Child Anxiety and Mood Lab

About

We are a developmental psychopathology laboratory that conducts multi-method, multi-informant longitudinal research to better understand childhood risk for the onset and course of anxiety, mood dysregulation and related difficulties (e.g., eating disorders). We investigate factors such as child temperament, psychosocial functioning, stressors, sleep, as well as parenting behavior and psychopathology We are particularly interested in characterizing the spectrum of emotions and behaviors in preschool-aged children to better understand risk for psychological difficulties over time. We use intensive longitudinal methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment), questionnaires, diagnostic interviews, structured laboratory observations and behavioral tasks and physiological assessment.

Key Research Areas

Developmental psychopathology
Child psychology
Anxiety
Mood dysregulation (e.g., irritability, depression)
Temperament
Sleep
Interoception
Parenting
Stress
Eating disorders

Current Projects

Youth Eating Study (YES)
Child and Parent Emotions & Sleep Study (ChESS)
Daily Interactions and Life with Young Children Study (DAILY)
Pediatric Providers’ Experiences Assessing Young Children’s Anxiety and Mood (PEDS) study
Preschool Emotion Project (PEP)

Recent Publications

Alacha, H. F., Isaac, A., Gemmell, N., Dougherty, L. R., Olino, T. M., & Bufferd, S. J. (In press). Comparison of baseline and daily ratings of associations between anxiety and depressive behaviors and impairment in preschool-aged children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. doi: 10.1007/s10578-024-01697-z
Alacha, H. F., Lefler, E. K., & Bufferd, S. J. (In press). Important mechanisms in the development of anxiety in children with ADHD: The role of associated features of ADHD and interpersonal relationships. Child Psychiatry & Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01796-x
Rodriguez, A., Isaac, A., Dougherty, L. R., Klein, D. N., & Bufferd, S. J. (2025). Sleep difficulties across preschool age: Associations with parenting behavior and parental psychopathology. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 34, 1031-1047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-025-03020-3
Isaac, A., Bufferd, S. J., & Mekawi, Y. (2025). Racism and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning in childhood as risks for health disparities across the lifespan. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 176, 107416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107416
Bufferd, S. J., Isaac, A., Olino, T., M., & Dougherty, L. R. (2024). Mapping the duration and severity of preschool-aged children’s depressive behaviors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 65, 1156-1164. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13954
Grieshaber, A., Silver, J., Bufferd, S. J., Dougherty, L. R., Carlson, G. A., & Klein, D. N. (2024). Early childhood anxiety disorders: continuity and predictors in adolescence. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 1817-1825.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02287-5
Maldonado, A., Gonzalez, R., Bufferd, S.J., Garcia, D.O., & D’Anna-Hernandez, K. (2024). Psychosocial determinants of mental health care use among Mexican-origin women from farmworker families in southern California. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 51, 90-100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-023-09860-5
Isaac, A., Rodriguez, A., D’Anna-Hernandez, K., Gemmell, N., Acedo, G., Dougherty, L. R., & Bufferd, S. J. (2023). Preschool-aged children’s hair cortisol and parents’ behavior, psychopathology, and stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 151,106052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106052
Bufferd, S. J., Olino, T. M., & Dougherty, L. R. (2023). Quantifying severity of preschool-aged children’s internalizing behaviors: A daily diary analysis. Assessment, 30, 190-209. doi: 10.1177/10731911211046661
Bufferd, S. J., Levinson, C. A., Olino, T. M., Dougherty, L. R., Dyson, M. W., Carlson, G. A., & Klein, D. N. (2022). Temperament and psychopathology in early childhood predict body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms in adolescence. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 151, 104039. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104039
Chad-Friedman, E., Leppert, K. A., Olino, T. M., Bufferd, S. J., & Dougherty, L. R. (2022). Affective dynamics and mean levels of preschool irritability and sadness: Predictors of children’s psychological functioning two years later. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 53, 244-255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01121-w
Leppert, K. A., Bufferd, S. J., Olino, T. M., & Dougherty, L. R. (2019). A daily diary analysis of preschool depressive behaviors: Prospective associations and moderators across 14 days. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47, 1547-1558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00535-4
Bufferd, S. J., Dougherty, L. R., & Olino, T. M. (2019). Mapping the frequency and severity of anxiety in preschool-aged children. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 63, 9-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.01.006
Bufferd, S. J., Dougherty, L. R., Olino, T. M., Dyson, M. W., Carlson, G. A., & Klein, D. N. (2018). Temperament distinguishes persistent/recurrent from remitting anxiety disorders across early childhood. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 47, 1004-1013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2016.1212362
30. Bufferd, S. J., Dougherty, L. R., & Olino, T. M. (2017). Mapping the frequency and severity of depressive behaviors in preschool-aged children. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 48, 934–943. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10578-017-0715-2
Bufferd, S. J., Dyson, M. W., Hernandez, I. G., & Wakschlag, L. S. (2016). Explicating the “developmental” in preschool psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti (Ed.), Developmental Psychopathology, Third Edition (pp. 152-186). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Team

Sara Bufferd, Lab Director

Sara.Bufferd@louisville.edu | 502-852-9174
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Akira Isaac, M.S., Ph.D. Student
Alyssa Rodriguez, A.L.B.m Ph.D. Student
Loie Faulkner, M.S., Ph.D. Student
Lucy Block, B.A., Ph.D. Student
Rakshitha Yelimineti, B.A., Ph.D. Student
Aubrey Hoffer, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Amy Jordan, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Thu Nguyen, B.S., Study Coordinator
Anna Jane Anderson, B.S., Study Coordinator