developmental psychologist
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, ...
, known for her research on
infant mental health
Infant mental health is the study of mental health as it applies to infants, toddlers, and their families. The field investigates optimal social and emotional development of infants and their families in the first three years of life. Cognitive ...
, how parents
nurture
Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the balance between two competing factors which determine fate: genetics (nature) and environment (nurture). The alliterative expression "nature and nurture" in English h ...
their infants and children, and the repercussions that follow exposure to traumatic events and violence. Some of her notable work has examined the aftereffects of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, experiences of children raised in broken households, and the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
on communities. Osofsky is Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Public Health, and Head of the Division of Pediatric Mental Health at the
Louisiana State University School of Medicine Louisiana State University School of Medicine refers to two separate medical schools in Louisiana: LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport.
See also
* LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans
* LSU Health Scien ...
, and holds the Barbara Lemann Professorship of Child Welfare at LSU Health New Orleans.
Biography
Joy Victoria Doniger was born into an
American-Jewish
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...
family and attended
Rye Country Day School
Rye Country Day School, also known as Rye Country Day or RCDS, is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school located in Rye, New York. Its Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (5–8), and Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten-4) ...
. Doniger developed interest in studying psychology at the age of 16, following her father's death from a heart attack. Doniger married Howard Osofsky on September 1, 1963, in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
.
Osofsky attended
Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts
* Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky
* Har ...
for one year before transferring to
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, where her husband was working at the time. Osofsky received her
B.A.
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 years ...
degree in Psychology ''cum laude'' at Syracuse University in August 1966. She then received her
M.A.
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. Tho ...
in June 1967, and her PhD in June 1969, both in Psychology at Syracuse University. During the 1960s, as one of few women at Syracuse University, Osofsky stood up for individual rights and equality for women and was involved in
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
and
anti-war
An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
from August 1975 to July 1976. She was a
Postdoctoral Fellow
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...
in Clinical Psychology at the
Menninger Foundation
The Menninger Foundation was founded in 1919 by the Menninger family in Topeka, Kansas. The Menninger Foundation, known locally as Menninger's, consists of a clinic, a sanatorium, and a school of psychiatry, all of which bear the Menninger name. ...
from July 1976 to August 1978. She completed psychoanalytic training at the Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis in July 1985.
Osofsky joined the National Register of Health Service Providers in 1979 and was professionally certified as a clinical psychologist in the State of Louisiana in 1987. Osofsky is a former president and current board member of the Zero to Three organization. Following Hurricane Katrina, Osofsky was the Clinical Director of Louisiana Spirit's Child and Adolescent Initiatives. In addition to her work in disaster recuperation, she has worked with children, families, and law enforcement to address community violence.
Awards
* Badge of Honor Award, New Orleans Police Foundation (1998)
* Role Model Distinction Award, Young Leadership Council (2001)
* Nicholas Hobbs Award,
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
Division 37 (2002)
* Sarah Haley Award for Clinical Excellence,
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies is a professional network established on March 2, 1985, in Washington, D.C. It is Seeks disseminate the state of the science as it pertains to the effects of trauma.
History
The organization ...
(2007)
* Distinguished Partners in Education Award, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education of the
Louisiana Department of Education Louisiana Department of Education (LADOE) is a state agency of Louisiana, United States. It manages the state's school districts. It is headquartered in the Claiborne Building at 1201 North 3rd Street in Baton Rouge. On a previous occasion the depa ...
(2009)
* Honorary President Distinction, the World Association for Infant Mental Health (2010)
* Presidential Commendation,
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...
(2010)
* Lifetime Achievement Award, Zero to Three (2021)
Research
Osofsky's work focuses on the long-term physical, mental, and emotional well-being of children in society, coping methods, and recovery from traumatic events. Osofsky has examined the negative consequences of experiencing violent events within the home or neighborhood setting, where ideally children should feel secure and loved. Osofsky's research indicates growing up in a violent environment may contribute to delays in
developmental milestone
Child development stages are the theoretical milestones of child development, some of which are asserted in nativist theories. This article discusses the most widely accepted developmental stages in children. There exists a wide variation i ...
s in infants and toddlers.
Osofsky studied the development of children living in
low-income
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
communities throughout the United States, where many have witnessed violence and crime, including shootings, stabbings, drug dealing, and robberies. Children who experience unexpected and random tragedies, including the deaths of family and community members, may come to fear that these events will repeat in the future, which may result in
post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
. Violence also causes emotional instability, such that when young children interact with others, they display concerning levels of hesitation and fright. Young children may form associations that lead them to anticipate traumatic events, including
sensory information
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...
they vividly remember from the first time something horrific occurred. Being exposed to mature and explicit visuals may result in a loss of
innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
, such that children may mentally begin to normalize the destructive environment, and may be at risk of becoming more combative and
delinquent
Delinquent or delinquents may refer to:
* A person who commits a felony
* A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency
* A person who fai ...
. Osofsky observed that vulnerable children may start to believe their problems can be solved with violence, that it is normal for violence to take place within families, that one can get away with violence in
intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...
s, and that violence can be a strategy for getting people to do what you want. Osofsky has described poverty as a silent form of violence, which may contribute to the occurrence of
mental health disorder
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
s in one in five impoverished children.
Books
* Osofsky, J.D. (Ed.) (1987). ''Handbook of Infant Development,'' 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons.
* Osofsky, J.D. (Ed.) (1997). ''Children in a Violent Society.'' Guilford Publishers.
* Osofsky, J.D. (Ed) (2004). ''Young Children and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment.'' Guilford Publishers.
* Osofsky, J.D. (Ed) (2011). ''Clinical Work with Traumatized Young Children: Regaining their Future.'' Guilford Publishers.
* Osofsky, J.D. & Fitzgerald, H.E. (Eds.). (2000). ''WAIMH Handbook of Infant Mental Health''. John Wiley and Sons.
Representative publications
* Osofsky, J. D. (1999). The impact of violence on children. ''The Future of Children, 9''(3), 33–49.
* Osofsky, J. D. (2003). Prevalence of children's exposure to domestic violence and child maltreatment: Implications for prevention and intervention. ''Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6''(3), 161–170.
* Osofsky, J. D., & Lieberman, A. F. (2011). A call for integrating a mental health perspective into systems of care for abused and neglected infants and young children. ''American Psychologist, 66''(2), 120–128.
* Osofsky, J. D., Wewers, S., Hann, D. M., & Fick, A. C. (1993). Chronic community violence: What is happening to our children? ''Psychiatry, 56''(1), 36–45.
Society for Research in Child Development
The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) is a professional society for the field of human development, focusing specifically on child development. It is a multidisciplinary, not-for-profit, professional association with a membership of ...