Dr. Rescorla's current research is concentrated in three major areas, as
outlined below. Projects that are ongoing or pending in which students might
become involved are listed for each area.
Research on language delay :
1) vocabulary growth from age 2 to age 17 in children with and without
language delay at toddlers
2) development of prereading, reading, and writing/spelling skills to age
17 in children with and without a history of early language delay
3) grammatical skills at age 5 in children with and without a history of
early language delay
4) association between language delay and behavioral/emottional problems
in toddlers
5) use of the Language Development Survey (LDS) in other countries to identify
toddlers with language delay
Empirically based assessment of emotional and behavior problems in children
and adolescents
1) cross- informant agreement between parents, teachers, and adolescents
on CBCL, TRF, and YSR scores in 15 countries
2) cross-cultural similarities and differences in ratings of
competence and adaptive functioning by parents, teachers, and adolescents
3) cross-cultural similarities and differences in ratings of emotional
and behavioral problems of preschool children in many countries
4) longitudinal patterns of consistency and change in behavioral and emotional
problems in a general population sample
Individual differences in early reading
1) prediction of reading outcomes to 3rd grade based on DIBELS screening
tests administered in kindergarten, first, and second grade
2) individual growth trajectories in early reading
3) measuring response to intervention in early reading in public school
children
Leslie
Rescorla received her B.A. degree from Radcliffe College in 1967 (in Modern
European History and Literature), an M.Sc. degree from the London School of
Economics in 1968 (in Economic History), and her Ph.D. in Child Development
and Clinical Psychology from Yale in 1976. She did a clinical internship at
the Yale Child Study Center and then continued on there for several years as
a Research Associate and member of the psychology staff. She was a lecturer
in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1981-85,
during which time she continued her clinical training at the Philadelphia Child
Guidance Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She joined the
faculty in the Department of Human Development at Bryn Mawr College as an Assistant
Professor in 1985-86. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1991-92 and
to Professor in 1996-97. Dr. Rescorla served as Director of the Clinical Developmental
Psychology Doctoral Program from 1985 - 2005. In 1993-94, she became Director
of the Child Study Institute of Bryn Mawr College, a clinic serving children
and families, and the administrative head of the Phebe Anna Thorne School, an
early childhood program serving both typically developing and language delayed
youngsters. From 1994 to 2004, Dr. Rescorla served as Chair of the Department
of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Rescorla is a licensed clinical psychologist
and a certified school psychologist. In addition to her teaching, research,
and adminsitrative activities, she maintains a small clinical practice at the
Child Study Institute, where she works with children and their families and
consults with schools.