Paul Hastings

Paul Hastings is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He leads the Healthy Emotions, Relationships and Development Lab, focusing on developmental psychophysiology, prosocial behavior, and stress-related mechanisms in child and adolescent mental health. His research integrates neurobiological, psychosocial, and cultural factors to understand resilience and risk in diverse populations, including LGBTQ+ youth, Mexican-origin families, and populations affected by global health challenges like the iLiNS-DYAD-Ghana trial.

Research interests include prosocial development, stress physiology, family dynamics, and the biological embedding of social inequities. He has extensively studied the impact of adversity (e.g., poverty, trauma, pandemic stress) on children’s emotional and physiological outcomes. Recent work explores how cultural values, caregiving unpredictability, and nutritional interventions influence developmental trajectories.

His articles highlight themes like neurobiological correlates of psychopathology, the role of prosociality in pediatric health, and the intersection of social disadvantage with immune and endocrine systems. Key findings include associations between parasympathetic activity and antiviral gene expression, and how family thriving during crises buffers children’s well-being.

Students advised include R. T. Hodge, L. C. Partington, and E. Ugarte. His lab collaborates on international projects such as follow-ups of lipid-based nutrient supplement trials in Ghana and studies of stress responses post-displacement in Jordan.

He emphasizes translational research to improve interventions for vulnerable youth, integrating biopsychosocial frameworks with community-focused approaches. Current projects investigate biomarkers of resilience, cultural protective factors, and the neurobiology of moral emotions in ethnic minority children.