Biography and Expertise
Research Interests: Clinical child psychology, developmental psychopathology, externalizing behavior problems, self-regulation, school readiness, developmental cognitive neuroscience
Research Tags:
- Clinical Science
- Development
- Developmental Disorders
- Developmental Psychopathology
- EEG/ERP
- Emotion
- Executive Function
- Language and Communication
- Psychopathology
- Stress
- Temperament
Dr. Isaac T. Petersen is interested in how children develop individual differences in adjustment, including behavior problems as well as competencies. He is particularly interested in the development of externalizing behavior problems and underlying self-regulation difficulties. Dr. Petersen's primary research interests include how children develop self-regulation as a function of bio-psycho-social processes including brain functioning, genetics, parenting, temperament, language, and sleep, and how self-regulation in turn influences adjustment and school readiness.
He is also interested in ways to measure change over lengthy spans of development using different measures over time to account for changes in how constructs manifest with development (i.e., heterotypic continuity).
Primary Research Area:
- Clinical Psychology
Training Areas:
- Clinical Science
Research Group:
- Developmental Psychopathology
- Developmental Science
The Developmental Psychopathology Lab conducts research to understand how children develop behavior problems as well as positive adjustment. We have been particularly interested in externalizing behavior problems, such as aggressive, disruptive, and noncompliant behavior. We focus on the development of individual differences in self-regulation skills and the consequences of children’s self-regulation skills for their school readiness.
Dr. Isaac T. Petersen is interested in how children develop individual differences in adjustment, including behavior problems as well as competencies. He is particularly interested in the development of externalizing behavior problems and underlying self-regulation difficulties. Dr. Petersen's primary research interests include how children develop self-regulation as a function of bio-psycho-social processes including brain functioning, genetics, parenting, temperament, language, and sleep, and how self-regulation in turn influences adjustment and school readiness.