Professional Bio

Dawn P. Witherspoon, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology and former McCourtney Family Early Career Professor in Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University. Witherspoon is also the Director of PACT, Parents And Children Together, a community-university partnership to enhance the lives of diverse children, youth, and families in the greater Harrisburg, PA region. Dr. Witherspoon completed a NIH post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Developmental Science and in the Department of Psychology’s Black Child Training Grant Fellowship Program. Dr. Witherspoon received her doctorate in Community Psychology from New York University and her undergraduate degrees from North Carolina Central University, a historically Black College/University (HBCU). Her research focuses on the ways in which urban and rural families and youth are influenced by the contexts in which they are embedded, particularly focusing on how place, family, and race/ethnicity-related factors affect adolescents’ academic, psycho-social, and behavioral well-being. The crux of her research focuses on the place context (i.e., residential neighborhood and activity space – where individuals routinely spend their time) and its relation to other proximal contexts for adolescents and identifies positive characteristics in multiple contexts that are related to adolescent well-being. Witherspoon uses multiple methods, centered in community engaged approaches, for her program of research. Witherspoon is a past chairperson of the Ethnic and Racial Issues (ERI) and Publication committees of the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD). Dr. Witherspoon also is the co-chair for the Data Tracking Initiative (DTI) subcommittee of the SRCD Publications Committee. Dr. Witherspoon was also co-chair of the 2022 biennial meeting of Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), which focused on “Redefining Possibilities & Amplifying Marginalized Voices” and is currently on the SRA Board of Directors. Witherspoon’s work has been supported by NIH and NSF and published in numerous outlets including Child Development, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and the American Journal of Community Psychology. Dr. Witherspoon is on the editorial board of Identity and the American Psychologist. Also, Witherspoon recently completed her term as an Associate Editor for Journal of Research on Adolescence where she was a co-editor of the special series on “Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression during Adolescence.”

Recent Publications

May, E. M. & Witherspoon, D. P. (in press). Maintaining and attaining educational expectations: A two-cohort longitudinal study of Hispanic youth. Developmental Psychology. doi:10.1037/dev0000820

Witherspoon, D. P., May, E. M., McDonald, A., Boggs, S., & Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y. (2019). Parenting within residential neighborhoods: A pluralistic approach with African American and Latino families at the center. In E. Votruba-Drzal, D. Henry, & P. Miller (Eds). Advances in Child Development and Behavior volume 57 - Child Development at the Intersection of Race and SES. Elseiver: Cambridge, UK.

Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., Bhargava, S., & Bermundez, M. (2019). Cultural values and problem behavior among African-American and European-American children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28 (5), 1236-1249. doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01367-y

Witherspoon, D. P., Rivas-Drake, D., & Banerjee, M. (2018). It’s more the exception rather than the rule: African American families’ neighborhoods and youth’s academic performance during middle school. Journal of Black Psychology, 44, (6), 562-588. doi:10.1177/0095798418806130

Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D. P., & Bartz, D. (2018). Parental involvement in education during middle school: Perspectives of ethnically diverse parents, teachers and students. Journal of Educational Research 111, (1), 12 - 27. doi: 10.1080/00220671.2016.1190910

Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., & Osgood, D. W. Positive youth development among diverse children: Quality afterschool contexts as developmental assets. (2017). Special Section on Positive Youth Development in Diverse and Global Contexts. Child Development 88, (4), 1063-1078. doi.10.111/cdev.12870

Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., Hart, M. &, Davidson, W. S. (2017). The dynamic and interactive role of theory in community research, practice, and policy. In M.A. Bond, I. Serrano-Garcia, C.B. Keys, & M. Shinn (Eds.), APA Handbook of Community Psychology. Volume 2. Methods for Community Research and Action for Diverse Groups and Issues (pp. 3 – 20). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Bhargava, S., Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., Witherspoon, D. P., Pomerantz, E. M., & Robins, R. W. (2017). Examining socio-cultural and neighborhood factors associated with trajectories of Mexican-origin mothers’ education-related involvement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. doi: 10.1007/s10964-016-0628-6

Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D. P., & Bartz, D. (2016). Parental involvement in education during middle school: Perspectives of ethnically diverse parents, teachers, and students. The Journal of Educational Research, 1-16. doi:10.1080/00220671.2016.1190910

Witherspoon, D. P., Seaton, E. K., & Rivas‐Drake, D. (2016). Neighborhood characteristics and expectations of racially discriminatory experiences among African American adolescents. Child Development, 87(5), 1367-1378. doi:10.1111/cdev.12595

Soto, J. A., Dawson-Andoh, N. A., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2016). An ecological approach to racial environments and their relationship to mental health. Race and Social Problems, 8(3), 209-221. doi:10.1007/s12552-016-9175-8

Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., Hart, M. &, Davidson, W. S. (2016). The dynamic and interactive role of theory in community research, practice, and policy. In M.A. Bond, I. Serrano-Garcia, C.B. Keys, & M. Shinn (Eds.), APA Handbook of Community Psychology. Volume 2. Methods for Community Research and Action for Diverse Groups and Issues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Tilghman-Osborne, E., Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., Witherspoon, D. P., Wadsworth, M., & Hecht, M. L. (2016). Longitudinal associations of language brokering and parent-adolescent closeness in immigrant Latino families. Journal of Early Adolescence, 36 (3), 319-347. doi: 10.1177/0272431614566944

Witherspoon, D. P., Daniels, L., Smith, E. P., & Mason, A. (2016). Racial attitudes in context: Examining mediation of neighborhood factors on children’s adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 57 (1-2), 87-101. doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12019

Bhargava, S., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2015). Parental involvement across middle and high school: Exploring contributions of individual and neighborhood characteristics. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(9), 1702-1719. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0334-9

Murry, V. M., Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D. P., Berkel, C., & Bartz, D. (2015). Children in diverse ethnic communities. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, Ecological Settings and Processes in Developmental Systems, 4, 416.

Witherspoon, D. P., & Hughes, D. L. (2014). Early adolescent perceptions of neighborhood: Strengths, structural disadvantage, and relations to outcomes. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 34(7), 866-895..

Rivas-Drake, D., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2013). Racial identity from adolescence to young adulthood: Does prior neighborhood experience matter? Child Development, 84(6), 1918-1932. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12095

Witherspoon, D. P., & Ennett, S. (2011). Stability and change in rural youth's educational outcomes through the middle and high school years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40 (9), 1077-1090. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9614-6

Hill, N. E., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2011). Race, ethnicity, and social class. In M.K. Underwood & L.H. Rosen (Eds.), Social Development: Relationships in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence (pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford.

Witherspoon, D. P., Schotland, M., Way, N., & Hughes, D. (2009). Connecting the dots: How connectedness to multiple contexts influences the psychological and academic adjustment of urban youth. Applied Developmental Science, 13(4), 199-216. doi:10.1080/10888690903288755

Hughes, D., Witherspoon, D. P., Rivas, D., & West-Bey, N. (2009). Received ethnic/racial socialization messages and youth’s academic and behavioral outcomes: Examining the mediating role of ethnic identity and self-esteem. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 112-124. doi:10.1037/a0015509

Schotland, M., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2005). Social support systems of urban adolescents. In C. Fisher & R. Lerner (Eds). Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science Vol. 2 (pp. 1027-1029). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.