G. Leonard Burns

G. Leonard Burns is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Washington State University's College of Arts and Sciences. His primary academic appointment is within the Experimental Psychology program, with significant contributions to child and adolescent psychopathology research. He maintains an active research laboratory focusing on advanced quantitative methods and cross-cultural validation studies.

Dr. Burns' research centers on latent variable modeling applications in understanding childhood disorders, particularly ADHD, Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (recently termed Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome), and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. His work employs sophisticated methodologies including confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, latent growth analysis, and item response theory. A distinctive feature of his research program involves multinational collaborations, especially with Spanish and Brazilian colleagues, examining cross-cultural validity and developmental trajectories of psychopathology symptoms.

His recent publications demonstrate a clear shift toward Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome as a distinct construct, with emphasis on clinical interview development, diagnostic differentiation from ADHD, and multisource validation across diverse cultural contexts. The 2023 work group publication represents a significant terminological shift in the field.

• Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
• Fellow, American Psychological Association (Divisions 5, 12, and 53)

Dr. Burns teaches advanced graduate courses including Psychology 514: Psychometrics (Measurement Theory and Applied Confirmatory Factor Analysis) and Psychology 516: Applied Structural Equation Modeling. His research program provides students with opportunities to engage in cross-cultural studies and master advanced statistical techniques for psychopathology research. Current projects focus on ethnic and cultural differences in child behavior problems with ongoing collaborations in Spain.