JOHN N.
CONSTANTINO M.D.
Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Research Interests
1) The influence of genetic and environmental influences on early social
development
2) Prevention of antisocial behavior and violence
3) Longitudinal research on the life course and genetic structure of autistic
social impairment
Specific Research Activities
Longitudinal study of the life course and genetic structure of autistic
social impairment.
Preventive intervention program for disadvantaged urban families, in which
early parent-child relationships are enhanced in the setting of an infant
center, designed to promote normal social development in children.
Follow-up study of temperament and behavior in children from whom cerebrospinal
fluid monoamine metabolites were obtained in the neonatal period.
Study of internal working models (mental representations) of attachment
in adolescent twins.
Special Populations, Data Sets and Facilities
Clinical sample of 250 child psychiatric patients with and without autism
spectrum conditions enrolled in a longitudinal study of social development.
A collaboration with the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) to confirm and refine quantitative linkage signals (SRS phenotype) for chromosomal regions potentially containing genetic susceptibility loci for autism.
Participating site in the Simon’s Simplex Autism Collection, an international gene bank for single-incidence autism.
Key References
Constantino JN, Morris JA, Murphy DL: CSF 5-HIAA and Family history of antisocial
personality disorder in newborns. American Journal of Psychiatry 1997; 154:1771-1773.
Constantino JN, Hashemi N, Solis E, Alon T, Haley S, McClure S, Nordlicht
N, Constantino MA, Elmen J, Carlson VK: Supplementation of urban home visitation
with a series of group meetings for parents and infants: Results of a "real
world" randomized, controlled trial. Child Abuse & Neglect 2001;
25:1571-1581.
Constantino JN, Hudziak JJ, Todd RD: Deficits in reciprocal social behavior
in male twins: Evidence for a genetically independent domain of psychopathology.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2003;
42(4):458-467.
Constantino JN and Todd RD: Autistic traits in the general population: A
twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry 2003; 60:524-530.
Constantino JN, Gruber CP, Davis S, Hayes S, Passanante N, Przybeck T: The
factor structure of autistic traits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
2004; 45:719-726.