Prof. Ph. D. Ernest Jouriles

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Prof. Ph. D. Ernest Jouriles
Southern Methodist University
Department of Psychology

Background

My research on children’s responses to marital conflict focused initially on understanding why certain types of marital conflict are more detrimental to children than others. This research has always been conducted with an eye toward intervention. That is, to best help children in families characterized by marital conflict, I felt it was necessary to better understand why marital conflict sometimes leads to child problems — and why sometimes it does not. I have continued my research on this topic over the past 15 years, with an emphasis on children living in homes characterized by frequent and severe violence.

With Dr. Renee McDonald (also on SMU’s faculty), I have begun to develop and evaluate intervention programs to assist children exposed to frequent and severe interparent violence. The intervention programs are based on the scientific literature, including my own research, examining how exposure to violence influences child adjustment. Preliminary evidence suggests that these programs are very effective in helping children in families characterized by frequent and severe interparent violence. My research on violence in adolescent romantic relationships focuses on developing new methods for assessing incidents of relationship violence, understanding risk factors for relationship violence, and using the scientific literature to develop and evaluate intervention strategies for preventing such violence.

Publications

Children’s responses to marital conflict

McDonald, R., Jouriles, E. N., Ramisetty-Mikler, S., Caetano, R., & Green, C. (2006). Estimating the number of American children living in partner-violent families. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 137-142.

Skopp, N. A., McDonald, R., Manke, B., Jouriles, E. N. (2005). Siblings in domestically violent families: Experiences of interparent conflict and adjustment problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 324-333.

Minze, L. C., McDonald, R., Rosentraub, E. L., & Jouriles, E. N. (2010). Making sense of family conflict: Intimate partner violence and preschoolers’ externalizing problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 5-11.

Interventions

McDonald, R., Jouriles, E. N., & Skopp, N. A. (2006). Reducing conduct problems among children brought to women’s shelters: Intervention effects 24 months following termination of services. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 127-136.

Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Rosenfield, D., Norwood, W. D., Spiller, L. C., Stephens, N., Corbitt-Shindler, D., & Ehrensaft, M. (2010). Improving parenting in families referred for child maltreatment: A randomized controlled trial examining effects of Project Support. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 328-338.

Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Rosenfield, D., Stephens, N., Corbitt-Shindler, D., & Miller, P. C. (2009). Reducing conduct problems among children exposed to intimate partner violence: A randomized clinical trial examining effects of Project Support. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 705-717.

Adolescent Relationship Violence

Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Garrido, E., Rosenfield, D., & Brown, A. S. (2005). Assessing aggression in adolescent romantic relationships: Can we do it better? Psychological Assessment, 17, 469-475.

Buzy, W. M., McDonald, R., Jouriles, E. N., Swank, P., Rosenfield, D., Shimek, J., & Corbitt-Shindler, D. (2004). Adolescent girls’ alcohol use as a risk factor for relationship violence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 14, 449-470.

Jouriles, E. N., McDonald, R., Kullowatz, A., Rosenfield, D., Gomez, G. S., Cuevas, A. (2009). Can virtual reality increase the realism of role plays used to teach college women sexual coercion and rape resistance skills? Behavior Therapy, 40, 337-345.