Sara Bufferd

Sara Bufferd, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training/Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville. She previously served as an Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University San Marcos. Her research focuses on assessing and predicting early-emerging psychopathology in children, particularly examining the spectrum of normative to pathological emotional development related to anxiety and mood dysregulation. She employs methodologies such as daily diaries, diagnostic interviews, laboratory observations, and psychophysiological assessments.

Bufferd holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Stony Brook University (2012) and a B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University (2003). Her work emphasizes understanding how temperament, parenting behaviors, and environmental stressors influence children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes. Current projects include investigations into sleep actigraphy and the role of cortisol reactivity in child psychopathology. Her lab, the UofL Child Affective and Mood (CAM) Lab, explores these themes comprehensively.

Her research highlights continuity and predictors of psychiatric disorders from early childhood through adolescence, including studies on irritability, anxiety, and depressive behaviors. Key findings include associations between preschool psychopathology and later social functioning, as well as the interplay between parental psychopathology and child sleep difficulties. Bufferd’s contributions bridge developmental psychology and clinical practice, aiming to improve early identification and intervention strategies for at-risk children.