ABOUT
Get to Know Me
Research Intererests
Much like my clinical practice, my research has focused on supporting individuals with neurodevelopmental differences and their families through better understanding emotion regulation and through adapting and improving assessment and intervention strategies. Difficulties with emotion regulation frequently arise as an area of concern for families. My research has aimed to better understand how psychophysiological factors (i.e., the nervous system) and environmental supports (e.g., parent co-regulation) contribute to emotion regulation outcomes in autistic children.
​
Another area of my research has focused on harnessing automated measurement and machine learning in order to improve the diagnostic process for young children, with a hope for future improved screening mechanisms and better access to clinical assessment and care.
ABOUT ME
Dr. Jacquelyn Moffit, PhD
Post-doctoral fellow
I hold a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Children and Families, from the University of Miami, in addition to a Master of Science (MS) in Psychology from the University of Miami and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton. I have over 10 years of experience supporting neurodiverse individuals and their families. I completed a Clinical Internship at The Guidance Center in Long Beach, CA, a community mental health center, where I provided individualized therapy, comprehensive assessment services, and inter-disciplinary consultation. I have additional training and experience in psychological and developmental assessment, with an emphasis in diagnosis of autism, as well as providing cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety and mood disorders, interventions to support parents in behavior management, and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).
Published Research
Moffitt, J. M., Baker, J. K., Fenning, R. M., Erath, S. A., Messinger, D. S., Zeedyk, S. M., Paez. S. A., & Seel, S. (2021). Parental socialization of emotion and psychophysiological arousal patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 49, 401-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-020-00745-1
​
Baker, J.K., Fenning, R.M., Erath, S.A., Baucom, B.R., Messinger, D.M., Moffitt, J., Kaeppler, A., & Bailey, A. (2020). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, parenting, and externalizing behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 24(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319848525
​
Fenning, R.M., Erath, S.A., Baker, J.K., Messinger, D.S., Moffitt, J., Baucom, B.R., & Kaeppler, A.K. (2019). Sympathetic-Parasympathetic interaction and externalizing problems in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 12, 1805-1816. doi: 10.1002/aur.2187 (click here)
​
Baker, J.K., Fenning, R.M., & Moffitt, J. (2019). Brief Report: A cross-sectional examination of the internalization of emotion co-regulatory support in children with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 49, 4332-4338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04091-0
​
Fenning, R. M., Baker, J. K., & Moffitt, J. (2018). Intrinsic and extrinsic predictors of emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(11), 3858-3870. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3647-1
​
Moffitt, J.M., Ahn, Y.A., Custode, S., Tao, Y., Mathew, E., Parlade, M., Hale, M., Durocher, J., Alessandri, M., Perry, L.K., & Messinger, D.S. (2022). Objective measurement of vocalizations in the assessment of autism spectrum disorder symptoms in preschool age children. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2731
​
Ahn, Y.A., Moffitt, J.M., Tao, Y., Custode, S., Parlade, M., Beaumont, A., Cardona, S., Hale, M., Durocher, J., Alessandri, M., Shyu, M.L., Perry, L.K., & Messinger, D.S. (2024). Objective measurement of social gaze and smile behaviors in children with suspected autism spectrum disorder during administration of the ADOS-2. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54(6), 2124-2137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-05990-z