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. He was educated at Vassar College, where he graduated with a degree in Psychology in 1974, and at Cornell University, where he received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in 1977. Dr. Steinberg is Past-President of the Division of Developmental Psychology of the American Psychological Association and a former President of the Society for Research on Adolescence. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science, directed the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent and Juvenile Justice, and is currently a member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience. He has been the recipient of numerous honors, including lifetime achievement awards from the Society for Research on Adolescence and the American Psychological Association and teaching awards from the University of California, the University of Wisconsin, and Temple University. In 2009, he was named the first recipient of the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize for his contributions to improving the lives of young people and their families. In 2013, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

One of the world’s leading authorities on psychological development during adolescence, Dr. Steinberg’s research has focused on a range of topics, including adolescent brain development, risk-taking and decision-making, mental health, family relationships, after-school employment, school achievement, 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 U.S. Army, the MacArthur Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, the Spencer Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. Dr. Steinberg served as a member of the National Academies’ Board on Children, Youth, and Families and chaired the academies' committee on the Science of Adolescence. 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, as well as in several cases that restricted the use of life without parole for juveniles. 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 350 articles and essays on growth and development during the teenage years, and the author or editor of 14 books, including Adolescence (McGraw-Hill), the leading college textbook on adolescent development, now in its 10th edition; When Teenagers Work: The Psychological and Social Costs of Adolescent Employment (with Ellen Greenberger; Basic Books); 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); the Handbook of Adolescent Psychology (co-edited with Richard Lerner; Wiley); Rethinking Juvenile Justice (with Elizabeth Scott; Harvard University Press); Development: Infancy Through Adolescence (with Deborah Vandell and Marc Bornstein; Wadsworth); Lifespan Development (with Marc Bornstein, Deborah Vandell, and Karen Rook; Wadsworth); You and Your Adolescent: The Essential Guide for Ages 10 to 25 (Simon & Schuster); 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.