson, S. C., Tudorascu, D. L., Cohen, A., Cody, K. A., Ances, B., Laymon, C. M., Klunk, W. E., Zaman, S., Handen, B. L., Hartley, S. L., Alexander, A. L., & Christian, B. T. (2022). White matter microstructure associations to amyloid burden in adults with Down syndrome. NeuroImage. Clinical, 33, 102908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102908
Putney, J. M., Greenlee, J. L., & Hartley, S. L. (2021). Use and Benefit of Dyadic Coping for Couple Relationship Satisfaction in Parents of Children with Autism. Family process, 60(4):1331-1346. doi: 10.1111/famp.12617.
Fleming, V., Piro-Gambetti, B., Patrick, A., Zammit, M., Alexander, A., Christian, B. T., Handen, B., Cohen, A., Klunk, W., Laymon, C., Ances, B. M., Plante, D. T., Okonkwo, O., & Hartley, S. L. (2021). Physical activity and cognitive and imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in down syndrome. Neurobiology of aging, 107, 118–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.07.016
Greenlee, J. L., Stelter, C. R., Piro-Gambetti, B., & Hartley, S. L. (2021). Trajectories of Dysregulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 50(6), 858–873. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2021.1907752
Fortea, J., Zaman, S. H., Hartley, S., Rafii, M. S., Head, E., & Carmona-Iragui, M. (2021). Alzheimer’s disease associated with Down syndrome: a genetic form of dementia. The Lancet. Neurology, 20(11), 930–942. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(21)00245-3
Fleming, V., Piro-Gambetti, B., Bazydlo, A., Zammit, M., Alexander, A. L., Christian, B. T., Handen, B., Plante, D. T., & Hartley, S. L. (2021). Sleep and White Matter in Adults with Down Syndrome. Brain sciences, 11(10), 1322. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11101322
Piro-Gambetti, B., Rodriguez, G., Papp, L. M., Greenlee, J. L., & Hartley, S. L. (2021). Parent couple conflict and emotional and behavioral problems in youth with autism: Longitudinal investigation of bidirectional effects. Development and psychopathology, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579421000596
Zammit, M. D., Tudorascu, D. L., Laymon, C. M., Hartley, S. L., Ellison, P. A., Zaman, S. H., Ances, B. M., Johnson, S. C., Stone, C. K., Sabbagh, M. N., Mathis, C. A., Klunk, W. E., Cohen, A. D., Handen, B. L., & Christian, B. T. (2021). Neurofibrillary tau depositions emerge with subthreshold cerebral beta-amyloidosis in down syndrome. NeuroImage. Clinical, 31, 102740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102740
Bazydlo, A., Zammit, M., Wu, M., Dean, D., Johnson, S., Tudorascu, D., Cohen, A., Cody, K., Ances, B., Laymon, C., Klunk, W., Zaman, S., Handen, B., Alexander, A., Christian, B., & Hartley, S. (2021). White matter microstructure associations with episodic memory in adults with Down syndrome: a tract-based spatial statistics study. Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 13(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-021-09366-1
Zammit, M. D., Tudorascu, D. L., Laymon, C. M., Hartley, S. L., Zaman, S. H., Ances, B. M., Johnson, S. C., Stone, C. K., Mathis, C. A., Klunk, W. E., Cohen, A. D., Handen, B. L., & Christian, B. T. (2021). PET measurement of longitudinal amyloid load identifies the earliest stages of amyloid-beta accumulation during Alzheimer’s disease progression in Down syndrome. NeuroImage, 228, 117728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117728
Petersen, M. E., Rafii, M. S., Zhang, F., Hall, J., Julovich, D., Ances, B. M., Schupf, N., Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Mapstone, M., Silverman, W., Lott, I., Klunk, W., Head, E., Christian, B., Foroud, T., Lai, F., Diana Rosas, H., Zaman, S., Wang, M. C., Tycko, B., … Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium –Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) (2021). Plasma Total-Tau and Neurofilament Light Chain as Diagnostic Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Adults with Down Syndrome. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease : JAD, 79(2), 671–681. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-201167
Zammit, M. D., Laymon, C. M., Tudorascu, D. L., Hartley, S. L., Piro-Gambetti, B., Johnson, S. C., Stone, C. K., Mathis, C. A., Zaman, S. H., Klunk, W. E., Handen, B. L., Cohen, A. D., & Christian, B. T. (2021). Patterns of glucose hypometabolism in Down syndrome resemble sporadic Alzheimer’s disease except for the putamen. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 12(1), e12138. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12138
