Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D.

 

Email:  lds@temple.edu
Phone: (215) 204-7485

Interests: Adolescent brain, behavioral, and psychosocial development; parent-child relationships; developmental psychopathology; juvenile justice; implications of developmental research for legal and social policy

Laurence Steinberg , Ph.D. , is the Distinguished University Professor and Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology at Temple University. Dr. Steinberg has taught previously at Cornell University, the University of California at Irvine, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He was educated at Vassar College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with honors and distinction in psychology in 1974; and at Cornell University, where he received his Ph.D. in human development and family studies in 1977. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, has been a Faculty Scholar of the William T. Grant Foundation, and was Director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. Dr. Steinberg is President of the Division of Developmental Psychology of the American Psychological Association and a Past President of the Society for Research on Adolescence. He has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the John P. Hill Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Adolescence, given by the Society for Research on Adolescence, the Society for Adolescent Medicine's Gallagher Lectureship, and the American Psychological Association Presidential Citation, for his impact on the field of psychology. Dr. Steinberg also has been recognized for excellence in research and teaching by the University of California, the University of Wisconsin, and Temple University, where he was honored as one of the university's Great Teachers.

A nationally and internationally renowned expert on psychological development during adolescence, Dr. Steinberg's research has focused on a range of topics in the study of contemporary adolescence, including adolescent brain development, risk-taking and decision-making, parent-adolescent relationships, adolescent employment, high school reform, and juvenile justice. His work has been funded by a variety of public and private organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, the MacArthur Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Lilly Endowment. Dr. Steinberg served as a member of the National Academies’ Panel on the Health Implications of Child Labor, Committee on the Science of Adolescent Health and Development, and Board on Children, Youth, and Families. He has been a frequent consultant to state and federal agencies and lawmakers on child labor, secondary education, and juvenile justice policy and was the lead scientist on the amicus curiae brief filed by the American Psychological Association in Roper v. Simmons, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that abolished the juvenile death penalty.  He has also provided expert testimony and consultation in a number of legal cases involving adolescent brain and behavioral development.

Dr. Steinberg is the author of more than 250 articles and essays on growth and development during the teenage years, and the author or editor of eleven books, including Adolescence (McGraw-Hill), the leading college textbook on adolescent development, now in its 8th edition; When Teenagers Work: The Psychological and Social Costs of Adolescent Employment (with Ellen Greenberger; Basic Books); You and Your Adolescent: A Parent's Guide for Ages 10 to 20 (with Ann Levine; HarperCollins); Crossing Paths: How Your Child's Adolescence Triggers Your Own Crisis (with Wendy Steinberg; Simon & Schuster), Beyond the Classroom: Why School Reform Has Failed and What Parents Need to Do (with Bradford Brown and Sanford Dornbusch; Simon & Schuster), Studying Minority Adolescents: Conceptual, Methodological, and Theoretical Issues (co-edited with Vonnie McLoyd; Erlbaum), the Handbook of Adolescent Psychology , 2nd edition (co-edited with Richard Lerner; Wiley), Rethinking Juvenile Justice (with Elizabeth Scott; Harvard University Press), and The Ten Basic Principles of Good Parenting (Simon & Schuster), which has been translated into ten languages. Dr. Steinberg is a frequent consultant on adolescent development for print and electronic media, including The New York Times and National Public Radio. He has also has written for many popular outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Dr. Steinberg is available for speaking and workshops on child and adolescent development, family relationships, and juvenile justice policy and practice.  Presentations can be customized to suit the needs of the audience and sponsor.