{{Short description|American child psychiatrist}} {{Infobox academic | name = John Constantino | occupation = Child psychiatrist | citizenship = | workplaces = Washington University in St. Louis <br>Children's Healthcare of Atlanta <br> Emory University | alma_mater = Cornell University <br> Washington University in St. Louis | awards = George Tarjan Award, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2015 | spouse = }}
'''John N. Constantino''' is a child psychiatrist and expert on neurodevelopmental disorders, especially autism spectrum disorders (ASD).<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Constantino |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u9zwueUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=scholar.google.com}}</ref> Constantino is the inaugural System Chief of Behavioral and Mental Health at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He is a Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Genetics at the Emory University School of Medicine.
Constantino is best known for developing the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS),<ref>{{Cite web |title=(SRS™-2) Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition |url=https://www.wpspublish.com/srs-2-social-responsiveness-scale-second-edition |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.wpspublish.com |language=en}}</ref> a diagnostic rating scale used to distinguish autism spectrum disorder from other child psychiatric conditions by identifying the presence and extent of social impairments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wagner |first1=Rachael E. |last2=Zhang |first2=Yi |last3=Gray |first3=Teddi |last4=Abbacchi |first4=Anna |last5=Cormier |first5=Deporres |last6=Todorov |first6=Alexandre |last7=Constantino |first7=John N. |title=Autism-Related Variation in Reciprocal Social Behavior: A Longitudinal Study |journal=Child Development |date=2019 |language=en |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=441–451 |doi=10.1111/cdev.13170 |issn=0009-3920 |pmc=6446804 |pmid=30346626}}</ref> The SRS, published in 2005, includes parent-, teacher-, self-, and spouse-report rating forms. It has been used to assess social-behavioral characteristics indicative of the broader autism phenotype.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Zeliadt |first1=Nicholette |last2=Spectrum |date=2016-11-14 |title=What Grandmothers Can Teach Science About Autism |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/11/grandmas-and-autism/507446/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> The SRS is a widely used tool to help clinicians identify social impairments in individuals both with and without a diagnosis of ASD.
Constantino received the 2014 Irving Philips Award and the 2015 George Tarjan Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dryden |first=Jim |date=2014-11-04 |title=Constantino receives Phillips award |url=https://source.washu.edu/2014/11/constantino-receives-phillips-award/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=The Source |language=en-US}}</ref> respectively for lifetime contributions in prevention and developmental disabilities. In 2013, he received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Washington University School of Medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John N. Constantino, MD |url=https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/about/faculty-recognition/alumni-association-awards/2013-2/john-n-constantino-md/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis |language=en}}</ref>
== Biography == Constantino earned his B.A. at Cornell University in 1984. Constantino completed his medical degree at Washington University School of Medicine in 1988. After completing a 5-year combined residency in pediatrics, general psychiatry and child psychiatry at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, Constantino joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine where he held the appointment of the Blanche F. Ittelson Chair and Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from 2009 to 2022 and co-led its Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC). His research program at the IDDRC was funded through numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Brian |date=2015-11-23 |title=$6.5 million to fund research, treatment of developmental disabilities |url=https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/6-5-million-to-fund-research-treatment-of-developmental-disabilities/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis |language=en}}</ref>
Constantino was appointed the Liz and Frank Blake Chair of Behavioral and Mental Health at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in 2024, following his move to Atlanta in 2022 to lead a large-scale effort to model system transformation and parity in child mental health there and the vice chair and professor in the department of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Constantino |first=John N. |title=Bridging the Divide Between Health and Mental Health: New Opportunity for Parity in Childhood |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |date=2023 |volume=62 |issue=11 |pages=1182–1184 |doi=10.1016/j.jaac.2023.03.019 |issn=1527-5418 |pmid=37230286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Profile {{!}} Emory School of Medicine |url=https://med.emory.edu/directory/profile/?u=JNCONST |access-date=2025-06-15 |website=med.emory.edu}}</ref>
