Donna Pincus
· Professor, Master’s Program DirectorVerifiedBoston University · Psychology
Active 1997–2026
About
Donna Pincus is a Professor and the Master’s Program Director in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Boston University. Her primary research interests include the assessment and treatment of children’s fears and anxieties, with a particular focus on developing new treatments for young children with anxiety disorders. She is also interested in children’s coping with everyday stress, risk and resilience factors affecting the development of child psychopathology, and psychological factors impacting children with medical conditions. Additionally, Donna Pincus is the founder and editor of The Child Anxiety Network. She holds a PhD from SUNY Binghamton and is actively involved in research related to child anxiety, stress, resilience, and medical psychology.
Research topics
- Psychology
- Clinical psychology
- Psychiatry
- Medicine
- Computer Science
- Psychotherapist
- Political Science
- Developmental psychology
- Intensive care medicine
- Internet privacy
- Applied psychology
Selected publications
Research Square · 2026-04-09
preprintOpen access2026-01-28
report1st authorCorrespondingCOVID-19-Related Posttraumatic Stress in U.S. and Canadian Youth in the First Year of the Pandemic
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · 2025-07-16
articleOpen accessOBJECTIVE: 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 contextual factors, baseline clinical factors, and pandemic experiences were examined. We hypothesized pandemic proximity/exposure and pandemic-related financial hardship in the first seven months, as well as baseline resource insecurity, internalizing symptoms, and female gender, would predict subsequent COVID-related PTS. METHOD: = 6.56 months later (7 months into pandemic). RESULTS: Maximum likelihood estimation linear regression indicated baseline internalizing problems, pre-pandemic food insecurity, and COVID-19-related financial hardship predicted youth PTS at follow-up, whereas COVID-19 proximity/exposure and youth gender, age, and race/ethnicity did not. Youth with baseline internalizing problems had eight times the odds of developing probable PTSD than youth without baseline internalizing problems. The effect of COVID-19-related financial hardship on PTS was particularly high among youth who went into the pandemic with food insecurity. CONCLUSION: The financial toll the pandemic took on a child's family and whether there were pre-pandemic mental health or resource-related vulnerabilities may have been more determinant of individual youth PTS than the child's degree of direct COVID-19 proximity or family exposure.
Clinical Case Studies · 2025-08-09 · 1 citations
articleAnxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in adolescents, and they can have profound effects on adolescents’ well-being. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been established as the gold-standard treatment for adolescent anxiety disorders due to its effectiveness in reducing adolescents’ anxiety and associated impairments. In recent years, intensive CBT protocols have emerged for treating adolescent anxiety. The content of these treatments typically reflects conventional CBT protocols, but treatment is provided over a shorter period or through fewer sessions, with the goal of providing patients with more immediate relief. As one example of such treatments, the principal investigator of the study developed and piloted an intensive CBT treatment for adolescent anxiety (IT-CBT) that exhibited marked efficacy in treating youth with a range of anxiety disorders. To further expand the accessibility of the treatment, a randomized controlled trial comparing the in-person and virtual delivery of this treatment was initiated. To illustrate IT-CBT’s potential utility as a virtual treatment, this case study describes a 15-year-old girl with a specific phobia of vomiting and subclinical generalized anxiety symptoms who completed IT-CBT virtually. Results from this adolescent case example and others suggest that virtual IT-CBT may be feasible and efficacious for treating adolescent anxiety disorders.
