Elizabeth Gershoff

  • Professor
  • Director, Population Research Center
  • Human Development & Family Sciences
  • Human Ecology

Amy Johnson McLaughlin Centennial Professorship in Home Economics (Holder)
Centennial Commission Professorship in the Liberal Arts #1 (Fellow)

 

 

I am not accepting graduate students for Fall 2025.

Profile image of Elizabeth Gershoff

Contact Information

Research

Current research interests center on four topics: (1) how parental discipline affects child and youth development; (2) how contexts of poverty, neighborhoods, schools, and cultures affect children, youth, and families; (3) how exposure to various forms of violence (from parents, communities, and terrorism) affect child and youth development; and (4) how enriched early childhood educational environments can improve the lives of low income children and their families. 

 

Research Areas

  • Relationships, Families and Youth

Fields of Interest

  • Adolescence and Young Adulthood
  • Child and Adolescent Health
  • Contexts of Human Development
  • Diversity and Culture
  • Education Policy
  • Infancy and Childhood
  • Parenting & Caregiving

Centers and Institutes

  • Population Research Center

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin (1998)
  • M.A., University of Texas at Austin (1995)
  • B.A., University of Virginia (1992)

Publications

  • Recent Publications

    * indicates current or former student;  ‡ indicates a current or former post-doctoral fellow

    Gershoff, E. T., Lee, S. J., Lee, J. Y.*, Chang, O. D.*, & Taylor, C. A. (2024). Spare the dog, hit the child: Preliminary evidence regarding parents’ beliefs about spanking and hitting children. Psychology of Violence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000535

    Koepp, A. E.*, & Gershoff, E. T. (2024). Leveraging an intensive time series of young children’s movement to capture impulsive and inattentive behaviors in a preschool setting. Child Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14100

    Fleckman, J. M., Taylor, C. A., Gershoff, E. T., Finkelhor, D., Holden, G. W., & Klika, B. (2023). Levels of support for legislative bans to end physical punishment in schools and homes in a national sample. Public Health, 222, 60-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.06.026

    Koepp, A. E.*, Barton, J.*, Berendzen, H.*, Rough, H.*, & Gershoff, E. T. (2023). Parents’ coping behaviors and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family Relations, 1-16https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12929

    Koepp, A. E.*, Watts, T., Gershoff, E. T., Ahmed, S. F., Davis-Kean, P., Duncan, G. J., Kuhfeld, M. & Vandell, D. L. (2023). Attention and behavior problems in childhood predict adult financial status, health, and criminal activity: A conceptual replication and extension of Moffitt et al. (2011) using cohorts from the U.S. and the U.K. Developmental Psychology, 59, 1380-1406.https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001533

    Crosnoe, R. L., Johnston, C.‡, Cavanagh, S., & Gershoff, E. T. (2023). Family formation history and the psychological well-being of women from diverse racial-ethnic groups. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 64, 261-279. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465231159387

    Koepp, A. E.*, Lanza, K I., Byrd Williams, C. E., Bryan, A. E., & Gershoff, E. T. (2023). The impact of natural ambient temperature increases on preschoolers’ outdoor physical activity. JAMA Pediatrics, 177, 539-540.doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.0067

    Cuartas, J.*, Gershoff, E. T., Bailey, D., & McCoy, D. C. (2022). Physical punishment and child, adolescent, and adult outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic Reviews, 11, 276. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-02154-5

    Koepp, A. E.*, Gershoff, E. T., & Marteleto, L. J. (2022). Parental involvement and academic achievement: Evidence from a census of public school students in Brazil. Child Development.

    Koepp, A. E.*, Gershoff, E. T., Castelli, D. M., & Bryan, A. E. (2022). Measuring self-regulation in the preschool classroom: An objective, sensor-based approach. Developmental Science.

    Koepp, A. E.*, Gershoff, E. T., Castelli, D. M., & Bryan, A. E. (2022). Total play time needed for preschoolers to reach recommended amount of non-sedentary physical activity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

    Bichteler, A.*, Barton, J. M.*, Lumeng, J. C., & Gershoff, E. T. (2021). Patterns of childhood BMI change as predictors of adolescent BMI, waist circumferences, and pre-hypertension. Academic Pediatrics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2021.11.015

    Burt, S. A., Clark, D. A.‡, Gershoff, E. T., Klump, K. L., & Hyde, L. W. (2021). Twin differences in harsh parenting predict youth antisocial behavior. Psychological Science, 32, 395-409. doi:10.1177/0956797620968532

    Davis-Kean, P. E., Domina, T., Ellis, A.*, Kuhfeld, M.‡, & Gershoff, E. T. (2021). It matters how you start: Early math mastery predicts high school math course-taking and college attendance. Infant and Child Development, e2281. doi:10.1002/icd.2281

    Heilmann, A., Mehay, A., Watt, R. G., Kelly, Y., Durrant, J. E., van Turnhout, J., & Gershoff, E. T. (2021). Physical punishment and its outcomes for children: A narrative review of prospective studies. The Lancet, 398, 355-364. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00582-1

    Koepp, A. E.*, & Gershoff, E. T. (2021). Amount and type of physical activity as predictors of growth in executive functions and social self-control across four years of elementary school. Developmental Science, e13147. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/desc.13147

    Scott, J. K.*, & Gershoff, E. T. (2021). Trust in expert vs. lay comments in online articles about spanking and car seat safety. Journal of Family Psychology, 35, 399-409.doi:10.1037/fam0000784

    Stritzel, H.*, Gershoff, E. T., & Maslowsky, J. (2021). Post-pregnancy factors predicting teen mothers’ educational attainment by age 30 in two national cohorts. Youth & Society. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0044118X211026941

    Sypher, I.*, Gershoff, E. T., & Hyde, L.W. (2021). Intimate partner violence and parenting: Examining the roles of parenting stress, timing, and maternal abuse history. Journal of Family Violence. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10896-021-00265-6

    Vandell, D. L., Kuhfeld, M.‡, Gershoff, E. T., & Crosnoe, R. L. (2021). Predictors and consequences of school mobility in middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 76, 101309. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101309

Awards

  • 2024 Mavis Hetherington Award for Excellence in Applied Developmental Science, Division 7-Developmental Psychology, American Psychological Association
  • 2020 Elected Fellow, Division 37-Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice, American Psychological Association
  • 2019 Elected Fellow, American Psychological Association (Division 7)
  • 2019 Nicholas Hobbs Award, Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice (Division 37), American Psychological Association
  • 2019 2017 Article of the Year in Child Abuse & Neglect
  • 2015 Nominated by the University of Texas at Austin for the University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award (not awarded)
  • 2014 Lifetime Legacy Achievement Award, Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago
  • 2014 Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award, Graduate School, University of Texas at Austin
  • 2014 Social Policy Award for Best-Edited Book, Society for Research on Adolescence
  • 2013 Elected Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
  • 2013 College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award