Editorial: The passage of time
Eric Fombonne
Abstract
In this editorial, the author reflects on changes that occurred in the quality of research on developmental psychopathology over the last 35 years. This is illustrated in the increased quality of nine longitudinal studies that are included in the current issue of JCPP. Using approaches that capitalize on the passage of time, ranging from 28 days to 40 years across investigations, these studies employed multiple levels of analysis, used sophisticated statistical methods to control for confounding factors, included measurement at both the biological, cognitive, and behavioral levels, and collectively provided results that allow improved assessment of causality.
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Dr. Eric Fombonne trained in child and adolescent psychiatry in France. He held appointments as clinical scientist at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM, France), as Senior Lecturer and Reader at the Institute of Psychiatry and Maudsley Hospital, King’s College London, UK (1993-2001), as tenured Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University (Canada), Head of the Division of Child Psychiatry and Canada Research Chair in Child Psychiatry (2001-2012). In September 2012, he joined the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon (USA), and is now Director of Autism Research at the Institute for Developmental Disabilities. He has a long experience of clinical work with children with autism and their families, over the lifespan, and has been also directing clinical services for teenagers with depression. His research activities on developmental disorders and child and adolescent psychiatric disorders encompass clinical/longitudinal and population-based epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and genetic studies. He has published over 320 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 40 chapters in books. He is past Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (JADD; 1994-2004); he is currently Joint Editor of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) and is on the editorial board of several other journals in the field of autism and child psychiatry.
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