Isabella Kahhale, M.S.
Clinical & Developmental
Psychology PhD Candidate
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University of Pittsburgh
I'm a pre-doctoral clinical psychology intern at Harvard University/McLean Hospital.
I study early life adversity, externalizing behavior, & empathy.
​After graduating with a B.S. in Cognitive & Brain Sciences from Tufts University, I joined the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab led by Professor Jamil Zaki to study the neural foundations of empathy. ​Under the mentorship of Professor Jamie Hanson at the University of Pittsburgh, my graduate research investigates how early childhood experiences influence the development of externalizing behaviors (e.g., conduct problems, irritability) and socioemotional functioning (e.g., empathy, emotion dysregulation).
I defended my dissertation in May 2025 (see projects!) and am now a pre-doctoral intern at the Child/Adolescent Emotion Dysregulation and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Track of Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital. I continue to pursue my line of research and will be applying for postdoctoral positions in Fall 2025!
projects
Check out some of the projects that I'm currently working on below!
Dissertation: Early Life Adversity, Empathy, & Externalizing Psychopathology.
​Early life adversity (ELA) describes a diverse range of common and stressful experiences from living in poverty to facing caregiver abuse. Experiences of ELA are known to increase the risk of various mental health challenges; chief among them are symptoms of externalizing psychopathology, which include aggression, irritability, and hyperactivity. Externalizing symptoms are the most common reason that youth are referred to mental health treatment and are associated with maladaptive outcomes across multiple domains. Yet, it remains unclear what explains this link between ELA and externalizing psychopathology.
Empathy, which refers to the ability to understand and resonate with others’ thoughts and emotions, plays a critical role in the formation of healthy social relationships and therefore could explain this risk pathway connecting ELA to externalizing psychopathology. The influence of ELA on the development of empathy, and how such changes cascade to externalizing psychopathology, remain under-explored.
My dissertation (defended May 2025) uses the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD)™ Study and longitudinal growth curve modeling to investigate how ELA influences changes in empathy across the transition from childhood to adolescence, and how these changes predict externalizing behavior across this same developmental period.
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Early Life Adversity & Empathy
Research has established early life adversity (ELA) as a powerful antecedent to an array of socioemotional problems, but it is less clear how ELA impacts empathy specifically. Empathy is a fundamental skill linked to social development and resilience and underpins critical processes such as successful interpersonal interactions, bond formation, and prosocial behavior. ​
I have investigated associations between early life adversity and empathy across several studies. In one study, I examined performance on a gold-standard naturalistic measure of empathy as a moderator between ELA and externalizing behavior in an online sample of 165 adults. I found that individuals with poor empathy skills who experienced certain aspects of ELA were more likely to report externalizing behavior as adults. Average and above-average empathy skills, however, were protective against this ELA-externalizing link (Kahhale et al., 2024, Affective Science). PDF here!
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Paradigm used to collect observer ratings. Observers used a visual analog scale from “Very Negative” to “Very Positive” and dragged the slider as the video was playing to rate the target’s valence. Videos captured targets’ faces and shoulders against a clean, black backdrop. Figure inspired by Ong et al., 2019. Cartoon derived from Bing.com Image Generator.
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I recently authored a scoping review of 43 empirical articles on ELA and empathy to identify gaps for continued exploration (Kahhale et al., 2025, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, PDF here!). My review highlighted that while some evidence has linked ELA to compromised empathy, other research has found increased empathy following ELA. From these muddled findings, I derived actionable recommendations for future research on childhood trauma and socioemotional functioning. These included the need to a) broaden the operationalization of ELA in research, b) explore nuanced subtypes and naturalistic measures of empathy, and c) focus on adolescence as a sensitive developmental period.
Aggression & Empathy
​I've long since been interested in the relationship between aggression and empathy and explored these constructs in a sample of adolescents (N = 103) at high risk for emotion dysregulation. I considered youth-report empathy on a newly-validated self-report empathy measure (i.e., the CASES) and multi-informant reports on aggression (i.e., youth, parent, and teacher) across two timepoints.
I found that certain empathy subtypes -- namely, somatic empathy -- was associated with decreased proactive and reactive aggression in teens (Kahhale et al., 2024, PDF here!)​. This underscored the role of empathy as a resilience factor.
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I am now exploring the shared and distinct neural correlates of empathy and aggression in this same sample (pre-registration: https://osf.io/by9rq)
The Impact of Racism-Based Traumatic Stress on Youth
Integrating clinical observations with research, co-authors and I published recommendations for researchers and clinicians on addressing racism-based stress among youth of color (Kahhale et al., 2024, JAACAP, PDF here). Racism-related experiences are a ubiquitous reality for youth of color, with research indicating that some youth may encounter as many as five incidents of racial discrimination daily. These experiences reinforce health disparities across the lifespan and have been linked to psychological symptoms including suicidal thoughts, depression, and anxiety. Further, racism exposure can trigger biological and psychological stress responses such as avoidance and hypervigilance. Despite concerns regarding the impact of racism-based traumatic stress (RBTS) on development, RBTS has received limited recognition in clinical practice. We provide concrete recommendations for formally acknowledging the impact of RBTS on these populations, as failing to identify and address RBTS symptoms may compromise the quality of mental health services received by youth of color.
