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on the professions Understanding Developmental Pathways from Adversity to Maladaptation, Psychopathology, or Resilience Dante Cicchetti grew up in an Italian community in Pittsburgh, PA. Throughout my childhood, I was in contact with culturally and economically diverse groups, including children and families who were living in harsh conditions. Given these circum- I stances, I became consumed with understanding why some individuals function well despite experiencing significant adversity (known as resilience), whereas others get diverted onto lifelong negative pathways. Much of my research has been influenced by my own experiences. Early encounters with poverty and harsh conditions played a major role in fueling my research on child maltreatment. I have always preferred addressing complexity over sim- plicity, and this has led to a multilevel approach in my research. Virtually every biological and psychological system is impacted terminants, and cautions against expecting invariant relations be- by pathogenic experiences in child maltreatment. This has allowed tween causes and outcomes. me to investigate the various multilevel mechanisms that contrib- My research has taken a multilevel developmental psychopathol- ute to resilience and psychopathology, and to translate this work ogy perspective on the consequences of child maltreatment. Child into interventions that would help to allay the negative biological maltreatment has been conceptualized as a pathogenic relation- and psychological sequelae of child maltreatment. al experience that represents one of the most adverse and stressful Investigating the causes and consequences of child maltreat- challenges that confront children. Child maltreatment constitutes ment by studying thousands of individual maltreated children, a severe, if not the most severe, environmental hazard to children’s along with other topics I have examined for decades (e.g., depres- mental and physical development. My research has shown that child sion, with and without maltreatment and trauma), also have con- maltreatment progressively contributes to compromised adaptation tributed greatly to my personal growth by providing me with in- on a variety of stage-salient developmental tasks central to successful sight into the complexity of developmental processes. This insight adjustment, including insecure attachment, difficulties in forming an has allowed me to devote time to developing and implementing de- autonomous sense of self, emotion dysregulation, problematic peer velopmentally sensitive, theoretically informed interventions that relations, behavior problems, and psychopathology. are designed and evaluated scientifically. These developmental failures pose significant risk for the emer- During my matriculation as a graduate student in the Develop- gence of psychopathology across the life course. In addition to the mental and Clinical Psychology programs at the University of Min- psychological consequences of maltreatment, a growing body of re- nesota, I saw the importance of integrating the aforementioned search has documented the deleterious effects of child abuse and fields of psychology into a unified perspective known as develop- neglect on biological processes. Multilevel investigations have been mental psychopathology. Subsequently, during my first academic conducted recently that incorporate genetic, neural, physiological, job at Harvard, I played a pivotal role in defining and shaping the and psychological domains in relation to maladaptation and resil- field. I have continued to foster the growth of developmental psy- ient functioning. chopathology throughout my academic career from its roots at The growth of basic research knowledge in developmental psy- Harvard to the University of Rochester to today at the Institute of chopathology has significantly exceeded its application to high-risk Child Development at Minnesota. conditions such as child maltreatment and to mental disorders. To Although there is some divergence in defining developmental improve the health and well-being of individuals, scientific discov- psychopathology, it can be conceptualized as an evolving scientif- eries must be translated into practical applications. Translational re- ic field that seeks to elucidate the interplay among the biological, search is defined as research designed to address how basic biologi- psychological, and social-contextual aspects of normal and atypical cal and behavioral processes inform the diagnosis, prevention, treat- development from infancy through senescence. A developmental ment, and delivery of services for mental illness and, conversely, how analysis presupposes change and novelty, highlights the critical role knowledge of mental illness increases our understanding of basic bi- of timing in the organization of behavior, underscores multiple de- ological and behavioral processes. This formulation of translational research is in direct accord with principles of developmental psycho- Dante Cicchetti is McKnight Presidential Chair, William Harris Professor, pathology–namely, the reciprocal interplay between basic and ap- and Professor of Child Psychology and Psychiatry at the Institute of Child plied research and between normal and atypical development. Development at the University of Minnesota. He was elected to the American Translational research is needed to impart more scientific knowl- Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015. edge of genetic, neurobiological, cognitive, social-cognitive, and 52 Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Spring 2016 understanding developmental pathways emotional processes to the understanding and treatment of mental tion research has contributed to specifying the processes that are disorders. There must be a recognition and agreement that basic re- involved in the emergence of maladaptive developmental outcomes search should be conceived within a conceptual framework that un- and psychopathology. derstands the goal of informing future application. Thus, one of de- As knowledge on the biological and psychological sequelae of velopmental psychopathology’s potential contributions lies in the child maltreatment continues to accrue, it will be important to heuristic power it holds for translating facts into knowledge, under- implement preventive interventions with these children. We will standing, and practical application. Such a developmental perspec- then be able to ascertain whether the provision of developmental- tive may aid in the prevention and reduction of the individual and so- ly sensitive interventions prevent, ameliorate, or even reverse the cietal burden of mental disorder, alleviate the onus of suffering that adverse neurobiological and psychological consequences of child mental illness engenders in individuals, their families, and the com- maltreatment. Is it possible for such preventive interventions to ex- munities in which they reside, and contribute toward eliminating the ert a positive effect of brain structure, function, and organization stigma commonly associated with the presence of mental disorder. only during particular sensitive periods in development, or is neural Research on the efficacy of prevention and intervention approach- plasticity operative throughout the lifespan? As the basic knowl- es to child maltreatment is complicated by ethical, legal, and logisti- edge matures, researchers and clinicians will truly be able to pro- cal problems, as well as by difficulties in isolating factors specifically vide maltreated children with a psychobiology and a neuropsychol- associated with child abuse and neglect from a host of other factors ogy of hope and optimism that can minimize or eradicate the ad- present in multi-problem families. Moreover, because maltreated verse effects of their histories. children often reside in families characterized by single parenting, Society also must recognize the adverse trajectory toward men- economic disadvantage, social isolation, and minority status, factors tal illness, delinquency, and criminal behavior in adulthood that in- such as ethnic discrimination, racism, oppression, social class bias, creases each time a child is maltreated. Although child maltreat- sexism, segregation, and social inequities all influence the develop- ment is not a diagnosable mental illness, its occurrence portends ment of a national agenda to protect maltreated children. poor outcomes for mental and physical health. Historically, the “services” provided by many child-protective Assessments of maltreated children should include biological as agencies have consisted almost solely of investigative and safe- well as psychological measures to ensure that each maltreated child ty-monitoring activities, with significantly fewer resources or ef- receives the best intervention possible. Mechanisms that allow for forts directed toward the amelioration of the effects of child mal- the early provision and subsequent continuity of services for mal- treatment. Unfortunately, increasingly limited child protective treated children must be developed. resources have resulted in a focus on the identification of maltreat- Currently I am undertaking a number of new research endeavors. ment and on ensuring child safety. In fact, there has been a nation- I am very excited about these new ventures, and I believe my best al trend toward screening maltreatment reports and prioritizing work lies ahead. These new projects include incorporating dna investigative activities as a function of the severity of the report. and rna

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