== Research == Constantino's research program focuses on developmental disabilities and social development from infancy through early adulthood.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Constantino |first=John N. |title=The quantitative nature of autistic social impairment |journal=Pediatric Research |date=2011 |volume=69 |issue=5 Pt 2 |pages=55R–62R |doi=10.1203/PDR.0b013e318212ec6e |issn=1530-0447 |pmc=3086844 |pmid=21289537}}</ref> Some of his most influential work has used twin studies to examine the prevalence of autistic traits in the general population (also referred to as the broader autism phenotype<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Constantino |first1=John N. |last2=Todd |first2=Richard D. |date=2003-05-01 |title=Autistic Traits in the General Population: A Twin Study |url=http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/archpsyc.60.5.524 |journal=Archives of General Psychiatry |language=en |volume=60 |issue=5 |pages=524 |doi=10.1001/archpsyc.60.5.524 |issn=0003-990X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>) and in at-risk groups including individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who have heightened rates of autistic traits.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reiersen |first1=Angela M. |last2=Constantino |first2=John N. |last3=Volk |first3=Heather E. |last4=Todd |first4=Richard D. |title=Autistic traits in a population-based ADHD twin sample |url=https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01720.x |journal=Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry |date=2007 |language=en |volume=48 |issue=5 |pages=464–472 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01720.x |pmid=17501727 |issn=0021-9630|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
As a member of the Autism Genome Project Consortium,<ref>{{Cite web |title=dbGaP Study |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000267.v1.p1 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> Constantino was involved in genetic linkage studies of autism risk.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=The Autism Genome Project Consortium |title=Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements |journal=Nature Genetics |date=2007 |language=en |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=319–328 |doi=10.1038/ng1985 |issn=1061-4036 |pmc=4867008 |pmid=17322880}}</ref> His laboratory linked familial risk for autism to early variations in visual social engagement,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Constantino |first1=John N. |last2=Kennon-McGill |first2=Stefanie |last3=Weichselbaum |first3=Claire |last4=Marrus |first4=Natasha |last5=Haider |first5=Alyzeh |last6=Glowinski |first6=Anne L. |last7=Gillespie |first7=Scott |last8=Klaiman |first8=Cheryl |last9=Klin |first9=Ami |last10=Jones |first10=Warren |title=Infant viewing of social scenes is under genetic control and is atypical in autism |journal=Nature |date=2017 |language=en |volume=547 |issue=7663 |pages=340–344 |doi=10.1038/nature22999 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=5842695 |pmid=28700580}}</ref> motor coordination<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mous |first1=Sabine E. |last2=Jiang |first2=Allan |last3=Agrawal |first3=Arpana |last4=Constantino |first4=John N. |title=Attention and motor deficits index non-specific background liabilities that predict autism recurrence in siblings |journal=Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders |date=2017 |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=32 |doi=10.1186/s11689-017-9212-y |doi-access=free |issn=1866-1947 |pmc=5583755 |pmid=28870164}}</ref> and activity level.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pohl |first1=Alexa |last2=Jones |first2=Warren R. |last3=Marrus |first3=Natasha |last4=Zhang |first4=Yi |last5=Klin |first5=Ami |last6=Constantino |first6=John N. |date=2019-08-22 |title=Behavioral predictors of autism recurrence are genetically independent and influence social reciprocity: evidence that polygenic ASD risk is mediated by separable elements of developmental liability |journal=Translational Psychiatry |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=202 |doi=10.1038/s41398-019-0545-z |issn=2158-3188 |pmc=6706410 |pmid=31439834}}</ref> Other research has examined patterns of familial aggregation in multiplex autism, defined as instances where two or more individuals in the same family are affected; knowledge gained from these studies helped specify the impact of combined influences of independently-inherited traits on early childhood social development<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Virkud |first1=Yamini V. |last2=Todd |first2=Richard D. |last3=Abbacchi |first3=Anna M. |last4=Zhang |first4=Yi |last5=Constantino |first5=John N. |date=2009-04-05 |title=Familial aggregation of quantitative autistic traits in multiplex versus simplex autism |journal=American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics |language=en |volume=150B |issue=3 |pages=328–334 |doi=10.1002/ajmg.b.30810 |issn=1552-4841 |pmc=2819431 |pmid=18618672}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Constantino |first=John N. |title=Deconstructing autism: from unitary syndrome to contributory developmental endophenotypes |journal=International Review of Psychiatry |date=2018 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=18–24 |doi=10.1080/09540261.2018.1433133 |issn=1369-1627 |pmc=5934305 |pmid=29498298}}</ref> His work has also elucidated opportunities to resolve enduring disparities in developmental outcomes of minority children affected by autism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Constantino |first1=John N. |last2=Abbacchi |first2=Anna M. |last3=May |first3=Brandon K. |last4=Klaiman |first4=Cheryl |last5=Zhang |first5=Yi |last6=Lowe |first6=Jennifer K. |last7=Marrus |first7=Natasha |last8=Klin |first8=Ami |last9=Geschwind |first9=Daniel H. |title=Prospects for Leveling the Playing Field for Black Children With Autism |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry |date=2023 |language=en |volume=62 |issue=9 |pages=949–952 |doi=10.1016/j.jaac.2023.05.005 |pmc=10948275 |pmid=37196781}}</ref> His research contributions have also addressed environmental influences on antisocial development<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jonson-Reid |first1=Melissa |last2=Presnall |first2=Ned |last3=Drake |first3=Brett |last4=Fox |first4=Louis |last5=Bierut |first5=Laura |last6=Reich |first6=Wendy |last7=Kane |first7=Phyllis |last8=Todd |first8=Richard D. |last9=Constantino |first9=John N. |title=Effects of child maltreatment and inherited liability on antisocial development: an official records study |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |date=2010 |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=321–332; quiz 431 |issn=1527-5418 |pmc=2878182 |pmid=20410725}}</ref> including prospects for its prevention through parenting education<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Presnall |first1=Ned |last2=Webster-Stratton |first2=Carolyn H. |last3=Constantino |first3=John N. |title=Parent Training: Equivalent Improvement in Externalizing Behavior for Children With and Without Familial Risk |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry |date=2014 |language=en |volume=53 |issue=8 |pages=879–887.e2 |doi=10.1016/j.jaac.2014.04.024 |pmc=4492282 |pmid=25062595}}</ref> and the prevention of maltreatment in early childhood.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Constantino |first1=John N. |last2=Buchanan |first2=Gretchen |last3=Tandon |first3=Mini |last4=Bader |first4=Carol |last5=Jonson-Reid |first5=Melissa |date=2023-09-01 |title=Reducing Abuse and Neglect Recurrence Among Young Foster Children Reunified With Their Families |journal=Pediatrics |language=en |volume=152 |issue=3 |doi=10.1542/peds.2022-060118 |issn=0031-4005|pmc=11539087 |pmid=37622236 |page=e2022060118 }}</ref>
== Representative publications ==
* {{cite journal | last1 = Constantino | first1 = J. N. | last2 = Zhang | first2 = Y. I. | last3 = Frazier | first3 = T. | last4 = Abbacchi | first4 = A. M. | last5 = Law | first5 = P. | year = 2010 | title = Sibling recurrence and the genetic epidemiology of autism | url = | journal = American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 167 | issue = 11| pages = 1349–1356 }} *Constantino JN, Gruber CP (2012) The Social Responsiveness Scale Manual, Second Edition (SRS-2). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services. *{{cite journal | pmid = 29352551 | doi=10.1002/wps.20495 | volume=17 | issue=1 | title=Prevention of child maltreatment: strategic targeting of a curvilinear relationship between adversity and psychiatric impairment | pmc=5775142 | year=2018 | journal=World Psychiatry | pages=103–104 | last1 = Constantino | first1 = JN}} *{{cite journal | pmid = 30356093 | doi=10.1038/s41390-018-0217-3 | volume=85 | issue=2 | title=Early behavioral indices of inherited liability to autism | pmc=6353672 | year=2019 | journal=Pediatr Res | pages=127–133 | last1 = Constantino | first1 = JN}} *{{cite journal | last1 = Constantino | first1 = JN | last2 = Charman | first2 = T | last3 = Jones | first3 = EJH | date = Sep 2020 | title = Clinical and Translational Implications of an Emerging Developmental Substructure for Autism. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2021 May 7;17:365-389 Broder-Fingert S, Mateo CM, Zuckerman KE. Structural Racism and Autism | url = | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 146 | issue = 3| page = e2020015420 }}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*[https://www.choa.org/about-us/leadership Faculty Home Page] *[http://iddrc.wustl.edu/ Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center] *[https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u9zwueUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao Google Scholar Profile]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantino, John}} Category:Living people Category:American scientists Category:American medical doctors Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Emory University School of Medicine faculty Category:Washington University School of Medicine alumni Category:Washington University School of Medicine faculty Category:Year of birth missing (living people)