Professional Bio

Research Interests

Sheri Berenbaum is interested in social and cognitive development, primarily from a neuroscience perspective. Current work focuses on prenatal sex hormone effects on gender development, genetic influences on pubertal development and on the association between pubertal timing and behavior, and the neural substrates of individual differences in cognitive abilities. A goal is to understand the ways in which biological predispositions and the childhood social environment work together to produce individual differences in social behavior and cognition.

Recent Publications

Berenbaum, S. A. (2018). Beyond pink and blue: The complexity of early androgen effects on gender development. Child Development Perspectives, 12, 58-64.

Berenbaum, S. A., Beltz, A. M., Bryk, K. L., & McHale, S. M. (2018). Gendered peer involvement in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Effects of prenatal androgens, gendered activities, and gender cognitions. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 915-929.

Berenbaum S. A. (2018). Evidence needed to understand gender identity: Commentary on Turban & Ehrensaft (2018). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59, 1244-1247.

Beltz, A. M., Kelly, D. & Berenbaum, S. A. (2019). Sex differences in brain and behavioral development. In J. Rubenstein & P. Rakic (Series Eds.), Comprehensive developmental neuroscience, In H. Tager-Flusberg (Vol. Ed.), Neural circuit development and function in the healthy and diseased brain, vol. 3 (2^nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier.

Beltz, A. M., Corley, R. P., Wadsworth, S. J., DiLalla, L. F., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2020). Does puberty affect the development of behavior problems as a mediator, moderator, or unique predictor? Development and Psychopathology, 32, 1473-1485.

Chen, D. et al. (2020). Consensus Parameter: Research methodologies to evaluate neurodevelopmental effects of pubertal suppression in transgender youth. Transgender Health, 5, 246-257.

DiLalla, L. F., Pham, H. T., Corley, R. P., Wadsworth, S., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2021). Family experiences and parent personality as antecedents of pubertal timing in girls and boys. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50, 1017-1033.

Berenbaum, S. A., & Beltz, A. M. (2021). Evidence and implications from a natural experiment of prenatal androgen effects on gendered behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science 30, 202-210.Podcast interview: https://currentdirectionsaps.podbean.com

Beltz, A. M., Demidenko, M., Wilson, S., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2021, in press). Prenatal androgen influences on the brain: A review, critique, and illustration of research on congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Journal of Neuroscience Research.

Pham, H. T., DiLalla, L. F., Corley, R. P., Dorn, L. D., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2022, in press). Family environmental antecedents of pubertal timing in girls and boys: A review and open questions. Hormones and Behavior.