Jay Belsky (born July 7, 1952) is an American child psychologist and the Robert M. and Natalie Reid Dorn Professor of

Human Development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body ** This includes physical developments such as growth, and also development of the brain * Developmental psychology * Development theory * Human development (economics) * Human Develo ...

at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

. He is noted for his research in the fields of

child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. It is—particularly from birth to five years— a foundation ...

and family studies. He was a founding investigator of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and of the National Evaluation of Sure Start in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He has been an ISI Highly Cited Researcher since 2002.

Career

After receiving his Ph.D. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1978, Belsky joined the faculty of

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, where he became a distinguished professor of human development before leaving the faculty there in 1999. From 1999 to 2010, he was a professor of psychology at Birkbeck University of London, where he was also the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues. He became the Robert M. and Natalie Reid Dorn Professor of Human Development at the University of California, Davis in 2011. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Academy of Europe.

Research

Belsky has published multiple studies reporting that

child care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

is associated with an increased risk of psychological and behavioral problems for children. These studies have been covered extensively by the media, though they have been criticized by other researchers. One such critic, Kathleen McCartney, former director of the Child Study and Development Center at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

and dean of the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...

, said in 1987 that "None of the studies Jay elskytalks about look at the quality of child-care arrangements or the family backgrounds".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belsky, Jay 1952 births Living people American developmental psychologists University of California, Davis faculty Social scientists from New York City Cornell University alumni Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Pennsylvania State University faculty Members of Academia Europaea American child psychologists