Arts, Sciences
& Education

Dorothy (Dori) Balser

- B.A., Psychology: Washington University

- Research Interests: Assessment and treatment of anxiety in youth, optimizing treatment mechanisms across child and adolescent development, increasing access to evidence-based treatments for internalizing disorders in youth

Victoria Cabrera

- B.S., Mathematical Economics: University of Pennsylvania

- M.S., Applied Behavior Analysis: University of Miami

- M.S., Psychology: Florida International University

- Research Interests: Assessment and treatment childhood anxiety and related internalizing disorders, interpersonal factors (parenting and peer relationships), increasing treatment engagement

- Selected Publications:

Cabrera, V.M., Patriarca, G.C., Arencibia Proenza, D., Yeguez, C.E., Wolenski, R., Rey, Y., & Pettit, J.W. (2023). Single session telehealth booster for youth who experience a return of anxiety following CBT: A case series. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 31, 539-547.

Cabrera, V., Buitron, V., Patriarca, G.C., Rey, Y., Lebowitz, E.R., Silverman, W.K., & Pettit, J.W. (2023). Parent accommodation contemporaneously mediates the association between youth irritability and youth anxiety treatment outcome. Behavior Therapy, 54(5), 852-862.

Buitron, V., Hill, R.M., Cabrera, V.M., & Pettit, J.W. (2022). Development and validation of a parent report measure of youth belongingness and burdensomeness. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 52(5)/, 857-865.

Marissa Falcone

- B.A., Psychology & Anthropology/Sociology: Lafayette College

Research interests: cognitive, interpersonal, and environmental factors influencing the development and treatment of youth anxiety disorders

- Selected Publications:

Falcone, M.M., Bar-Haim, Y., Lebowitz, E.R., Silverman, W.K., & Pettit, J.W. (2024). Attention training for child anxiety and its disorders: Moving from research to clinical implementation. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 27, 550-560.

Falcone, M.M., Rey, Y., Chong, L.J., Marin, C.E., Lebowitz, E.R., Silverman, W.K., & Pettit, J.W. (2025). Parent psychological control and youth social anxiety: examining attention control and its components as mediators. Cognitive Therapy and Research.

Krystyna Keller

- B.A., Psychology: Lafayette College

- Research Interests: Behavioral and neurological mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders; intersection of familial traits, neurodevelopment, behavior, and psychopathology

Maggie Modico

- B.S., Psychology: University of Maryland

- Research Interests: Investigating neural, physiological, behavioral, and environmental precursors to anxiety, treatment of internalizing symptoms that impact functioning in early childhood

- Selected Publications:

Modico, M., & Pettit, J.W. (September 2023). Commentary on Valadez and colleagues, Development of proactive control and anxiety among behaviorally inhibited adolescents Cognitive Bias Modification News. Available: https://acbm-association.org/news

Quigley, K. M., Petty, C. R., Sidamon‐Eristoff, A. E., Modico, M., Nelson III, C. A., & Bosquet Enlow, M. (2023). Risk for internalizing symptom development in young children: Roles of child parasympathetic reactivity and maternal depression and anxiety exposure in early life./ Psychophysiology/, e14326

Melissa Padron

- B.A., Psychology: Florida International University

Research interests: parental accommodation of anxious youth; symptom profiles of anxiety and related disorders

- Selected Publications:

Liu, L., Padron, M., Sun, D., & Pettit, J.W. (2025). Temporal trends in suicide ideation and attempt among youth in juvenile detention, 2016 to 2021. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

Guadalupe Patriarca

- B.A., Psychology: Florida International University

- M.S., Psychology: Florida International University

- Research Interests: Improving treatment outcomes for youth with anxiety and related disorders; sociocultural factors such as acculturative stress, discrimination, and acculturation processes in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders in Hispanic/Latino families

- Selected Publications:

Patriarca, G.C., Rey, Y., Yeguez, C.E., Marin, C.E., Pettit, J.W., & Silverman, W.K. (2022). Parent involvement enhances CBTs for anxiety disorders in Hispanic/Latino youth: Acculturation as a moderator. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90, 827-836.

Patriarca, G.C., Pettit, J.W., & Silverman, W.K. (2022). Implementing cognitive behavior therapy in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychology and Special Education,11(2), 108-122.

Patriarca, G., Rey, Y., Yeguez, C.E., Buitron, V., McMakin, D.L., & Pettit, J.W. (in press). Attentional control accounts for the association between anxiety sensitivity and sleep efficiency in clinic-referred youth. Child Psychiatry & Human Development.