Papp, L. M., Drastal, K. C., Lorang, E. K., & Hartley, S. L. (2020). Mother-father physiological synchrony during conflict and moderation by parenting challenges: Findings from parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare, 38(4), 476–481. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000525
Hartley, S. L., Handen, B. L., Devenny, D., Tudorascu, D., Piro-Gambetti, B., Zammit, M. D., Laymon, C. M., Klunk, W. E., Zaman, S., Cohen, A., & Christian, B. T. (2020). Cognitive indicators of transition to preclinical and prodromal stages of Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 12(1), e12096. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12096
Cody, K. A., Piro-Gambetti, B., Zammit, M. D., Christian, B. T., Handen, B. L., Klunk, W. E., Zaman, S., Johnson, S. C., Plante, D. T., & Hartley, S. L. (2020). Association of sleep with cognition and beta amyloid accumulation in adults with Down syndrome. Neurobiology of aging, 93, 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.04.018
Mihaila, I., Handen, B. L., Christian, B. T., & Hartley, S. L. (2020). Leisure activity in middle-aged adults with Down syndrome: Initiators, social partners, settings and barriers. Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID, 33(5), 865–875. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12706
Handen, B. L., Lott, I. T., Christian, B. T., Schupf, N., OBryant, S., Mapstone, M., Fagan, A. M., Lee, J. H., Tudorascu, D., Wang, M. C., Head, E., Klunk, W., Ances, B., Lai, F., Zaman, S., Krinsky-McHale, S., Brickman, A. M., Rosas, H. D., Cohen, A., Andrews, H., … Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium‐Down Syndrome (ABC‐DS) (2020). The Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome: Rationale and methodology. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 12(1), e12065. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12065
Lorang E, Hartley S, Sterling A. (2020). Physiological arousal and observed behaviour in parent-child interactions involving young children with Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 64(6):426-433. doi: 10.1111/jir.12714. Epub 2020 Jan 23. PMID: 31971300; PMCID: PMC7237288.
Rubenstein E, Hartley S, Bishop L. (2020). Epidemiology of Dementia and Alzheimer Disease in Individuals With Down Syndrome. JAMA Neurology, 1;77(2):262-264. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.3666.
Hartley SL, DaWalt LS, Hong J, Greenberg JS, Mailick MR. (2019). Positive Emotional Support in Premutation Carrier Mothers of Adolescents and Adults With Fragile X Syndrome: Gene by Environment Interactions. American Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 124(5):411-426. doi: 10.1352/1944-7558-124.5.411.
Goetz GL, Rodriguez G, Hartley SL. (2019). Actor-partner examination of daily parenting stress and couple interactions in the context of child autism. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(5):554-564. doi: 10.1037/fam0000527.
Mihaila I, Handen BL, Christian BT, Lao PJ, Cody KA, Klunk WE, Tudorascu DL, Cohen AD, Okonkwo OC, Hartley SL. (2019). Leisure Activity, Brain β-amyloid, and Episodic Memory in Adults with Down Syndrome. Developmental Neurobiology, 79(7):738-749. doi: 10.1002/dneu.22677.
Rodriguez G, Hartley SL, Bolt D. (2019). Transactional Relations Between Parenting Stress and Child Autism Symptoms and Behavior Problems. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(5):1887-1898. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3845-x.
Tudorascu DL, Anderson SJ, Minhas DS, Yu Z, Comer D, Lao P, Hartley S, Laymon CM, Snitz BE, Lopresti BJ, Johnson S, Price JC, Mathis CA, Aizenstein HJ, Klunk WE, Handen BL, Christian BT, Cohen AD. (2019). Comparison of longitudinal Aβ in nondemented elderly and Down syndrome. Neurobiology of Aging, 73:171-176. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.09.030.
Hartley SL, Papp LM, Bolt D. (2018). Spillover of Marital Interactions and Parenting Stress in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2018;47(sup1):S88-S99. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2016.1152552.
Lao PJ, Handen BL, Betthauser TJ, Mihaila I, Hartley SL, Cohen AD, Tudorascu DL, Bulova PD, Lopresti BJ, Tumuluru RV, Murali D, Mathis CA, Barnhart TE, Stone CK, Price JC, Devenny DA, Johnson SC, Klunk WE, Christian BT. (2018). Alzheimer-Like Pattern of Hypometabolism Emerges with Elevated Amyloid-β Burden in Down Syndrome. Journal of Alzheimers Disease, 61(2):631-644. doi: 10.3233/JAD-170720.
Hartley SL, Handen BL, Devenny D, Mihaila I, Hardison R, Lao PJ, Klunk WE, Bulova P, Johnson SC, Christian BT. (2017) Cognitive decline and brain amyloid-β accumulation across 3 years in adults with Down syndrome. Neurobiology of Aging. 58:68-76.
