Faculty photo

Sheree L. Toth

Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry

Director, Mt. Hope Family Center

PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 1984

Office Location
Mt. Hope Family Center
Telephone
(585) 275-2991
Web Address

Office Hours: By appointment

Research Overview

Professor Toth will not be accepting applications for graduate students for the 2025-2026 academic year​.

My research interests are guided by a developmental psychopathology perspective that emphasizes the interplay between normal and atypical development and addresses the transactions between ecological contexts and development. As such, I am invested in elucidating processes and mechanisms that contribute to the adaptation of children who are confronted by significant psychosocial adversity. In particular, my work addresses the development of children who have experienced maltreatment or who have been reared by a depressed caregiver.

In addition to basic research, I am committed to bridging research and clinical practice.  Building upon a developmental psychopathology framework, I have received NIMH-funding to initiate and evaluate a number of randomized clinical trials of preventive interventions.  I have also received funding from NIMH since 1991 to conduct investigations with maltreated children and offspring of mothers with Major Depressive Disorders.  This body of work has significantly advanced the field’s understanding of the adverse consequences of negative caregiving on child development, as well as the potential for intervention to promote positive outcomes.

Recently I received funding to initiate a 5-year investigation of the effectiveness of a preventative pre- and post-natal intervention to reduce harsh parenting and promote positive mother-child relationships and prevent child abuse and neglect in a high-risk population. This NICHD funded grant will establish Mt. Hope Family Center as a National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Courses Offered (subject to change)

  • PSYC 582:  Practicum in Developmental Psychopathology
  • PSYC 586:  Evidence Based Child Psychotherapy

Selected Publications

  • Duprey, E. B., Handley, E. D., Manly, J. T., Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. (2021). Child malreatment, recent stressful life events, and adolescent suicide ideation:A test of the stress sensitization hypothesis. Child abuse & neglect, 113,14926. Advance online publication.
  • Russotti, J., Handley, E. D., Rogosch, F. A., Toth, S. L., & Cicchetti, D. (2020). The interactive effects of child maltreatment and adolescent pregnancy on late-adolescent depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,
  • Toth, S. L., Handley, E. D., Manly, J. T., Robin Sturm, Adams, T. R., Demeusy, E. M., and Cicchetti, D. (2019) The moderating role of child maltreatment in treatment efficacy for adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
  • *Adams, T. R., Handley, E. D., Manly, J. T., Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2019). Intimate partner violence as a mechanism underlying the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment among economically disadvantaged mothers and their adolescent daughters. Development and Psychopathology, 31(1), 83-93.
  • Toth, S. L., & Manly, J. T. (2019). Developmental consequences of child abuse and neglect: Implications for intervention. Child Development Perspectives, 13(1), 59-64.
  • Toth, S. L., Michl, L., Guild, D., & Lieberman, A. (2019). Child-Parent Psychotherapy: Theoretical bases, clinical applications, and empirical support. In H. Steele & M. Steele (Eds.), Handbook of attachment-based interventions (pp. 296-317). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • *Alto, M., Handley, E., Rogosch, F., Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. (2018). Maternal relationship quality and peer social acceptance as mediators between child maltreatment and adolescent depressive symptoms: Gender differences. Journal of Adolescence, 63, 19-28.
  • *Demeusy, E. M., Handley, E. D., Rogosch, F. A., Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2018). Early neglect and the development of aggression in toddlerhood: The role of working memory. Child Maltreatment, 23(4), 344-354.
  • Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (2017). Using the science of developmental psychopathology to inform child and adolescent psychotherapy.  In J. R. Weisz & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Evidence-based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents. (pp. 484-500).  New York: Guilford.
  • *Guild, D. J., Toth, S. L., Handley, E. D., Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2017). Attachment security mediates the longitudinal association between child-parent psychotherapy and peer relations for toddlers of depressed mothers. Development and Psychopathology, 29(2), 587-600.
  • Toth, S. L., Michl-Petzing, L., Guild, D., and Lieberman, A. (2017) Child-Parent Psychotherapy:  Theoretical bases, clinical applications, and empirical support.  In H. Steele & M. Steele (Eds.), Handbook of Attachment-Based Interventions. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Toth, S. L., Petrenko, C. L. M., Gravener Davis, J., & Handley, E. D. (2016).  Chapter 16: Advances in prevention Science:  A developmental psychopathology perspective.  In D. Cicchetti, (Ed.), Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 4). New York: Wiley.