Department of
Psychological and Brain Sciences

• Clinical Science
• Developmental Psychology

• Developmental Psychopathology
• Behavior Genetics
• Family Systems
• Pharmacoepidemiology

My research, rooted in the field of developmental psychopathology, explores the causes and treatments of child and adolescent psychopathology through three main approaches: quasi-experimental designs, longitudinal analyses, and intervention studies.

First, we use several advanced designs that rigorously test alternative hypotheses when we examine how specific environmental risk and protective factors influence the psychopathology. In particular, we use within-individual comparisons (e.g., we examine the risks of ADHD medication use when the same individual is on and off medication), sibling-comparisons (e.g., we compare siblings who are differentially exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy), cousin-comparisons (e.g., we study cousins who are differentially exposed to parental suicide), and offspring of twins (e.g., we study the offspring of identical twins who differed in their age at first childbearing).

Longitudinal analyses constitute the second major research program that we are using to study causal mechanisms. One of the main limitations of cross-sectional research is the inability to account for reciprocal influences. We, therefore, analyze longitudinal studies to examine the development of children's adjustment over time and how environmental factors influence and are influenced by individuals. Longitudinal analyses also provide the opportunity to whether there are sensitive periods of development.

Our third major research approach is the use of intervention studies. We are primarily focused on intervention studies for couples going through divorce/separation. Please note this research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Amy Holtzworth-Munroe.

Quinn, P.D., Hur, K., Chang, Z., Krebs, E.E., Bair, M.J., Scott, E.L., Rickert, M.E., Gibbons, R. D., Kroenke, K., and D’Onofrio, B.M. (2017). Incident and long-term opioid therapy among patients with psychiatric conditions and medications: A national study of commercial healthcare claims. Pain, 158, 140-148.

Sujan, A.C., Rickert, M.E., Oberg, A.S., Quinn, P.D., Hernandez-Diaz, S., Almqvist, C., Lichtenstein, P., Larsson, H., & D’Onofrio, B.M. (2017). Associations of Maternal Antidepressant Use during the First Trimester of Pregnancy with Preterm Birth, Small for Gestational Age, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring. JAMA, 317, 1553-1562. .

Bramson, L.M., Rickert, M.E., Class, Q.A., Sariaslan, A., Almqvist, C., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P., & D'Onofrio, B.M. (2016). The association between childhood relocations and subsequent risk of suicide attempt, psychiatric problems, and low academic achievement. Psychological Medicine, 46, 969-979. .

Chang, Z., D’Onofrio, B.M., Quinn, P.D., Lichtenstein, P., Larsson, H. (2016). Medication for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Risk for Depression: A Nationwide Longitudinal Cohort Study. Biological Psychiatry, 80, 916-922. .

D’Onofrio, B.M., Class, Q.A., Rickert, M.E., Sujan, A.C., Larsson, H., Kuja-Halkola, R., Sjölander, A., Almqvist, C., Lichtenstein, P., Oberg, A.S. (2016). Translational epidemiologic approaches to understanding the consequences of early-life exposures. Behavior Genetics, 46, 315-328. PM.

Class, Q.A., Rickert, M., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P., & D’Onofrio, B.M., (2014). Fetal growth and psychiatric and socioeconomic problems: Population-based sibling comparison. British Journal of Psychiatry, 205, 355-361.

D’Onofrio, B.M., Class, Q.A., Lahey, B.B., Larsson, H. (2014). Testing the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis for psychopathology using family-based quasi-experimental designs. Child Development Perspectives, 8, 151-157.

D’Onofrio, B.M., Rickert, M.E., Frans, E., Kuja-Halkola, R., Almqvist, C., Sjölander, A., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P. (2014). Paternal age at childbearing and offspring psychiatric and academic morbidity. JAMA Psychiatry, 71, 432-438.

Class, Q.A., Khashan, A.S., Lichtenstein, P., Långström, N., & D’Onofrio, B.M. (2013). Maternal stress and infant mortality: The importance of the preconception period. Psychological Science, 24, 1309-1316.

Coyne, C. A., Långström, N., Rickert, M.E., Lichtenstein, P. & D’Onofrio, B.M. (2013). Maternal age at first birth and offspring criminality: Using the children-of-twins design to test causal hypotheses. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 17-35.

D’Onofrio, B.M., Class, Q.A., Rickert, M.E., Larsson, H., Långström, N., Lichtenstein, P. (2013). Preterm birth and mortality and morbidity: A quasi-experimental study. JAMA Psychiatry, 70, 1231-1240.

D’Onofrio, B.M., Lahey, B.B., Turkheimer, E., & Lichtenstein, P. (2013). The critical need for family-based, quasi-experimental research in integrating genetic and social science research. American Journal of Public Health, 103, S46-S55.

Donahue, K.L., D’Onofrio, B.M., Lichtenstein, P., & Långström, N. (2013). Why does early sexual intercourse predict subsequent maladjustment? Exploring potential familial confounds. Health Psychology, 32, 180–189.

D’Onofrio, B.M., Rickert, M.E., Långström, N., Donahue, K.L., Coyne, C.A., Larsson, H., Ellingson, J.M., Van Hulle, C.A., Iliadou, A.N., Rathouz, P.J., Lahey, B.B., Lichtenstein, P. (2012). Familial confounding of the associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring substance use and problems. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 1140-1150.

D’Onofrio, B.M., Van Hulle, C.A., Goodnight, J.A., Rathouz, P.J., Lahey, B.B. (2012). Is maternal smoking during pregnancy a causal environmental risk factor for adolescent antisocial behavior? Testing etiological theories and assumptions. Psychological Medicine, 42, 1535–1545.

• Clinical Science
• Developmental Psychology