Developmental Psychopathology Lab 
I use genetically informed designs, longitudinal analyses, and intervention studies to study the causes of child and adolescent psychopathology.
The overarching goal of my program of research is to advance understanding of children’s adaptation to stressors. I am especially interested in associations between child temperament and both mental health and immune functioning within the context of the stressor of interparental conflict, particularly focusing on the mechanisms through which stressors impact children and on identifying children for whom stress is particularly problematic.
I predominantly study fetal programming by examining the timing of prenatal maternal stress on neonatal, child, and adult psychological and health outcomes. I am currently using large, population-based, longitudinal datasets.
My research explores the etiology of conduct problems with a particular focus on sex differences in childhood conduct problems and adolescent delinquency.
I study the predictors and outcomes associated with adolescent sexual risk behavior through the use of longitudinal and genetically informative analyses. I am also interested in sexual health education and prevention programs as well as the relationship between mental and sexual health in other high-risk populations, such as individuals living with HIV.
I am broadly interested in the etiology of depression in children and adolescents. While research has highlighted an array of risk factors for depression, I am interested in learning more about the specific mechanisms by which these risk factors result in depression in some adolescents and not in others.
I am an assistant professor at the Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University. My research concerns the development and the prevention of antisocial behavior and related disorders using longitudinal and experimental designs. Recently, I have focused on the study of callous-unemotional traits in children. I am currently integrating twin model-fitting and brain imaging in my research to study developmental psychopathology.