Professor Cicchetti's major research interests lie in the formulation of an integrative developmental theory that can account for both normal and abnormal forms of ontogenesis. His work has several foci: 1) developmental psychopathology; 2) the developmental consequences of child maltreatment; 3) neural plasticity and sensitive periods; 4) the impact of traumatic experiences upon brain development; 5) the biology and psychology of unipolar and bipolar mood disorders; 6) the interrelationships among molecular genetic, neurobiological, socio-emotional, cognitive, linguistic and representational development in normal and pathological populations; 7) the study of attachment relations and representational models of the self and its disorders across the life span; 8) multilevel perspectives on resilience; and 9) multilevel evaluations of Randomized Control Trial (RCT) interventions for depressed and maltreated children and adolescents.

Cicchetti holds a joint appointment in the University of Minnesota Medical School’s psychiatry department. He holds the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair and the William Harris Endowed Chair.

Before joining the College Cicchetti was the Shirley Cox Kearns Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester, N.Y. Cicchetti received a doctorate in clinical psychology and child development, with minors in behavior genetics, neuroscience and psychophysiology, from the University of Minnesota Department of Psychology and Institute of Child Development in 1977. He was on the faculty of Harvard University where he served as the Norman Tishman Associate Professor of Psychology until he left for the University of Rochester in 1985. At Rochester, Cicchetti launched four major initiatives that have defined and established developmental psychopathology and founded and directed Mt. Hope Family Center for over 20 years.

He has received a number of awards, including several honors from the American Psychological Association (APA). In 1999 he received both the APA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Clinical Child Psychology Award and the Nicholas Hobbs Award for Significant Contributions to Child Advocacy and Social Policy. He also received the Senior Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (2004). Finally, he has received three of the highest honors of the Developmental Division of the APA: the G. Stanley Hall Award for Significant Lifetime Contributions to Developmental Psychology (2005); the Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society (2006); and the Mentorship Award (2008).  In addition, he received the Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development Award from the Society for Research in Child Development and was bestowed the honor of Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), both in 2011.

Cicchetti has published over 450 articles, books, and journal Special Issues that have had far-reaching impact on developmental theory as well as science, policy, and practice related to child maltreatment, depression, mental retardation, and numerous other domains of development.

Selected Publications

1. (in press)

   Raby, K. L., Cicchetti, D., Carlson, E. A., Cutuli, J. J., Englund, M. M., & Egeland, B. (in press). Genetic and caregiving contributions to infant attachment: Unique associations with distress reactivity and attachment security. Psychological Science.

   Sturge-Apple, M. L., Cicchetti, D., Davies, P. T., & Suor, J. H. (in press). Differential susceptibility in spillover between interparental conflict and maternal parenting: Evidence for OXTR and 5-HTT genes. Journal of Family Psychology.

   2012

   Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2012). Gene by Environment interaction and resilience: Effects of child maltreatment and serotonin, corticotropin releasing hormone, dopamine, and oxytocin genes. Development and Psychopathology, 24(2).

   2011

   Cicchetti, D. (Ed.). (2011). Allostatic Load, [Special Issue]. Development and Psychopathology, Part 1, 23(3), 723-954; Part 2, 23(4), 955-1212.

   Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Oshri, A. (2011). Interactive effects of corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1, serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region, and child maltreatment on diurnal cortisol regulation and internalizing symptomatology. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 1125-1138.   

   Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Toth, S. L., & Sturge-Apple, M. L. (2011). Normalizing the development of cortisol regulation in maltreated infants through preventive interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 789-800.

   Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2011). The effects of child maltreatment and polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter and dopamine D4 receptor genes on infant attachment and intervention efficacy. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 357-372.

   Cicchetti, D., & Roisman, G. I. (Eds.) (2011). The Origins and Organization of Adaptation and Maladaptation: Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology (Vol. 36). New York: Wiley.

   DeYoung, C., Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2011). Moderation of the association between childhood maltreatment and neuroticism by the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 gene. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52, 898-906.

