Scholars@Duke
Robin Gurwitch

Robin Gurwitch

Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry

Selected Publications

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Chapter · January 1, 2025 Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a program for young children and their families, is a strong evidence-based treatment repeatedly receiving the highest rankings in reviews of child mental health treatments (e.g., C ... Full text Cite

COVID-19-Related Posttraumatic Stress in U.S. and Canadian Youth in the First Year of the Pandemic

Journal Article Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology · January 1, 2025 Objective: Disasters and public health emergencies raise child/adolescent risk for posttraumatic stress (PTS). This study examined prospective predictors of COVID-related PTS in a large sample of U.S. and Canadian youth. Demographics, pre-pandemic contextu ... Full text Cite

A naturalistic evaluation of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) and PCIT with trauma-directed interaction (PCIT with TDI) in Australian children exposed to abuse and neglect

Journal Article Child Protection and Practice · August 1, 2024 Background: To optimize PCIT treatment with children exposed to abuse and neglect, PCIT with Trauma-Directed Interaction (PCIT with TDI) was created. Objective: The current study was a quasi-experimental cohort study (PCIT and PCIT with TDI treatment group ... Full text Cite

Disasters and other traumas

Chapter · May 23, 2024 When disasters, public health emergencies like the recent pandemic, or mass violence events happen, parents' first thoughts are about the safety and well-being of their children. Understanding common reactions that children may have after these events and ... Full text Cite

Supporting LGBTQIA+ youth in foster care: Considerations for FosterCARE training

Journal Article Journal of Public Child Welfare · January 1, 2024 FosterCARE training is a behaviorally based, empirically supported program developed to provide foster parents with skills for interacting effectively with youth (aged 2–18) with trauma histories. In this paper, we suggest that the trauma-informed skills, ... Full text Cite

Trauma-Informed Mental Health Interventions for Young Children

Chapter · January 1, 2024 Young children are traumatized by abuse, neglect, exposure to disasters and wars, parental and caregiver loss, as well as witnessing domestic violence and substance use. This exposure effects brain and biological development, social-emotional, and cognitiv ... Full text Cite

Utilizing Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Trauma-Directed Interaction in a Young Male in Out of Home Care Who Had Experienced Trauma

Journal Article Clinical Case Studies · June 1, 2023 Child abuse and neglect in young children can lead to trauma-related stress symptoms that can be challenging to manage. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a strong evidence-based behavioral parent training program used for young children with behavio ... Full text Cite

Trauma-Directed Interaction (TDI): An Adaptation to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Families with a History of Trauma.

Journal Article Int J Environ Res Public Health · May 17, 2022 Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is one of the strongest evidence-based treatments available for young children and their families. Research has supported the use of PCIT for children with a history of trauma; however, the treatment does not directl ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neural vulnerability and hurricane-related media are associated with post-traumatic stress in youth.

Journal Article Nat Hum Behav · November 2021 The human toll of disasters extends beyond death, injury and loss. Post-traumatic stress (PTS) can be common among directly exposed individuals, and children are particularly vulnerable. Even children far removed from harm's way report PTS, and media-based ... Full text Link to item Cite

Integrated CARE: Adaptation of Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) Model for Use in Integrated Behavioral Pediatric Care.

Journal Article Clin Pediatr (Phila) · February 2021 The authors adapted the established Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) interaction model for use in integrated behavioral health clinics. CARE was modified for delivery in the examination room, during routine primary care visits. Adopting a real-w ... Full text Link to item Cite

Leveraging parent-child interaction therapy and telehealth capacities to address the unique needs of young children during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Journal Article Psychol Trauma · August 2020 COVID-19 and related efforts to mitigate its spread have dramatically transformed the structure and predictability of modern childhood, resulting in growing concerns children may be particularly vulnerable to serious mental health consequences. Worldwide s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disseminating parent-child interaction therapy through the learning collaborative model on the adoption and implementation of an evidence-based treatment

