Research

Dr. Agazzi has a longstanding interest in mental health and behavioral health interventions for pediatric populations, with a focus on disruptive behaviors in early and young childhood. Our research primarily focuses on youth birth-12 years, and we work with neurotypical and neurodivergent youth. We are particularly interested in adapting evidence-based interventions, as needed, to meet the needs of youth with developmental disabilities, mental health problems, and trauma, including when these conditions are co-occurring. To that end, our research contributes to advancing the mental health intervention, early intervention, and developmental disabilities treatment literature. We have three main lines of research, though we have a number of collaborations on related topics with researchers both at USF and at other institutions.

For papers already published, see Dr. Agazzi's CV.

Full-text publications for many papers can be found on ResearchGate and citation information can be found on GoogleScholar.

Research Areas

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Behavioral Parent Training

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is the most documented intervention for caregivers of children with disruptive behaviors. We currently have funding to provide group-delivered BPT with the DOCS Parenting programs. These programs emphasize a positive behavior support lens to identifying 'function' of behavior and teaching a child adaptive skills to get their needs met, engage with others, and improve quality of life. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is the gold-standard BPT and we conduct research on PCIT for youth with autism, anxiety, and callous-unemotional traits.
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Trauma and PTSD Interventions

Adverse childhood experiences are common and can have livelong impacts on development, mental health, and well-being. Our work spans across childhood (0-18 years) with trauma-informed care in early intervention (e.g., Smart Start program), implementing multi-tiered interventions to create trauma informed elementary and middle schools, and implementing Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with special populations.
Animated girl with curly hair smiling in front of a brick building.

Automated Diagnosis of Autism

Autism spectrum disorder affects 1 in 31 children in the United States. Access to care can greatly delay the diagnosis during the early childhood years when intervention can have powerful effects on a child's developmental trajectory. Dr. Agazzi collaborates with USF colleagues in Computer Science and their work aims to create a multimodal algorithm to screen for autism during well child checks.