JAACAP Open · 2025-12-24
articleOpen accessObjective: Pediatric anxiety constitutes a serious public health concern. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a gold standard treatment, preferred by families over pharmacological options, but barriers limit CBT accessibility. Modern CBT formats include varying levels of therapist involvement and differential technologies to overcome barriers, but little is known about their effectiveness in typical care settings, as well as in pediatric care. The Kids Formats of Anxiety Care Effectiveness study For Extending the Acceptability and Reach of Services (Kids FACE FEARS) trial addresses these gaps. Method: The Kids FACE FEARS trial was a multisite, pragmatic randomized trial comparing therapist-led CBT (telehealth, office-based, or hybrid) with guided internet-based CBT (self-administered/self-paced, with minimal therapist support) for treating anxiety in youth (7-18 years old) identified in pediatric care. English- and Spanish-speaking families were enrolled from high-volume, urban pediatric health care sites affiliated with major medical centers in 4 metropolitan regions. This article describes the study's rationale, treatment conditions, participant recruitment, assessment schedule/strategy, and provider training/consultation. Discussion: Recent innovations have expanded CBT delivery options for pediatric anxiety. This is the first multisite randomized trial directly comparing CBT formats that draw on differential levels of therapist involvement and modes of technology. Sampling and study design features poise the Kids FACE FEARS trial to be one of the largest and most diverse/representative controlled trials of CBT for pediatric anxiety. In the context of evolving CBT delivery options, trial findings can inform patient-centered decision making and help tailor treatment selections for underserved youth with anxiety. Clinical trial registration information: Kids FACE FEARS Comparative Effectiveness Research; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03707158.
Developmental Psychology · 2025-02-17 · 1 citations
articleOpen access= 492). Both parental reports of family relationship quality and parenting styles (Time 1) predicted communication profiles (Time 2), such that better relationship quality and higher authoritative parenting at the start of the pandemic predicted communication profiles characterized by lower avoidant communication and higher active communication about COVID-19. Conversely, lower relationship quality and higher authoritative parenting were predictive of subsequent membership in profiles that were high in both avoidant and active communication. Importantly, across both age groups, parents who reported being higher in both avoidant and active communication about COVID-19 reported higher child mental health problems, whereas parents reporting communication profiles characterized by low avoidance and high active communication reported better child mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale--Child and Adolescent Version
PsycTESTS Dataset · 2024-11-11
datasetSenior authorIntensive Treatment of Chronic Pain and PTSD: The PATRIOT Program
Behavioral Sciences · 2024-11-16 · 9 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorMilitary combat can result in the need for comprehensive care related to both physical and psychological trauma, most commonly chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These conditions tend to co-occur and result in high levels of distress and interference in everyday life. Thus, it is imperative to develop effective, time-efficient treatments for these conditions before they become chronic and resistant to change. We developed and pilot-tested the Pain and Trauma Intensive Outpatient Treatment (PATRIOT) Program, a brief, intensive (3 weeks, six sessions) integrated chronic pain and PTSD treatment. An overview and session-by-session outline of the PATRIOT Program is provided, followed by results from the first pilot evaluation of the PATRIOT Program's feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in a sample of eight participating Veterans with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD. There were no treatment dropouts. At post-treatment, there were significant reductions in PTSD symptoms based on the Clinician-Administered Assessment of PTSD (CAPS). Pain and catastrophic thinking also decreased from pre- to post-treatment. With continued investigations and support, the PATRIOT Program may offer a brief, cost-effective, and more easily accessible treatment option for individuals who could benefit from learning skills to manage pain and PTSD more effectively.
Child Assessment with Corroborative Parent Report
CBT: science into practice · 2024-01-01
book-chapterSenior authorGuidance for the Telehealth Delivery of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in Youth
2024 · 2 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Political Science
- Psychotherapist
- Psychology
Recent grants
NIH · $1.8M · 2010
Frequent coauthors
- 56 shared
Jonathan S. Comer
- 40 shared
Jill T. Ehrenreich
- 20 shared
Sara G. Mattis
- 15 shared
David A. Langer
Suffolk University
- 11 shared
R. Meredith Elkins
McLean Hospital
- 11 shared
David A. Spiegel
Primary Source
- 11 shared
Lydia Chevalier
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 10 shared
Jill Ehrenreich‐May
Education
Ph.D.
SUNY Binghamton
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