Journal Article Children and Youth Services Review · June 1, 2019 Evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for childhood disruptive behavior disorders, such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), have limited availability in community settings. Recent research highlights the importance of implementation support models to en ... Full text Cite

Child-adult relationship enhancement for children with autism spectrum disorders: CARE connections

Chapter · January 1, 2019 An estimated 1 in 59 children in the USA is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries 67(6):1-23, 2018). While all children diagnosed with ASD experience some level of difficulty wit ... Full text Cite

Parent-child interaction therapy for military families: Improving relationships

Chapter · November 10, 2018 The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been fought for more than a decade. During this time, approximately two million children have been impacted by parental deployment(s). The majority of these children are under 8 years of age. Stressors are present duri ... Full text Cite

Child adult relationship enhancement (CARE): A brief, skills-building training for foster caregivers to increase positive parenting practices

Journal Article Children and Youth Services Review · July 1, 2018 Objective: Foster caregivers are tasked with developing good relationships with children and managing child behavior; however, these caregivers often do not have access to evidence-based interventions typically designed for custodial parents and children w ... Full text Cite

Parent-child interaction therapy

Chapter · February 13, 2017 Full text Cite

Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE): An evidence-informed program for children with a history of trauma and other behavioral challenges.

Journal Article Child Abuse Negl · March 2016 Child maltreatment impacts approximately two million children each year, with physical abuse and neglect the most common form of maltreatment. These children are at risk for mental and physical health concerns and the ability to form positive social relati ... Full text Link to item Cite

The impact of terrorism on children: Considerations for a new era

Chapter · June 11, 2014 Terrorism is an extreme form of violent trauma made worse by being ofhuman design. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States and the entire world entered into a new era in history. As much as adults seek to protect children f ... Cite

Factors Affecting the Completion of Trauma-Focused Treatments: What Can Make a Difference?

Journal Article Traumatology · March 1, 2013 This study expands our understanding of treatment attrition by investigating factors predicting treatment dropout in a large national data set of clinic-referred children and parents seeking trauma-specific psychotherapy services. Using de-identifed data ( ... Full text Cite

The terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City

Chapter · January 1, 2013 It was the most deadly terrorist bombing in American history. On Wednesday, April 19, 1995, a blast from thousands of pounds of fuel oil and fertilizer ripped through the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in an instant, tearing ... Full text Cite

PARENT-CHILD INTERVENTION

Chapter · January 1, 2012 Cite

Children in Disasters

Chapter · January 1, 2012 Full text Cite

A combined motivation and parent-child interaction therapy package reduces child welfare recidivism in a randomized dismantling field trial.

Journal Article J Consult Clin Psychol · February 2011 OBJECTIVE: A package of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) combined with a self-motivational (SM) orientation previously was found in a laboratory trial to reduce child abuse recidivism compared with services as usual (SAU). Objectives of the present ... Full text Link to item Cite

Schools in the shadow of terrorism: Psychosocial adjustment and interest in interventions following terror attacks

Journal Article Psychology in the Schools · July 1, 2010 Following terrorist events, teachers and nonteaching school personnel are important in helping children recover, yet little is known about their willingness to assist with this. We surveyed 399 employees from a Washington, D.C.-area school district followi ... Full text Cite

A motivational intervention can improve retention in PCIT for low-motivation child welfare clients.

Journal Article Child Maltreat · November 2009 A motivational orientation intervention designed to improve parenting program retention was field tested versus standard orientation across two parenting programs, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and a standard didactic parent training group. Both ... Full text Link to item Cite

Addressing Disaster Mental Health Needs of Children: Practical Guidance for Pediatric Emergency Health Care Providers

Journal Article Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine · September 1, 2009 Emergency health care providers are often the first to respond to the needs of children after a disaster. Although there has been an increase in research related to the impact of disasters, including terrorist events, on children's mental health, physician ... Full text Cite

Neurodevelopmental delays in children with deformational plagiocephaly.