Mihaila I, Hartley SL, Handen BL, Bulova PD, Tumuluru RV, Devenny DA, Johnson SC, Lao PJ, Christian BT. (2017) Leisure Activity and Caregiver Involvement in Middle-Aged and Older Adults With Down Syndrome. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 55(2):97-109.
Bussanich P, Hartley SL, Bolt D. (2017). Parental attributions for positive behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61(7):643-655. doi: 10.1111/jir.12373.
Hartley SL, DaWalt LS, Schultz HM. (2017). Daily Couple Experiences and Parent Affect in Families of Children with Versus Without Autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 47(6):1645-1658. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3088-2.
Lao PJ, Handen BL, Betthauser TJ, Mihaila I, Harley SL, Cohen AD, Tudorascu DL, Bulova PD, Lopresti BJ, Tumuluru RV, Murali D, Mathis CA, Barnhart TE, Stone CK, Price JC, Devenny DA, Mailick MR, Klunk WE, Johnson SC, Christian BT. (2017) Longitudinal changes in amyloid positron emission tomography and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging in the nondemented Down syndrome population. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 23(9):1-9.
Lao PJ, Betthauser TJ, Hillmer AT, Price JC, Klunk WE, Mihaila I, Higgins AT, Bulova PD, Hartley SL, Hardison R, Tumuluru RV, Murali D, Mathis CA, Cohen AD, Barnhart TE, Devenny DA, Mailick MR, Johnson SC, Handen BL, Christian BT. (2016) The effects of normal aging on amyloid-β deposition in nondemented adults with Down syndrome as imaged by carbon 11-labeled Pittsburgh compound B. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 12(4):380-390.
Hartley SL, Esbensen AJ, Shalev R, Vincent L, Mihaila I, Bussanich P. (2015) Cognitive behavioral therapy for depressed adults with mild intellectual disability: A Pilot Study. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 8(2):72-97. doi:10.1080/19315864.2015.1033573.
Mileviciute I, Hartley SL. (2015) Self-reported versus informant-reported depressive symptoms in adults with mild intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 59(2):158-69. doi: 10.1111/jir.12075.
Hartley SL, Wheeler AC, Mailick MR, Raspa M, Mihaila I, Bishop E, Bailey DB. (2015) Autism Symptoms Across Adulthood in Men with Fragile X Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(11):3668-79. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2513-7.
Hartley SL, Schultz HM. (2015) Support needs of fathers and mothers of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 45(6):1636-48. doi: 10.1007/s10803-014-2318-0.
Hartley SL, Handen BL, Devenny DA, Hardison R, Mihaila I, Price JC, Cohen AD, Klunk WE, Mailick MR, Johnson SC, Christian BT. (2014) Cognitive functioning in relation to brain amyloid-β in healthy adults with Down syndrome. Brain. 137(Pt 9):2556-63.
Hartley SL, Schaidle EM, Burnson CF. (2013) Parental attributions for the behavior problems of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. 34(9):651-60.
Hartley SL, Barker ET, Baker JK, Seltzer MM, Greenberg JS. (2012) Marital Satisfaction and Life Circumstances of Grown Children With Autism Across 7 Years. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(5):688-97. doi: 10.1037/a0029354.
Hartley SL, Seltzer MM, Head L, Abbeduto L. (2012) Psychological Well-being in Fathers of Adolescents and Young Adults with Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and Autism. Family Relations. Apr 1;61(2):327-342.
Hartley SL, Seltzer MM, Hong J, Greenberg JS, Smith L, Almeida D, Coe C, Abbeduto L. (2012) Cortisol response to behavior problems in FMR1 premutation mothers of adolescents and adults with fragile X syndrome: A diathesis-stress model. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Jan;36(1):53-61.
Hartley SL, Seltzer MM, Raspa M, Olmstead M, Bishop E, Bailey DB. (2011) Exploring the adult life of men and women with fragile X syndrome: results from a national survey. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Jan;116(1):16-35.
Hartley SL, Barker ET, Seltzer MM, Greenberg JS, Floyd FJ. (2011) Marital satisfaction and parenting experiences of mothers and fathers of adolescents and adults with autism. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Jan;116(1):81-95.
Barker ET, Hartley SL, Seltzer MM, Floyd FJ, Greenberg JS, Orsmond GI. (2011) Trajectories of emotional well-being in mothers of adolescents and adults with autism. Developmental Psychology. Mar;47(2):551-61.
Hartley SL, Barker ET, Seltzer MM, Floyd F, Greenberg J, Orsmond G, Bolt D. (2010) The relative risk and timing of divorce in families of children with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Family Psychology. Aug;24(4):449-57..