Citation

Byrd AL, Lee AH, Frigoletto OA, Zalewski M, Stepp SD. Dev. Psychopathol. 2021; 33(5): 1821-1836.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/s0954579421000948

PMID

36060231

PMCID

PMC9438406

Abstract

While the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) acknowledges that environmental and developmental influences represent important elements of the RDoC framework, there is little specificity regarding how and when to systematically examine the impact of these dimensions on domains of function. The primary aims of this paper are to demonstrate the ways in which the RDoC can be expanded to include an explicit emphasis on 1) examining within-individual change in developmental processes over time and 2) evaluating the extent to which selective and measurable environmental influences drive meaningful change during key developmental periods. We provide data from an ongoing randomized control trial as a proof of concept to highlight how repeated assessments within an experimental intervention design affords the unique opportunity to test the impact of environmental influences on within-individual change. Using preliminary data from 77 mother-child dyads repeatedly assessed across 12 months during the preschool period, we demonstrate the influence of changes in maternal emotion regulation (ER) on within-individual growth in child ER and link that growth to fewer teacher-reported externalizing problems. In line with this Special Issue, findings are discussed within the context of expanding and clarifying the existing RDoC framework to explicitly incorporate environmental and developmental dimensions.

Language: en

Keywords

preschool; trajectory; longitudinal; aggression; borderline personality disorder; dialectical behavior therapy; externalizing problems; intergenerational transmission