Research Interests
Dr. Brown's primary research interests include the investigation of risk factors for aggressive and other disruptive behaviors in youths with autism spectrum disorder and the development and evaluation of family-based treatments for serious mental health problems, especially externalizing disorders, in children and adolescents. Dr. Brown's areas of interests also include capturing the experiences of neurodiversity across the lifespan.
Her current work focuses on adapting Multisystemic Therapy - a family- and community-based treatment for youth with conduct problems - for use with autistic youth who struggle with aggression and other externalizing behaviors. She is the Principal Investigator of a pilot trial of Multisystemic Therapy for autistic youth, which is funded by the American Psychological Foundation (see Pacific U Press Release).
Dr. Brown maintains research and professional interests in supporting mental health graduate students and early career professionals. She serves as the Member-at-Large for Early Career Professionals for Division 37 of the American Psychological Association: The Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice and for the American Psychological Foundation's Early Career Psychologist Committee.
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology, Stony Brook University, 2021
- Ph.D., University of Missouri, 2020, Clinical Child Psychology
- Doctoral Internship in Clinical Child Psychology, Stony Brook University, 2019
- M.A., University of Missouri, 2016, Clinical Psychology
- B.A., University of Kansas, 2013, Psychology
Selected Recent Publications (*indicates trainee)
Sheerin, K.M., Brown, C.E., Park, S.J.*, & Schopen, J.* (2025). De-implementation of nonbeneficent practices for youth problem sexual behaviors across practitioners and systems [Special Issue]. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 53, 761–770.
Brown, C.E., Collins, T.*, Foy, R.K.*, Bonish, K.E.*, Bernardin, C.J., Nowell., K.P., & Kanne, S.M. (2024). The How rather than the What: A qualitative analysis of modalities and caregiver descriptions of special interests in autistic youth. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance online publication.
Brown, C.E., Borduin, C.M., Sheerin, K.M., & Kanne, S.M. (2024). Characteristics and correlates of aggressive behavior in autistic youths. Autism Research, 17, 1586–1600
Brown, C.E., Bernardin, C.J., Beauchamp, M.T., Nowell, K.P., & Kanne, S.M. (2024). More similar than different: Characterizing special interests in autistic boys and girls based on caregiver report. Autism Research, 17, 2333–2345.
Brown, C.E., Sheerin, K.M., Quetsch, L.B., & Borduin, C.M. (2024). Family-friendship linkages in youths with autism spectrum disorder. Family Relations, 73, 776-789.
Brown, C.E., Quetsch, L.B., Aloia, L.S., & Kanne, S.M. (2024). Predictors of aggression, disruptive behavior, and anger dysregulation in youths with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54, 1264-1280.
Bradley, B.S.*, Staples, G.L.*, Quetsch, L.B., Aloia, L.S., Brown, C.E., & Kanne, S.M. (2024). Associations between parental stress and quality time spent with youth on the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54, 829-840.
Brown, C.E., Lerner, M.D., Stadheim, J.L.*, Kerns, C., Moskowitz, L., Cohn, E., Drahota, A., Soorya, L., & Wainer, A. (2023). Provider self-reported use and usefulness of intervention strategies for externalizing behaviors in youths with ASD. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
Quetsch, L.B., Brown, C.E., Onovbiona, H.*, Bradley, R.*, Aloia, L.S., & Kanne, S.M. (2023). Understanding aggression in autism across childhood: Comparisons with a non-autistic sample. Autism Research, 16, 1185-1198. . Top 10 most-cited articles of 2023 in Autism Research
Brown, C. E., Beauchamp, M. T., Nowell, K. P., Bernardin, C. J., & Kanne, S. M. (2023). The network structure of the Special Interests Survey. Autism Research, 16, 379-393.
Lerner, M.D., Brown, C.E., Sridhar, A., Tschida, J.E., Felsman, P.G., Libsack, E.J., Kerns, C.M., Moskowitz, L., Soorya, L., Wainer, A., Cohn, E., & Drahota, A. (2022). Usual care for youth with autism spectrum disorder: community-based providers’ reported familiarity with treatment practices. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1-13.
Brown, C.E., Boness, C. L., & Sheerin, K. M. (2022). Supporting students in health service psychology training: A theory-driven approach to meeting the diverse needs of trainees. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 16, 78–86.
Brown, C.E. & Hawley, K.M. (2021). Application of exposure plus response prevention for obsessive compulsive disorder related to pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 6, 211-226.
Sheerin, K.M., Borduin, C.M., Brown, C.E., & Letourneau, E.J. (2021). An evaluation of mechanisms of change in multisystemic therapy with juvenile justice-involved youths a decade following treatment. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 47, 208-219. . Awarded Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 2021 Article of the Year
Nowell, K.P., Bernardin, C.J., Brown, C.E., & Kanne, S.M. (2021). Characteristics of special interests in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51, 2711-2724.