Samantha Perlstein, MA

Undergraduate School
Barnard College

Graduate School
University of Pennsylvania

Interests & Career Goals

I am striving to become a well-rounded pediatric psychologist and clinical scientist with a specific interest in pediatric neuropsychology. My long-term career goals include being fully integrated within an academic medical setting, and thus be in a position to provide support and mentorship to a new generation of trainees.

Favorite Pastimes

I enjoy running and taking long walks to my favorite coffee shops. I also love re-watching and re-reading my favorite series with a bowl of popcorn.

Why I Chose Duke

I chose Duke because of the diverse set of rotational and training opportunities available to interns across concentrations and the highly dedicated faculty and staff. Duke’s internship program is well aligned with my training objectives and long-term career goal of becoming a knowledgeable and ethical pediatric psychologist and clinical scientist.

Research Interests

My research explores the development of antisocial and psychopathic behaviors in childhood, including a focus on the psychological and neurocognitive processes that underpin deficits in empathy and social bonding in children with callous-emotional traits.

Publications

Perlstein, S., Hawes, S., Byrd, A.L., Barzilay, R., Gur, R., Laird, A., & Waller, R. (2024). Unique Versus Shared Neural Correlates of Externalizing Psychopathology in Late-Childhood. In Press, Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science.
Paz, Y., Perkins, E.R., Colins, O., Perlstein, S., Wagner, N.J., Hawes, S.W., Byrd, A., Viding, E., & Waller, R. (2024). Evaluating the Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward (STAR) Model in the ABCD Study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13976
Lynch, S.F., Perlstein, S., Ordway, C., Jones, C., Lembcke, H., ^Waller, R., & ^Wagner, N.J. (2024). Parasympathetic nervous system functioning moderates the associations between callous-unemotional traits and emotion understanding difficulties in late-childhood. Children, 11(2), 184. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020184. ^Joint senior/corresponding authors
Perlstein, S., Fair, M., Hong, E., & Waller, R. (2023). Treatment of childhood disruptive behavior disorders and callous-unemotional traits: A systematic review and two multilevel meta-analyses. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64(9), 1372–1387. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13774.
Perlstein, S., Wagner, N., Dominguez, B., Lopez Romero, L., Romero, E., & Waller, R. (2023). Psychometric properties, factor structure, and validity of the sensitivity to threat and affiliative reward scale (STARS) in children and adults. Assessment, 30(6), 1914-1934. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911221128946.
Shilton, T., Mancini, A. D., Perlstein, S., Didomenico, G. E., Greenberg, G. E., Brown, L. A., Gur, R., Waller, R., & Barzilay, R. (2023). Contribution of risk and resilience factors to trajectories of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study. Stress and Health, 39(4), 927-939. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3233.
Linke, J.O., Haller, S.P., Xu, E., Nguyen, L., Chue, A., Zapp, C., Revzina, O., Perlstein, S., Ross, A., Tseng, W.L., Shaw, P., Brotman, M., Pine, Gotts, S.J., Leibenluft, E., & Kircanski, K. (2023). Persistent frustration-induced reconfigurations of brain networks predict individual differences in irritability. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(6), 684-695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.11.009.
Perlstein, S., Hawes, S., Vazquez, A.Y., Pacheco-Colón, I., Lehman, S., Parent, J., Byrd, A., & Waller, R. (2022). Genetic versus environmental influences on callous-unemotional traits in preadolescence: the role of parenting and parental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 34(5), 1686-1701. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579422000888.
Shakiba, N., Perlstein, S., Powell, T., Rodriguez, Y., Waller, R., & Wagner, N. J. (2022). Prospective associations between pandemic-related adversity, harsh parenting, and the development of prosociality across middle- to late-childhood. Developmental Psychology, 59(3), 538–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001475.
Perlstein, S., Waller, R., Wagner, N., Flom, M., & Saudino, K., J. (2022). Low observed social affiliation predicts increases in callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(1), 109-117. https://doi:10.1111/jcpp.13466.
Perlstein, S. & Waller, R. (2022). Integrating the study of personality and psychopathology in the context of gene-environment correlations across development. Journal of Personality, 90(1), 47-60, https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12609.
Perlstein, S., Waller, R., Wagner, N., Byrd, A., Vine, V., Jennings, R., & Stepp, S. (2021). Autonomic nervous system inflexibility during parent-child interactions is related to callous-unemotional traits during early adolescence. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 49(12), 1581-1592. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104308.
Naim, R., Kircanski, K., German, R. E., Davis, M., Perlstein, S., Clayton, A. L., Gold, M. A., & Brotman, M. A. (2021). An across-subjects multiple baseline trial of exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for severe irritability: A study protocol. BMJ open, 11(3), e039169. https://doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039169.
Waller, R., Powell, T., Rodriguez, Y., Corbett, N., Perlstein, S., White, L. K., Barzilay, R., & Wagner, N. J. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits. Journal of Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 52(6), 1012-1023. https://doi:10.1007/s10578-020-01109-y.
Linke, J., Aldeman, N. E., Sarlls, J., Ross, A., Perlstein, S., Frank, H., Towbin, K. E., Pine, D. S., Leibenluft, E., & Brotman, M. A. (2020). White matter microstructure in pediatric bipolar disorder and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(10), 1135-1145. https://doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2019.05.035.

