Stephen P. Becker, PhD

Pediatric Psychologist, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology
Director of Research, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology
Co-Director, Center for ADHD
Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

stephen.becker@cchmc.org

About

Biography

Stephen P. Becker, PhD, is professor of pediatrics, associate division director-research, and co-director of the Center for ADHD in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center within the University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Becker completed his graduate training in clinical psychology at Miami University and his pre-doctoral psychology internship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The overall objective of Dr. Becker’s research is to better understand the developmental pathways of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), co-occurring psychopathologies, and functional impairments. Using a developmental psychopathology framework, he is especially interested in cognitive disengagement syndrome (previously termed sluggish cognitive tempo), sleep problems, and internalizing psychopathologies which frequently co-occur and interact with, and impact the presentation and treatment of, ADHD across the life span. Stephen is also interested in nosology and models of psychopathology and school-based interventions for treating ADHD and related difficulties.

Stephen has authored or co-authored over 250 peer-reviewed papers on ADHD and related topics, edited a book on ADHD in adolescence, and serves as a joint editor for JCPP Advances and on the editorial boards of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Journal of Attention Disorders, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Adolescent Research Review, and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

BM: Taylor University, Upland, IN, 2004.

MA: Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL, 2008.

MA: Miami University, Oxford, OH, 2010.

PhD: Miami University, Oxford, OH, 2014.

Internship: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2013-2014.

Services and Specialties

Interests

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); cognitive disengagement syndrome; sluggish cognitive tempo; sleep; comorbidity

Research Areas

Publications

Selected

Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome. Becker, SP; Willcutt, EG; Leopold, DR; Fredrick, JW; Smith, ZR; Jacobson, LA; Burns, GL; Mayes, SD; Waschbusch, DA; Froehlich, TE; McBurnett, K; Servera, M; Barkley, RA. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2023; 62:629-645.

Selected

Systematic Review: Assessment of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Over the Past Decade. Becker, SP. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2021; 60:690-709.

Selected

Field of daydreams? Integrating mind wandering in the study of sluggish cognitive tempo and ADHD. Becker, SP; Barkley, RA. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry advances. 2021; 1:e12002.

Selected

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD Symptoms in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Children: Differentiation Using Categorical and Dimensional Approaches. Burns, GL; Becker, SP. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 2021; 50:267-280.

Selected

Prospective Examination of Adolescent Sleep Patterns and Behaviors Before and During COVID-19. Becker, S; Dvorsky, M; Breaux, R; Cusick, C; Taylor, K; Langberg, J. 2021.

Selected

Sleep and daytime sleepiness in adolescents with and without ADHD: differences across ratings, daily diary, and actigraphy. Becker, SP; Langberg, JM; Eadeh, H; Isaacson, PA; Bourchtein, E. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 2019; 60:1021-1031.

Selected

Advancing the study of sluggish cognitive tempo via DSM, RDoC, and hierarchical models of psychopathology. Becker, SP; Willcutt, EG. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: official journal of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2019; 28:603-613.

Selected

Shortened Sleep Duration Causes Sleepiness, Inattention, and Oppositionality in Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Findings From a Crossover Sleep Restriction/Extension Study. Becker, SP; Epstein, JN; Tamm, L; Tilford, AA; Tischner, CM; Isaacson, PA; Simon, JO; Beebe, DW. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2019; 58:433-442.

Selected

Clinical differentiation of sluggish cognitive tempo and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. Servera, M; Saez, B; Burns, GL; Becker, SP. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2018; 127:818-829.

Selected

Differential impact of trait sluggish cognitive tempo and ADHD inattention in early childhood on adolescent functioning. Becker, SP; Burns, GL; Leopold, DR; Olson, RK; Willcutt, EG. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 2018; 59:1094-1104.