Journal Article Plast Reconstr Surg · January 2006 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in fact, infants with deformational plagiocephaly, or plagiocephaly without synostosis, demonstrated cognitive and psychomotor developmental delays when compared with a standardized population ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trauma, grief and depression in Nairobi children after the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy.

Journal Article Death Stud · 2006 Despite the increasingly dangerous world where trauma and loss are common, relatively few studies have explored traumatic grief in children. The 1998 American Embassy bombing in Nairobi, Kenya, provided an unfortunate opportunity to examine this topic. Thi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Training foster parents in parent-child interaction therapy

Journal Article Education and Treatment of Children · December 1, 2005 Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically supported, parent-training program designed to teach parents specific techniques to manage the behavior of children between the ages of two and seven exhibiting extreme disruptive behavior. Over 30 ... Cite

Teachers' psychological reactions 7 weeks after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Journal Article Am J Orthopsychiatry · July 2004 This study assessed teachers' reactions to the Oklahoma City bombing. Peritraumatic reactions, the interaction of media exposure with stress from media coverage, feelings toward the perpetrators, and worry about safety predicted posttraumatic stress. Twent ... Full text Link to item Cite

When disaster strikes: responding to the needs of children.

Journal Article Prehosp Disaster Med · 2004 When a disaster strikes, parents are quick to seek out the medical advice and reassurance of their primary care physician, pediatrician, or in the case of an emergency, an emergency department physician. As physicians often are the first line of responders ... Full text Link to item Cite

Teachers in the aftermath of terrorism: a case study of one New York City school.

Journal Article Fam Community Health · 2004 Teachers are frequently expected to support children psychologically in the aftermath of mass casualty events, yet they generally have not been trained to do so. This study of a small private school in New York City reports the reactions, needs, and intere ... Full text Link to item Cite

Psychological issues associated with terrorism: a guide for physicians.

Journal Article J Okla State Med Assoc · November 2003 Link to item Cite

Children's response to terrorism: a critical review of the literature.

Journal Article Curr Psychiatry Rep · June 2003 The advent of major terrorist assaults has ushered in a sense of insecurity and vulnerability heretofore unknown in the US. There is information about the impact of disasters and trauma on children, but relatively little data on the effects of terrorism. T ... Full text Link to item Cite

Posttraumatic stress and functional impairment in Kenyan children following the 1998 American Embassy bombing.

Journal Article Am J Orthopsychiatry · April 2003 This study examined a convenience sample of 562 Nairobi school children exposed to the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Posttraumatic stress reactions to the bombing were related to posttraumatic stress reactions to other trauma and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Case finding and mental health services for children in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Journal Article J Behav Health Serv Res · 2003 The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured hundreds more. Children were a major focus of concern in the mental health response. Most services for them were delivered in the Oklahoma City Public Schools where approx ... Full text Link to item Cite

Exposure and peritraumatic response as predictors of posttraumatic stress in children following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Journal Article J Urban Health · September 2002 Studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between exposure and posttraumatic stress, but one's subjective appraisal of danger and threat at the time of exposure may be a better predictor of posttraumatic stress than more objective measures of expos ... Full text Link to item Cite

Reactions and Guidelines for Children Following Trauma/Disaster

Journal Article Communication Disorders Quarterly · January 1, 2002 Full text Cite

The impact of terrorism on children: Considerations for a new era

Journal Article Journal of Trauma Practice · January 1, 2002 Terrorism is an extreme form of violent trauma made worse by being of human design. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States and the entire world entered into a new era in history. As much as adults seek to protect children ... Full text Cite

Neurodevelopment in children with single-suture craniosynostosis and plagiocephaly without synostosis.

Journal Article Plast Reconstr Surg · November 2001 The objective of this study was to determine whether children with nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and plagiocephaly without synostosis demonstrated cognitive and psychomotor delays when compared with a standardized population sample. This was the initial as ... Full text Link to item Cite

Television exposure in children after a terrorist incident.

