Center for Child & Family Policy | Duke University

Terrie E. Moffitt

Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor, Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, and Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy

Terrie E. Moffitt researches the interplay between nature and nurture in the origins of problem behaviors. Her particular interest is in antisocial and criminal behaviors. She is associate director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study in New Zealand, which has been conducting a longitudinal study of a 1972 birth cohort of 1000 individuals and their families. She also directs the Environmental-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-risk), which follows a 1994 birth cohort of 1116 British families with twins.

For her research, she has received the Klaus J. Jacobs prize (2010), the NARSAD Ruane Prize in Child Psychiatry (2010), the American Psychological Association's Early Career Contribution Award (1993) and Distinguished Career Award in Clinical Child Psychology (2006), and the Stockholm Prize for her work in criminology (2007). She is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999), the American Society of Criminology (2003), the British Academy (2004), and Academia Europaea (2005).

Moffitt has served on investigative panels for institutions such as the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (ethics of behavioral genetic research) and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (research into firearms and violence).

Research Projects:

• Moffitt and Caspi website

Research Interests:
Gene-environment Interaction, Child Development

Education:

• Ph.D. University of Southern California - 1984
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA Medical School - 1984
• M.A. University of Southern California - 1981
• B.A. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - 1977

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Arseneault, L; Cannon, M; Fisher, HL; Polanczyk, G; Moffitt, TE; Caspi, A (2011). Childhood trauma and children's emerging psychotic symptoms: A genetically sensitive longitudinal cohort study.. The American journal of psychiatry, 168(1), 65-72. [20952460], [doi]  [abs]


2. Belsky, DW; Caspi, A; Arseneault, L; Bleidorn, W; Fonagy, P; Goodman, M; Houts, R; Moffitt, TE (2012). Etiological features of borderline personality related characteristics in a birth cohort of 12-year-old children.. Development and psychopathology, 24(1), 251-265. [22293008], [doi]  [abs]


3. Bowes, L., Maughan, B., Ball, H., Shakoor, S., Ouellet-Morin, I., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T.E., & Arseneault, L. (May, 2013). Chronic bullying victimization across school transitions: The role of genetic and environmental influences. Development and Psychopathology, 25(2), 333-346. [23627948], [doi]  [abs]


4. Danese, A; Caspi, A; Williams, B; Ambler, A; Sugden, K; Mika, J; Werts, H; Freeman, J; Pariante, CM; Moffitt, TE; Arseneault, L (2011). Biological embedding of stress through inflammation processes in childhood.. Molecular psychiatry, 16(3), 244-246. [20157309], [doi]


5. Fontaine, NMG; McCrory, EJP; Boivin, M; Moffitt, TE; Viding, E (2011). Predictors and outcomes of joint trajectories of callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in childhood.. Journal of abnormal psychology, 120(3), 730-742. [doi]  [abs]


6. Gregory, AM; Moffitt, TE; Ambler, A; Arseneault, L; Houts, RM; Caspi, A (2012). Maternal insomnia and children's family socialization environments.. Sleep, 35(4), 579-582. [22467996], [doi]  [abs]


7. Grisham, JR; Fullana, MA; Mataix Cols, D; Moffitt, TE; Caspi, A; Poulton, R (2011). Childhood risk factors associated with adult obsessive-compulsive symptoms and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychological Medicine.


8. Lynam, DR; Charnigo, R; Moffitt, TE; Raine, A; Loeber, R; Stouthamer-Loeber, M (2009). The stability of psychopathy across adolescence.. Development and psychopathology, 21(4), 1133-1153. [doi]  [abs]


9. Moffitt, TE; Arseneault, L; Belsky, D; Dickson, N; Hancox, RJ; Harrington, H; Houts, R; Poulton, R; Roberts, BW; Ross, S; Sears, MR; Thomson, WM; Caspi, A (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 2693-2698. [21262822], [doi]  [abs]


10. Ouellet-Morin, I., Danese, A., Bowes, L., Shakoor, S., Ambler, A., Pariante, C., Papadopoulos, A., Caspi, A Moffitt, T.E., & Arseneault, L. (2011). A discordant MZ twin design shows blunted cortisol reactivity among bullied children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50, 574-582.


11. Ouellet-Morin, I; Odgers, CL; Danese, A; Bowes, L; Shakoor, S; Papadopoulos, AS; Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE; Arseneault, L (2011). Blunted cortisol responses to stress signal social and behavioral problems among maltreated/bullied 12-year-old children.. Biological psychiatry, 70(11), 1016-1023. [21839988], [doi]  [abs]


12. Shakoor, S; Jaffee, SR; Bowes, L; Ouellet-Morin, I; Andreou, P; Happé, F; Moffitt, TE; Arseneault, L (2012). A prospective longitudinal study of children's theory of mind and adolescent involvement in bullying.. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 53(3), 254-261. [doi]  [abs]


13. Shakoor, S; Jaffee, SR; Andreou, P; Bowes, L; Ambler, AP; Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE; Arseneault, L (2011). Mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: results from an epidemiological cohort of children.. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 39(3), 379-387. [20938734], [doi]  [abs]


14. Shearer, DM; Thomson, WM; Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE; Poulton, R (2011). Family history and oral health: findings from the Dunedin Family History Study. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.


15. Shearer, DM; Thomson, WM; Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE; Broadbent, JM; Poulton, R (2011). Inter-generational continuity in periodontal health: findings from the Dunedin family history study.. Journal of clinical periodontology, 38(4), 301-309. [21281332], [doi]  [abs]


16. Slutske, W; Moffitt, TE; Poulton, R; Caspi, A (2012). Under-controlled child temperament predicts adult problem gambling. Psychological Science, 23(5), 510-516. [22457426], [doi]  [abs]


17. Thomson, WM; Caspi, A; Poulton, R; Moffitt, TE; Broadbent, JM (2011). Personality and oral health.. European journal of oral sciences, 119(5), 366-372. [21896053], [doi]  [abs]


18. Uher, R; Caspi, A; Houts, R; Sugden, K; Williams, B; Poulton, R; Moffitt, TE (2011). Serotonin transporter gene moderates childhood maltreatment's effects on persistent but not single-episode depression: replications and implications for resolving inconsistent results.. Journal of affective disorders, 135(1-3), 56-65. [21439648], [doi]  [abs]


19. Zimmermann, P; Brückl, T; Nocon, A; Pfister, H; Binder, EB; Uhr, M; Lieb, R; Moffitt, TE; Caspi, A; Holsboer, F; Ising, M (2011). Interaction of FKBP5 gene variants and adverse life events in predicting depression onset: results from a 10-year prospective community study.. The American journal of psychiatry, 168(10), 1107-1116. [21865530], [doi]  [abs]