Empathy can influence our understanding of others and bias our decision making. While at the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, I investigated how taking the perspective of a victim or a perpetrator of a crime might impact the extent to which we punish and dehumanize the perpetrator. ​
Empathy & Outcomes
in a Legal Context
We conducted 1) an analysis of restricted-access archival data on over 12 million national incarceration records and 2) an experiment and pre-registered replication study.
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We found that hearing the perpetrator’s perspective led to a shorter recommended sentence, and more importantly, less dehumanization. These results highlight the impactful nature of someone’s story in influencing perceptions of their behavior (Kahhale et al., 2025, Emotion, PDF here).
publications & presentations
Publications
Kahhale, I., Hackel, L. & Zaki, J., (2025). Balancing Emotional Scales: Empathy and Dehumanization in Legal Contexts. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001559. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Byrd, A. L., Hanson, J. L., (2025). Exploring the Nexus of Early Life Adversity and Empathy: A Comprehensive Review of Past Research and Recommendations for Future Directions. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-025-00516-8. PDF
Reddan, M., Ong, D. C., Wager, T. D., Mattek, S., Kahhale, I., Zaki, J. (2025). Neural signatures of emotional intent and inference align during social consensus. Nature Communications, 16, 6156. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59931-8. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Barry, R. K., Ong, D. C., Zaki, J., Hanson, J. L., (2024). Exploring the Role of Empathy in
the Association Between Early Life Adversity and Antisocial Behavior. Affective Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-024-00280-y. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Puccetti. N. A., Heller, A. S., Hanson, J. L. (2024). Probing connections between social connectedness, mortality risk, and brain age: A preregistered study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000465. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Farrise, K., Das, A., McPhee, J., Galán, C.A., Scholars for Elevating Equity and Diversity (SEED), and Park, A. (2024). Recognizing the impact of racism-based traumatic stress on youth: Implications for research and clinical practice. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2024.03.022​. PDF
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Hanson, J. L., Kahhale, I., Sen, S. (2024). Integrating Data Science and Neuroscience in Developmental Psychopathology: Formative Examples and Future Directions. Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579424001056. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Hanson, J.L., Raine, A., Byrd A.L. (2024). Associations Between Subtypes of Empathy and Aggression in High-Risk Adolescents. J Psychopathol Behav Assess. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023- 10112-1. PDF
Hanson, J. L., O’Connor, K., Adkins, D. J., & Kahhale, I. (2024). Childhood Adversity and COVID-19 Outcomes: Findings from the UK Biobank. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. https://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2023/11/01/jech-2023-221147?rss=1. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Barry, K., Hanson, J. L. (2023). Positive parenting moderates associations between childhood stress and corticolimbic structure. PNAS Nexus. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad145. PDF
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Kahhale, I., Buser, Nicholas J., Madan, Christopher R., Hanson, Jamie L. (2023). Quantifying numerical and spatial reliability of amygdala and hippocampal subdivisions in FreeSurfer. Brain Informatics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40708-023-00189-5. PDF
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Richie-Halford, A., Cieslak, M., Ai, L., Caffarra, S., Covitz, S., The Fibr Community Science Consortium... & Rokem, A. (2022). An analysis-ready and quality controlled resource for pediatric brain white-matter research. Scientific Data, 9(1), 1-27.
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Bacas, E., Kahhale, I., Raamana, P.R., Pablo, J.R., Anand, A.S., Hanson, J.L.(2023). Probing Multiple Algorithms to Calculate Brain Age: Examining Reliability, Relations with Demographics, and Predictive Power. Human Brain Mapping. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.26292. PDF
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Kahhale, I. ,(2022). The Promise of Prediction: Review of Glenn & Raine, Nat Rev Neuro, 2014.Invited submission to Nature Reviews Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00027-1. PDF
Galán, C., Tung, I., Tabachnick, A.,Sequeira, S., Novacek, D.M., Kahhale, I.,...Bekele, B.(2022). Combatting the conspiracy of silence: Clinician recommendations for talking about racism and racism- related events with youth of color. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/kuryx. Selected by JAACAP as an “Editor’s Best of 2022” article. PDF
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Ong, D.C., Wu, Z., Zhi-Xuan, T., Reddan, M., Kahhale, I., Mattek, A. ,& Zaki,J. (2019). Modeling emotion in complex stories: the Stanford Emotional Narratives Dataset. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/taffc.2019.2955949. PDF
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Seligowski, A.V., Lebois, L.A.M., Hill, S.B., Kahhale, I., Wolff, J.D., Jovanovic, T., Winternitz, S.R., Kaufman, M. L., & Ressler, K. J., (2019). Autonomic responses to fear conditioning among women with PTSD and dissociation. Depression and Anxiety. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/da.22903. PDF
Recent Presentations
Kahhale, I. (2025). Latent Growth Curve Modeling: Theoretical Applications and Tutorial in R. A talk presented at the Committee for Advanced Methodological Learning (CAMeL) in fulfillment of the Pitt. Quantitative Minor, March 20, 2025.
