Dr. Beck's research focus is how health interacts with environment and contributes to psychopathology in children, specifically how medical conditions can be treated using a developmental psychology model. Her work underscores the necessity of taking a broader, developmental view of functional somatic symptoms (FSS). The tenets of developmental psychopathology emphasize the utility of viewing  FSS on a continuum of severity rather than as a discrete entity or diagnosis.

Beck JE. A developmental perspective on functional somatic symptoms. J Pediatr Psychol. 2008 Jun;33(5):547-62. 

Her most recent research concerns abdominal pain and how it contributes to psychopathology.

Beck, J. E., Haman, K., Garber, G., & Walker, L.S. (2008, September). Psychopathology in Adults with Childhood Chronic Abdominal Pain. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Management, Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Beck's future research will focus on attentional bias to pain and social threat in patients with functional abdominal pain.