Journal Article Psychiatry · 2001 This study examined the influence of bomb-related television viewing in the context of physical and emotional exposure on posttraumatic stress symptoms--intrusion, avoidance, and arousal--in middle school students following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Posttraumatic stress among young children after the death of a friend or acquaintance in a terrorist bombing.

Journal Article Psychiatr Serv · March 2000 The effects of traumatic loss on children who reported a friend or acquaintance killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal office building were examined. Twenty-seven children who lost a friend or acquaintance and 27 demographically matched cont ... Full text Link to item Cite

Posttraumatic stress responses in bereaved children after the Oklahoma City bombing.

Journal Article J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · November 1999 OBJECTIVE: To investigate the responses of middle and high school students exposed to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing across a spectrum of loss. METHOD: A questionnaire measuring exposure, personal consequences, initial response, and current posttraumatic s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical needs assessment of middle and high school students following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Journal Article Am J Psychiatry · July 1999 OBJECTIVE: This clinical assessment was designed to identify middle and high school students in need of formal evaluation for posttraumatic response symptoms following the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. METHOD: A cl ... Full text Link to item Cite

The role of exposure in posttraumatic stress in youths following the 1995 bombing.

Journal Article J Okla State Med Assoc · April 1999 This study investigated the relative impact of various forms of exposure to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in middle and high school students seven weeks after the incident. We assessed 3210 youths with an instrument that probed for physical, television, a ... Link to item Cite

The impact of trauma and disaster on young children.

Journal Article Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am · January 1998 In the past few decades, the study of the impact of trauma and disaster on children has grown; however, information about the effects on very young children is still scarce in the literature. In some regards, the characteristics of stress in young children ... Link to item Cite

Authors' response to lutzker's evaluation

Journal Article Child and Family Behavior Therapy · January 31, 1995 Full text Cite

Assessment of a new procedure to prevent timeout escape in preschoolers

Journal Article Child and Family Behavior Therapy · August 15, 1994 Hanf-model parent training programs (e.g., Forehand, Eyberg, Barkley) include a spank as the primary consequence for timeout escape. Because many agencies provide services to groups for whom a spank is not an option (e.g., foster parents), an alternative b ... Full text Cite

Impact of a summer camp experience on daily activity and family interactions among children with cancer

Journal Article Journal of Pediatric Psychology · June 1, 1988 On p. 539, the sentence presently reading "Based on siblings' reports, they also increased the number of activities in which they were involved with the family from the pre-camp to the during-camp assessment" should be changed to: "Based on mothers' report ... Full text Cite

Behavioral assessment of narcotic detoxification fear.

Journal Article Addict Behav · 1988 Recent data reveal that only a small number of opioid addicts who attempt to detoxify from methadone maintenance programs will be successful. An irrational fear of detoxification has been postulated to be one reason for detoxification not being more effica ... Full text Link to item Cite

Assessing pathological detoxification fear among methadone maintenance patients: the DFSS.

Journal Article J Clin Psychol · September 1987 This study assessed the reliability, validity, discriminative accuracy, and factor structure of the Detoxification Fear Survey Schedule (DFSS). Prevalence of detoxification fear and its correlates also were assessed. Random samples from three geographicall ... Full text Link to item Cite

Dimensions of interpersonal events: Reward value and information value

Journal Article Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · January 1, 1987 A review of major theoretical approaches to social interactions suggests that reward value and information value are two of the most prominent characteristics of such events. To demonstrate the salience of these characteristics for one domain of interperso ... Full text Cite

Prevalence and diagnostic reliability of methadone maintenance detoxification fear.

Journal Article Am J Psychiatry · June 1986 The authors identified a pathological fear of methadone detoxification in 22%, 25%, and 32% of random samples of patients in three disparate methadone maintenance programs. Patients with a pathological fear of detoxification had higher scores on the Detoxi ... Full text Link to item Cite