Deborah A. G. Drabick, Ph.D.

Email: ddrabick@ temple.edu
Phone: (215) 204-4295

Interests: Comorbidity of childhood disorders, especially the co-occurrence of conduct problems and depression; testing causal models of comorbidity as explanations for disorder co-occurrence (i.e., identifying shared risk factors and evaluating longitudinal relations of disorders); relation of neuropsychological, psychophysiological, and social relational factors to psychopathology; risk and resilience in ethnic minority and impoverished children; developmental psychopathology; prevention of conduct problems; implementation of the scientist-practitioner model.

Deborah Drabick, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology. She has a joint appointment in Clinical and Developmental Psychology, which reflects her strong interest in developmental psychopathology. Dr. Drabick's expertise is in the area of childhood externalizing problems. Her programmatic research includes two lines of inquiry related to childhood externalizing problems: (1) identifying risk factors for externalizing problems that can inform intervention efforts and etiological models, and (2) examining comorbidity or the co-occurrence of externalizing problems with other psychological disorders. She has published a number of articles related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, as well as the comorbidity of conduct problems and depression (her primary research focus).

Dr. Drabick is interested in evaluating multiple explanations for the development of comorbid conditions in children and adolescents, with the goal of identifying points in symptom trajectories for which risk factors may be more amenable to intervention. Dr. Drabick's research project, the Child Health and Behavior Study, is designed to examine processes that may be related to externalizing problems and co-occurring psychological conditions in childhood. This project evaluates how factors specific to the child (e.g., temperament, neuropsychological functioning, academic skills) interact with aspects of the child's many contexts (e.g., family, school, neighborhood) to influence emotional and social adjustment, including the development of conduct problems and depression. Importantly, this study seeks to identify risk factors in a largely minority, impoverished sample with significant contextual risk. Furthermore, many of the risk factors examined can be recognized in school, which is the primary setting in which preventive interventions occur and could facilitate cost-effective and efficient identification of at-risk groups. In addition, the families involved in the project are evaluated annually to permit prospective examination of comorbidity. The long-term goals of this study include (1) understanding the development of emotional and behavioral problems over time, (2) identifying markers of psychological problems at a point when they may be more amenable to intervention, (3) exploring the utility of factors that can be identified in school, (4) informing development of programs to identify children at risk for the later development of emotional and behavioral problems, and (5) improving understanding of what factors are related to positive outcomes. Dr. Drabick has obtained several grants for this research project, and she and her students have presented findings from this study at national conferences.  

Dr. Drabick also has a strong interest in implementing the scientist-practitioner model in clinical, teaching, and research efforts. With regard to clinical work, Dr. Drabick is very interested in assessment and treatment of children and their families.

As a teacher, Dr. Drabick is committed to students' thinking critically and independently, as well as their continuous intellectual growth. This commitment was recognized by her receipt of the College of Liberal Arts' ATTIC Distinguished Teaching Award (2006). Dr. Drabick has also implemented an innovative strategy to enhance students' writing and critical thinking skills: the minute paper, which is a brief, free-writing exercise. Dr. Drabick is evaluating the effects of these papers on students' learning in several undergraduate courses.

Dr. Drabick received her B.S. in Psychology with Highest Honors and Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her M.A. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Dr. Drabick is a member of the American Psychological Association, Society for Research in Child Development, and Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. She is the proud mother of identical twin girls, and enjoys sports and traveling with her family.