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Kahhale, I. & Hanson, J. L. (2024). Adolescent Brain Development: Important Factors to Consider in Sentencing Youth. Invited talk by the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, presented at a training for Ohio Public Defenders parole board members. November 15th, 2024.
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Kahhale, I., Hanson, J. L., Raine, Adrian, Byrd, A. L. (2024). Socioemotional brain structure and connections with subtypes of aggression. Poster at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Department of Psychiatry Research Day, June 13, 2024.
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Kahhale, I. (2024). Exploring the Nexus of Early Life Adversity and Empathy: A Comprehensive Review of Past Research and Recommendations for Future Directions. Research talk presented to the Department of Psychology Jeremy Johnson Landen Award Event, April 2024.
Kahhale, I. (2024). Treating Trauma and Suicidality in a Minoritized Adolescent: a Cultural Case Conceptualization & Presentation. Talk presented to Pitt Clinical Students, March 20th, 2024.
Kahhale, I., Hanson, J. L. (2024). Probing connections between social connectedness, mortality risk, and brain age: A preregistered study. Poster presented at the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society Conference (April 10-13, 2024).
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Kahhale, I., Hanson, J. L., Raine, Adrian, Byrd, A. L. (2023). Emotion regulatory brain structure and
normative deviations: connections with subtypes of aggression. Poster at Developmental Affective Neuroscience Symposium Conference, November 9th 2023.
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Kahhale, I., Hanson, J. L., Raine, Adrian, Byrd, A. L (2023). Socioemotional brain structure and
normative deviations: Connections with subtypes of empathy and aggression. Invited Flash Blitz Talk at Aggression and Violent Behavior Conference, October 2023.
Kahhale, I., Barry, K., Hanson, J. L. (2023). Empathic Accuracy Moderates the Association between
Early Life Adversity and Adult Antisocial Behavior. Data Blitz Talk at Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy Early Career Event, May 2023.
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Kahhale, I., Barry, K., Hanson, J. L. (2023). Empathic Accuracy Moderates the Association between
Early Life Adversity and Adult Delinquency. Poster presented at Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy Early Career Event, May 2023.
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Kahhale, I., Barry, K., Hanson, J. L. (2023). Positive Parenting Moderates Associations between
Childhood Stress and Corticolimbic Structure. Poster presented at SRCD biennial meeting, March 2023.
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Kahhale, I., Barry, R. K., Hanson, J. L., (2023). Empathic Accuracy Moderates the Association between
Early Life Adversity and Adult Delinquency. Flash talk presented at Society for Affective Science (SAS) Meeting, April 2023.
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Symposium Chair, Heterogeneity in Externalizing Psychopathology: the Contribution of Multiple
Etiological Pathways across Childhood and Adolescence (2023). Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) biennial meeting symposium, March 2023.
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Kahhale, I., Hanson, J. L., Raine, Adrian, Byrd, A. L. (2023). Associations between Empathy and
Aggression Subtypes in High-Risk Adolescents. Symposium talk at SRCD biennial meeting, March 2023.
teaching
Lecturer/Instructor of Record
June 2021 - August 2021
University of Pittsburgh
Organized and taught a full course delivered remotely; integrated multiple platforms including Canvas, Panopto, and Top Hat
Introduction to Social Psychology
Guest Lecturer
October 2021, April 2021
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March 2020
"Childhood Maltreatment & the Brain."
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"The Stress Response & Adverse Childhood Experiences."
University of Pittsburgh
Introduction to Psychology
University Counseling Center Workshop Facilitator
June 2020 - August 2020
University Counseling Center
University of Pittsburgh
I led virtual workshops on stress management, mindfulness, & other topics aimed at helping students cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
I also developed 3 workshops related to self-care including practicing gratitude, engaging in hobbies, & regulating autonomic nervous system activity.
Tutor
May 2020 - August 2020
I provided weekly academic support to a young woman with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pittsburgh, PA
Graduate Teacher's Assistant
January 2020 - April 2020
August 2022 - December 2022
I served as a graduate TA for Professor Melinda Ciccoccopo.
Introduction to Psychology
University of Pittsburgh
Undergraduate Teacher's Assistant
August 2016 - December 2016
Introduction to Psychology
I served as a TA for Professors Elizabeth Race, Jessica Remedios, and Paul Muentener.
Tufts University
Biography
I am a Lebanese-American developmental and clinical psychologist seeking to understand how early adverse experiences shape developmental trajectories. My parents survived the Lebanese Civil War and worked tirelessly to provide a better life for my brother, my sister, and me; I have them to thank for instilling in me a) a curiosity to understand how trauma and adversity impact behavior and well-being, b) a passion for service work within my community, and c) an undying love of food. ​
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I love to be active, whether that be rowing, snowboarding, running, or poorly playing tennis. I also love reading (especially audiobooks, and especially ones read by the author), traveling, and eating. If you find yourself in Pittsburgh or Boston one of these days, please reach out for food recommendations; I'd get a lot more done if I spent as much time reading papers as I do menu-prowling.