Poster Presentations

Perlstein, S., Wagner, N., Dominguez, B., Lopez Romero, L., Romero, E., & Waller, R. (2021, May 2022). Psychometric Properties, Factor Structure, and Construct Validity of the Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward Scale (STARS) in Children and Adults. Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy Early Career Event [Poster Session], Virtual Meeting. https://psychopathysociety.org/page/SSSP2021_ECE
Perlstein, S., Wagner, N., Dominguez, B., Lopez Romero, L., Romero, E., & Waller, R. (2021, April 7-9). Psychometric Properties, Factor Structure, and Construct Validity of the Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward Scale (STARS) in Children and Adults. Society for Research in Child Development Annual Meeting [Poster Session], Virtual Meeting, https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/srcd.
Perlstein, S., Waller, R., Wagner, N., Byrd, A., Vine, V., Jennings, R., & Stepp, S. (2020, June 17-18). Autonomic Nervous System Inflexibility During Parent-Child Interactions is Related to CU Traits During Early Adolescence. Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting [Poster Session], Virtual Meeting. https://event.vconferenceonline.com/microsite/html/login.aspx?id=1569&rlp=1%C2%A0
Perlstein, S., Haller, Kircanski, K., Wiggins, J.L., Perhamus, G., Stiles, K., Curhan, A., Leibenluft, E., & Brotman, M.A. (2018, November). Eye Gaze Fixation Patterns During Face-Emotion Labeling in Youth at Familial Risk for Bipolar Disorder. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Annual Conference [Poster Session], Washington, D.C, United States.
Perlstein, S., Cardinale, E., Gancz, N., Wakschlag, L., Briggs-Gowan, M.J., Towbin, K., Pine, D. S., Brotman, M. A., & Leibenluft, E. (2018, September). Predicting Pathways to Aggression in Youth with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. The National Institutes of Health Research Festival [Poster Session], Bethesda, MD, United States.
Perlstein, S., Haller, S., Kircanski, K., Wiggins, J.L., Perhamus, G., Stiles, K., Curhan, A., Leibenluft, E., & Brotman, M.A., (2018, May). Gaze Fixation During Face-Emotion Labeling in a Transdiagnostic Sample of Youth with Irritability. The National Institutes of Health Postbaccalaureate Poster Day [Poster Session], Bethesda, MD, United States.
Perlstein, S., Haller, S., Kircanski, K., Wiggins, J.L., Perhamus, G., Stiles, K., Curhan, A., Leibenluft, E., & Brotman, M.A., (2018, April). Gaze Fixation During Face-Emotion Labeling in a Transdiagnostic Sample of Youth with Irritability. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Annual Conference [Poster Session], Washington, D.C, United States.