John Adam Clausen (December 20, 1914 – February 15, 1996) was an American sociologist and academic. After holding various positions during the 1940s, Clausen joined the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

in 1948 as a research consultant. With the institute, he led an

environmental social science Environmental social science is the broad, transdisciplinary study of interrelations between humans and the natural environment. Environmental social scientists work within and between the fields of anthropology, communication studies, economics, g ...

research laboratory he created from 1951 to 1960. As a part of the NIMH, he also conducted research on

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

. In 1960, Cluasen became a sociology professor for the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and continued to teach until his retirement in 1982. During his tenure, he participated in the Berkeley Intergenerational Study as a researcher and project leader during the

longitudinal study A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over short or long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of ob ...

. For executive positions, Clausen held the directorship of the human development department for California from 1960 to 1966. He also led the university's sociology department as their chairperson from 1976 to 1979. During his lifetime, Clausen was given the Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service for sociology in 1986. He was also elected to the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Eng ...

in 1977 and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1989

Early life and education

On December 20, 1914, Clausen was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York. For his post-secondary education, Clausen started out at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and earned both a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in the late 1930s. In 1949, he graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

with a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

Career

In 1939, Clausen started his career as an

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

at the

Institute for Juvenile Research The Institute for Juvenile Research (IJR) is a research, demonstration and training center housed in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago. The institute has more than 40 faculty members and 65 profes ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. During the early 1940s, he worked with the Virginia State Planning Board and conducted research on population as a statistician. Throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Clausen performed research on the morale of Army soldiers during combat. After working for a year in

research design Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to carry out research that defines a succinct and logical plan to tackle established research question(s) through the collection, interpretation, analysis, and discussion of data. Incorporat ...

for the

Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a nationa ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Clausen taught sociology from 1946 to 1948 at Cornell as an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

. In 1948, Clausen started his tenure with the

as a research consultant. While at the institute, he opened a

research laboratory for the NIMH in 1951 and led the laboratory until 1960. As a mental health researcher, Clausen was a co-researcher of a mid 1950s study that conducted research on

and

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for ...

. In the early 1960s, Clausen expanded his schizophrenia research when he studied how mental illness effected marriages. In 1960, Clausen joined the

as a sociology professor and the director of the

human development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body * Developmental psychology * Human development (economics) * Human Development Index, an index used to rank countries by level of human development * Human evolution Human evoluti ...

department. As he continued to teach sociology until 1982, Clausen held the directorship for the human development department until 1966. Between 1976 to 1979, Clausen also led the sociology department as their chairperson. While at California, Clausen joined an ongoing

from the 1930s to 1990s on Californians born in the 1920s. As part of the Berkeley Intergenerational Study, Clausen worked as a researcher and project leader. In 1982, Clausen became emeritus upon his retirement.

Works

As a sociologist, Clausen released ''Sociology and the Field of Mental Health'' in 1956. Clausen later published ''The Life Course: A Sociological Perspective'' in 1986. Clausen published the Berkeley longitudinal study findings in a 1993 book titled ''American Lives: Looking Back at the Children of the Great Depression''. Apart from writing, Clausen was an editor for ''Socialization and Society'' in 1968 and the 1982 publication of ''Present and Past in Middle Life''.

Awards and honors

In 1986, Clausen was given the

Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service The Common Wealth Awards of Distinguished Service (or Common Wealth Awards) were created under the will of the late Ralph Hayes, an influential American business executive and philanthropist. Hayes conceived the awards to reward and encourage the ...

for his sociological career. From the American Sociological Association, Clausen received the 1987 Leo G. Reeder Award for his work in

medical sociology Medical sociology is the sociological analysis of medical organizations and institutions; the production of knowledge and selection of methods, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural (rather than cl ...

and the 1990 Cooley-Mead Award for his work in

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

. As a member of scientific institutions, Clausen was elected to the

in 1977 and the

in 1989.

Death and personal life

Clausen died in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

on February 15, 1996. He was married and had four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clausen, John A. 1914 births 1996 deaths American statisticians American sociologists Medical sociologists University of California, Berkeley faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Cornell University alumni Cornell University faculty