Dr. Connor Kerns has conducted and published studies on a broad array of topics including the role of paternal age in likelihood of autism spectrum disorder (heron autism), the co-occurrence of childhood psychopathologies, and differential predictors of CBT efficacy for child anxiety. Her present research focuses on the varied presentation and phenomenology of anxiety in autism and the implications of this variation for effective anxiety measurement and treatment. Dr. Kerns’ research also focuses on the understudied area of stressful and traumatic experiences in youth and young adults with autism. Current studies focus on better understanding sources and expressions of traumatic stress in autistic youth and young adults, developing and testing novel measures of stressful experiences and PTSD and considering cognitive mechanisms, including social-emotional processing and memory, that may enhance or diminish coping following a stressor for autistic individuals.

Research interests include assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), childhood anxiety and stress-related disorders (including trauma-related disorders) in children with and without ASD.

For a full list of publications see Google Scholar.

Kerns, C. M., Moskowitz, L., Josephson, A., Wainer, A., Drahota, A., Soorya, L., Cohn, E., & Lerner, M. (2018). A cross-regional and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study describing usual care for school to transition-age youth with autism. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, online first: doi: 10.1080/15374416.2017.1410826

Kerns, C.M., Postarino, V., Vivanti, G., Bradshaw, J., Siracusano, M., Mazzone, L. (2017). Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19, online first: doi-.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0846-y.

Herrington, J. D., Maddox, B. B., Kerns, C. M., Rump, K., Worley, J., Bush, J. C., McVey, Alana J., Schultz, Robert T., and Miller, J. S. (2017). Amygdala volume differences in autism spectrum disorder are related to anxiety. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, online first: 10.1007/s10803-017-3206-1.

Kerns, C. M., Collier, A., Lewin, A., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Short report: Therapeutic alliance in youth with autism spectrum disorder receiving cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, online first: doi:10.1177/1362361316685556

Souders, M., Zavodny, S., Eriksen, W., Sinko, R., Connell, J.E., Kerns, C.M., Schaaf, R., Pinto-Martin, J. (2017). Sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19, 34-51. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0782-x

Kerns, C.M., Newschaffer, C. J., Berkowitz, S., & Lee, B. K. (2017). Brief report: Examining the association of autism and adverse childhood experiences in the national survey of children’s health: The important role of income and co-occurring mental health conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, online first: doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3111-7.

Wainer, A., Drahota, A., Cohn, E., Kerns, C. M., Lerner, M. D., Marro, B., Moskowitz, L., Soorya, L (2017). Understanding the landscape of psychosocial intervention practices for social, emotional, and behavioral challenges in youth with ASD: A study protocol. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 10, 178-197. doi:10.1080/19315864.2017.1284289

Kerns, C. M., Renno, P. Kendall, P. C., Wood, J. J., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Anxiety disorders interview schedule – autism addendum: Reliability and validity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 41, 88-100. doi:10.1080/15374416.2016.1233501

Kerns, C. M., Rump, K., Worley, J., Kratz, H., McVey, A., Herrington, J. & Miller, J. (2016). The differential diagnosis of anxiety disorders in cognitively-able youth with autism. Cognitive Behavioral Practice, 23, 530-547. doi:10/1016/j/cbpra.2015.11.004

Bradstreet, L. E., Juechter, J. I., Kamphaus, R. W., Kerns, C. M., & Robins, D. L. (2016). Using the BASC-2 parent rating scales to screen for autism spectrum disorder in toddlers and preschool-aged children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, online first. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0167-3.

Kerns, C.M., Wood, J.J., Kendall, P.C., Renno, P., Crawford, E., Mercado, R. J., Collier, A., Hoff, A., Kagan, E. R., Small, B., Lewin, A. B., & Storch, E.A. (2016). The treatment of anxiety in autism spectrum disorder (TAASD) study: Rationale, design and methods. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1889-1902. doi:10/1007/s.10826-016-0372-2.

Robins, D. L., Adamson, L. B., Barton, M., Connell, J. E., Dumont-Mathieu, T., Dworkin, P. H., Fein, D., Greenstein, M. A, Hsu, H., Kerns, C. M., Newschaffer, C. J., Plumb, J., Shattuck, P., Turhi, R., & Vivanti, G. (2016). Universal autism screening for toddlers: Recommendations at odds. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 1880-1882. doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2697-5

Kerns, C. M., Roux, A., Connell, J. E., & Shattuck, P. (2016). Adapting cognitive behavioral techniques to address anxiety and depression in cognitively-able emerging adults on the autism spectrum. Cognitive Behavioral Practice, 23, 329-340. doi:10/1016/j.cbpra.2016.06.002

Rosen, T., Connell, J. E. & Kerns, C. M. (2016). A review of behavioral interventions for anxiety in lower functioning individuals with autism. Behavioral Interventions, 31, 120-143. doi:10.1002/bin.1442

Kerns, C. M., Newschaffer, C. & Berkowitz, S. (2015). Traumatic childhood events and autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3475-3486. doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2392-y

Kerns, C. M., Maddox, B., Berry, L., Rump, K., Kendall, P. C., Schultz, R. T., Souders, M. C., Bennett, A., Herrington, J., & Miller, J. (2015). Brief measures of anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 8, 969-979. doi:1.1177/136236131455865

White, S. W., Lerner, M., McLeod, B., Wood, J. J., Ginsburg, G., Kerns, C. M., Ollendick, T., Kendall, P. C., Piacentini, J., Walkup, J., & Compton, S. (2015). Anxiety in youth with and without autism spectrum disorder: Examination of factorial equivalence. Behavior Therapy, 46, 40-53. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2014.05.005

Kerns, C. M., Kendall, P. C., Zickgraf, H., Franklin, M. E., Miller, J., & Herrington, J. (2015). Not to be overshadowed or overlooked: Functional impairments associated with comorbid anxiety disorders in youth with ASD. Behavior Therapy, 46, 29-39. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2014.03.005

Kerns, C. M., Kendall, P.C., Berry, L., Souders, M. C., Franklin, M. E., Schultz, R. T., Miller, J., Herrington, J. (2014). Traditional and atypical presentations of anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44, 2851-2861. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2141-7

Kerns, C. M., Read, K. L., Klugman, J., & Kendall, P. C. (2013). CBT for socially phobic youth: Differential short and long-term treatment outcomes. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, 210-215. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.01.009

Kerns, C. M., & Kendall, P. C. (2012). The presentation and classification of anxiety in autism spectrum disorder. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 19, 323-346. doi:10.111/cpsp.12009

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award (2021)