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 a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology's Center for ADHD 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.

Dr. Becker's research focuses on the social and academic impairments of children and adolescents with ADHD, with a particular interest in how co-occurring difficulties such as sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms, sleep problems, and anxiety/depression impact the functioning of youth with ADHD. He is also interested in school-based interventions for treating ADHD and related difficulties.

Dr. Becker has authored or co-authored over 100 publications on ADHD and related topics and serves on the editorial/advisory boards of the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Journal of Attention Disorders, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Adolescent Research Review, and The ADHD Report.

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.

Interests

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

Research Areas

Clinical Psychology, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD

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; et al. 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.