   DeYoung, C., Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Gray, J., Eastman, M., & Grigorenko, E. (2011). Sources of cognitive exploration: Genetic variation in the prefrontal dopamine system predicts Openness/Intellect.  Journal of Research in Personality, 45, 364-371.

   Rogosch, F. A., Dackis, M. N., & Cicchetti, D. (2011).  Child maltreatment and allostatic load: Consequences for physical and mental health in children from low-income families. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 1107-1124.

   Rohrer, L. M., Cicchetti, D., Maughan, A., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2011). False belief understanding in children of mothers with early and recurrent depression. Developmental Psychology, 47, 170-181.

   Toth, S. L., Pickreign Stronach, E., Rogosch, F. A., Caplan, R., & Cicchetti, D. (2011). Illogical thinking and thought disorder in maltreated children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50, 659-668.

   2010

   Cicchetti, D. (2010). Resilience under conditions of extreme stress: A multilevel perspective [Special Article]. World Psychiatry, 9, 1-10.

   Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Gunnar, M. R., & Toth, S. L. (2010). The differential impacts of early abuse on internalizing problems and diurnal cortisol activity in school-aged children. Child Development, 25, 252-269.

   Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Howe, M. L., & Toth, S. L. (2010). The effects of maltreatment on neuroendocrine regulation and memory performance. Child Development, 81(5), 1504-1519.

   Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.) (2010). Developmental Cascades [Special Issue], Development and Psychopathology, Part 1, 22(3), 491-715; Part 2, 22(4), 717-983.

   Miklowitz, D. J., & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.) (2010). Bipolar disorder: A developmental psychopathology approach.  New York: Guilford.

   Rogosch, F. A., Oshri, A., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). From child maltreatment to adolescent cannabis abuse and dependence: A developmental cascade model. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 883-897.

   2009

   Cicchetti, D. & Crick, N. R. (Eds.) (2009). Precursors of and diverse pathways to personality disorder in children and adolescents, [Special Issue], Development and Psychopathology, Part 1,21(3), 683-1030; Part 2, 21(4), 1031-1381.

   Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2009). A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescent depression. In S. Nolen-Hoeksema & L. Hilt (Eds.) Handbook of Adolescent Depression (pp. 3-31). New York: Taylor & Francis.

   Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2009). The past achievements and future promises of developmental psychopathology: The coming of age of a discipline. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 16-25.

   Toth, S. L., Rogosch, F. A., Sturge-Apple, M., & Cicchetti, D. (2009).  Maternal depression, children’s attachment security, and representational development: An organizational perspective. Child Development, 80, 192-208. NIHMS88728, PMC 88728.

   2008

   Howe, M. L., Goodman, G. S., & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.) (2008).  Stress, trauma, and children’s memory development: Neurobiological, cognitive, clinical, and legal perspectives.New York, NY:Oxford University Press.

   Thomas, K., & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.) (2008). Imaging brain systems in normality and psychopathology [Special Issue]. Development and Psychopathology, 20(4), 1023-1349.

   2007

   Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2007). Personality, adrenal steroid hormones, and resilience in maltreated children: A multi-level perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 19(3), 787-809.

   2006

   Cicchetti, D., & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.). (2006). Developmental psychopathology: Theory and method (Vol. 1, 2, 3, 2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

   Cicchetti, D., & Curtis, W. J. (2006). The developing brain and neural plasticity: Implications for normality, psychopathology, and resilience. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Developmental neuroscience (Vol. 2, 2^nd ed., pp. 1-64). New York: Wiley.

   2003

   Curtis, W. J., & Cicchetti, D. (2003). Moving research on resilience into the 21st century: Theoretical and methodological considerations in examining the biological contributors to resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 773-810.

   2002

   Cicchetti, D. (2002). The impact of social experience on neurobiological systems: Illustration from a constructivist view of child maltreatment. Cognitive Development, 17, 1407-1428.

   Cicchetti, D. (2002). How a child builds a brain: Insights from normality and psychopathology. In W. Hartup & R. Weinberg (Eds.), Minnesota symposia on child psychology: Child psychology in retrospect and prospect (Vol. 32, pp. 23-71). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.