Departmental Affiliations
Research Interests
Child Psychology; Prevention Science; Parenting; Evidence-based Interventions; Aggression and Peer Victimization; Pediatric integrated care;
Experiences & Accomplishments
My mission is to promote the mental health of children growing up in disadvantaged environments. To that end, my research focuses on identifying risk and protective factors associated with the development of disruptive behavior problems and evaluating efforts to integrate evidence-based interventions designed to prevent and treat pediatric mental health problems into early education, school, and primary care settings.
Honors & Awards
- 2008 John P. Hill Award
- 2008 Deborah Braffman Schroeder Award
- 2009 Outstanding Child Clinical Track Graduate Student
- 2012 Nan Tobler Award for Review of the Prevention Science Literature from the Society for Prevention Research
- 2013 Child Intervention and Prevention Services (CHIPS) Fellow (Funded by the NIMH)
- 2014 Council for Great City Schools Research and Assessment Leadership Award for the Quasi-Experimental Study of the Read to Succeed Program
- 2015 American Educational Research Association Division H Outstanding Publication Award in Assessment & Accountability
- 2017 American Educational Research Association Division H Outstanding Publication Award in Applied Research Reports
- 2021-2023 Outstanding Teaching Faculty for JHBSPH Summer Institute Course entitled School-based preventive interventions and research
- 2023 Article of the Year Award for 2023, Journal of School Psychology
Select Publications
Most recent publications.
Bettencourt, A. F., Gross, D., Ho, G, & Perrin, N. (2017). The Consequences of Not Being Socially and Behaviorally Ready by Kindergarten in Baltimore City. Journal of Urban Health. doi: 10.1007/s11524-017-0214-6
Bettencourt AF, Gross D, Breitenstein S. Evaluating Implementation Fidelity of a School-Based Parenting Program for Low-Income Families. J Sch Nurs. 2019;35(5):325-336. doi:10.1177/1059840518786995
Bettencourt AF, Musci RJ, Masyn KE, Farrell AD. Latent Classes of Aggression and Peer Victimization: Measurement Invariance and Differential Item Functioning Across Sex, Race‐ethnicity, Cohort, and Study Site. Child Dev. 2022;93(2). doi:10.1111/cdev.13691
Bettencourt AF, Gross D, Bower K, Francis L, Taylor K, Singleton DL, Han HR. Identifying Meaningful Indicators of Parent Engagement in Early Learning for Low-Income, Urban Families. Urban Educ. 2023; 58(10; 2308-2345. doi:10.1177/0042085920968619
Bettencourt AF, Coble K, Reinblatt SP, Jadhav S, Khan KN, Riddle MA. Characteristics of Patients Served by a Statewide Child Psychiatry Access Program. Psychiatr Serv. 2023; 74(7); 718-726. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.20220323
Bettencourt AF, Clary L, Ialongo N, & Musci R. Long-term Consequences of Bullying Involvement in First Grade. J of Sch Psychol. 2023; 97: 63-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2023.01.004