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The Developmental Transitions Laboratory at UCR seeks to answer four fundamental questions surrounding the relationship between child development and psychopathology: 

    1. Why does psychopathology increase during the transition from childhood to adolescence?
    2. When does adolescent-onset psychopathology start and how does it develop over time?
    3. Why do some children experience such difficulties while others do not?
    4. What can we do to help children navigate the transition more smoothly?

Current research in our lab focuses on:

  • The role of puberty
  • Familial influences (e.g., parental psychopathology, parent-child relationships)
  • The impact of alternative family planning (e.g., infertility, adoption)
  • Child characteristics that function as both psychological risks and strengths in development
  • Prevention and translational science in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention and child safety education
By conducting developmental studies with children and families using various research designs, we hope to gain a better understanding of the emergence, change, stability, and desistance of psychological (mal)adjustment during childhood and adolescence. We believe that finding the answers to our questions is a pivotal step in the ultimate goal of informing parents and applied communities on how to promote healthy development in children and their families. 

Lab News

April 2026: A huge congratulations to DTL graduate student, Destyni Cravens, for presenting her research project at the 2026 Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Biennial Conference in Toronto, Canada!

 

April 2026: Congratulations to Christian for presenting his poster at SRA 2026 in Toronto Canada!

 

April 2026: Congratulations to Emily Fang DTL undergraduate RA for presenting her project at the Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Symposium 2026! Stellar work Emily!

 

You can take a look at past lab updates in our Archived News!