The University of British Columbia

Core Area(s): Clinical

Biographical Sketch & Research Interests
My research focuses on parent-child interactions. I am particularly interested in how parents’ think about children’s behavior and how these thoughts relate to how parents and children interact. The goal of the research is to understand and improve parent-child interactions and child outcomes. The research addresses questions of parenting and parent cognitions across both families of typically-developing children and families coping with the challenges of disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Courses Taught
PSYC 401 Clinical Psychology, PSYC 536 Child Psychopathology, PSYC 556 Treatment of Childhood Disorders, PSYC 534 Clinical Practicum

Representative Publications
Johnston, C., Mash, E. J., Miller, N., & Ninowski, J. E. (2012). Parenting in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 215-228.

Chen, M., & Johnston, C. (2012). Clarifying the association between inter-parent childrearing disagreement and child problems: The role of parenting effectiveness and the content of disagreements. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 41, 189-201.

Jiang, Y., & Johnston, C. (2012). The relations of self- and other reports of ADHD symptoms to competence. Journal of Attention Disorders, 16, 418-426.

Johnston, C. (2011). Mothers’ predictions of their child’s performance on cognitive tasks: Relations to child behavior problems. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. 42, 482-494.

Johnston, C., Weiss, M., Murray, C., & Miller, N. (2011). The effects of instructions on mothers’ ratings of child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 1099-1110.

Johnston, C., Mah, J. W. T., & Regambal, M. (2010). Parenting cognitions and treatment beliefs as predictors of experience using behavioral parenting strategies in families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Behavior Therapy, 41, 491-504.

Johnston, C., Hommersen, P., & Seipp, C. M. (2009). Maternal attributions and child oppositional behavior: A longitudinal study of boys with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. (2009). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 189-195.

Sheeber, L., Johnston, C., Chen, M., & Leve, C. Hops, H., & Davis, B. (2009). Mothers' and fathers' attributions for adolescent behavior: An examination in families of depressed, subdiagnostic, and nondepressed youth. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 871-881.

Mah, J. W. T., & Johnston, C. (2008). Parental social cognitions: Considerations in the acceptability and engagement in behavioral parent training. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 11, 218-236.