Center for Child & Family Policy | Duke University

Jennifer Lansford

Research Professor, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Faculty Affiliate, Center for Child and Family Policy

Jennifer Lansford's research focuses on the development of aggression and other behavior problems in youth, with an emphasis on how family and peer contexts contribute to or protect against these outcomes. She examines how experiences with parents (e.g., physical abuse, discipline, divorce) and peers (e.g., rejection, friendships) affect the development of children's behavior problems, how influence operates in adolescent peer groups, and how cultural contexts moderate links between parents' discipline strategies and children's behavior problems.

Her work at the Center includes the projects Childhood Risk Factors and Young Adult Competence, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Intergenerational Transmission of Treatment Effects; and Optimizing Prevention of Costly Adult Outcomes.

Research Interests:
Youth Violence Prevention, Peer Influence, Parenting

Education:

• Ph.D. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - 2000
• M.A. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - 1997
• B.A. Duke University - 1995

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Alampay, LP; Zietz, S; Pomerantz, E; Lansford, JE; Deater-Deckard, K; Giunta, LD; Dodge, KA; Gurdal, S; Junla, D; Oburu, P; Pastorelli, C; Rothenberg, WA; Skinner, AT; Sorbring, E; Steinberg, L; Tirado, LMU; Yotanyamaneewong, S; Al-Hassan, SM; Bacchini, D; Bornstein, MH; Chang, L (2026). Change Over Time in Parental Psychological Control in Nine Countries. Social Development, 35(4). [doi]  [abs]


2. Micoli, A; Kyeong, Y; Lansford, JE (2026). Insights from a Developmental Psychologist: An Interview with Professor Jennifer E. Lansford.. The Journal of genetic psychology, 187(5), 330-332. [doi]


3. Reilly, EB; Opiyo, RA; Dodge, KA; Lansford, JE; Bates, JE (2026). Developmental Pathways to Adult Mental Health in Adolescent Parents: Childhood and Early Adolescent Antecedents.. Int J Behav Dev. [doi]  [abs]


4. Gorla, L; Rothenberg, WA; Godwin, J; Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (2026). The randomized controlled trial Fast Track multilevel intervention for children with early-emerging conduct problems breaks intergenerational transmission of violence across three generations.. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 67(8), 1254-1268. [doi]  [abs]


5. Gorla, L; Lansford, JE; Godwin, J; Dodge, KA (2026). Parent-child communication and third generation's difficulties: Roles of parental depression and self-efficacy.. Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 40(4), 544-554. [doi]  [abs]

Curriculum Vitae