Correlated Risk Factors and Their Epistemological Consequences

UC San Diego School of Medicine

William Pelham, PhD is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a clinical child/adolescent psychologist licensed in the State of California. Dr. Pelham’s research focuses on externalizing spectrum psychopathology in children and adolescents.

Risk factors for pediatric psychopathology are almost always positively correlated (i.e., tend to co-occur). This seemingly benign premise implies a systematic bias wherein the effect of any given risk factor on an outcome will be exaggerated in the typical study. I present evidence that bias is likely large in magnitude and widespread in the literature. As a case study, I describe our recent research into the effects of parenting on externalizing psychopathology.

• Differentiate research findings that are trustworthy versus not
• Design research studies to achieve more clinically informative results
• Incorporate an understanding of correlated risk factors in case conceptualization

The Child Mind Institute Visiting Professor Lecture Series invites leaders in the field of child and adolescent mental health to talk about the latest research and treatment protocols. All events are open to the public. In partnership with Northwell Health, continuing medical education (CME) credits for psychiatrists and continuing education (CE) credits for psychologists are available to registered course participants.

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