David Bridgett

Dr. David Bridgett is a Professor and Director of the Psychological Services Center at the University of Nevada, Reno (since January 2024). Previously, he spent 14 years at Northern Illinois University, where he founded and directed the Emotion Regulation and Temperament Lab. He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Washington State University, a clinical internship at Yale University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale’s Child Study Center. His research focuses on the intersection of biological and environmental influences on children’s regulatory and affective processes, including executive functioning, emotion regulation, and developmental psychopathology. Collaborations span institutions like Baylor College of Medicine, Temple University, and the University of Turku, Finland. He has served on editorial boards, including as Associate Editor for the Journal of Family Psychology, and contributes to NIH review panels. Bridgett emphasizes mentorship, advising graduate students and early career researchers, and integrates passive assessment methods in studies on media use and child health outcomes.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical), Washington State University, 2008
• M.A., Stephen F. Austin State University, 2002
• B.S., Midwestern State University, 1999

Research Interests:

• Executive functioning and emotion regulation in children
• Parenting behavior and family dynamics
• Health-related behaviors and outcomes in children
• Influence of digital media on child development

His work examines how maternal self-regulation shapes caregiving environments and child outcomes, alongside stress response mechanisms and infant negative affectivity.

Grants & Collaborations:

• Principal investigator on NIH-funded studies linking digital media use to children’s executive functioning and weight status
• Co-investigator on projects examining appetite self-regulation in preschoolers and maternal responses to infant distress

Lab & Teams: Former director of the Emotion Regulation and Temperament Lab at NIU; currently collaborates with international teams on longitudinal studies of child development.