Garbarino, James 1947-

PERSONAL:

Born April 7, 1947, in New York, NY; son of Raymond and Joyce Mary Garbarino; married Anne Coventry Bell, May 28, 1969; children: Joshua, Joanna. Education: St. Lawrence University, B.A., 1968; Cornell University, M.A., 1970, Ph.D., 1973.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Loyola University, Department of Psychology, 6525 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60626. E-mail—jgarbar@luc.edu.

CAREER:

Writer, psychologist, consultant, and educator. Empire State College, NY, professor, 1973-76; Pennsylvania State University, University Park, professor of human development, 1979-85; Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development, Chicago, IL, president, 1985-94; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of Human Development and codirector of Family Life Development Center, c. 1994-2005; Loyola University, Chicago, IL, Maude C. Clarke Chair in Humanistic Psychology, c. 2005—, and director of the Center for the Human Rights of Children, 2006—. Consultant for the American Medical Association, the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, the National Black Child Development Institute, the National Science Foundation, the National Resource Center for Children in Poverty, and Child-watch International. Consultant to television, magazine, and newspaper reporters, journalists, and news organizations. Consultant and expert witness in legal cases involving violence and children.

MEMBER:

American Psychological Association (president of Division 37, 1988-89), American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, International Traumatic Stress Studies Society, Society for Research in Child Development, U.S. Association for the Club of Rome.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Spencer fellow, National Academy of Education, 1975; fellow, Boystown Center, 1976-79; Mitchell Prize, Woodlands Conference on Sustainable Societies, 1979, 1981; American Library Association Outstanding Academic Book Award, 1981, for Successful Schools and Competent Students; Silver Award, International Film and TV Festival, NY, 1981, for Don't Get Stuck There: A Film on Adolescent Abuse; national fellow, Kellogg Foundation, 1981; C. Henry Kempe Award, National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1985; Vincent de Francis Award, American Humane Association, 1988; American Psychology Association, fellow, 1988-89, Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service Award, 1989; prize for research on child abuse, Society for Psychological Study of Social Issues, 1992; Brandt F. Steele Award, Kempe National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1993; Nicholas Hobbs Award, American Psychological Association, Division on Child, Youth, and Family Services, 1994; Dale Richmond Award, American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics, 1994; honorary degree from St. Lawrence University, 1995; Humanitarianism Award, Center for the Study of Psychosocial Trauma, 1999; President's Celebrating Success Award, National Association of School Psychologists, 2000; Outstanding Service to Children Award, Chicago Association for the Education of Young Children, 2003.

WRITINGS:

Alienation and Educational Institutions: Final Report to the New York State Assembly Scientific Staff,Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), 1973.

(With S. Holly Stocking, Alice H. Collins, and others) Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect: Developing and Maintaining Effective Support Systems for Families, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1980.

(With Anne C. Garbarino) Emotional Maltreatment of Children, National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse (Chicago, IL), 1980.

(Editor, with Florence N. Long and Janet M. Sebes) Knowledge in the Service of Children and Youth, Pergamon (New York, NY), 1981.

(With C. Elliott Asp) Successful Schools and Competent Students, Lexington Books (Lexington, MA), 1981.

(With Anne H. Cohen and Aaron Ebota) The Significance of Cultural and Ethnic Facts in Preventing Child Abuse: An Exploration of Research Findings, Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse (Chicago, IL), 1982.

(With Wendy Groninger) Child Abuse, Delinquency and Crime, National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse (Chicago, IL), 1983.

(Editor, with others) Social Support Networks: Informal Helping in the Human Services, Aldine Publishing (Hawthorne, NY), 1983.

(With Edna Guttmann and Janis Wilson Seeley) The Psychologically Battered Child, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1986.

(With Patrick E. Brookhouser, Karen J. Authier, and associates) Special Children, Special Risks: The Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities, Aldine De Gruyter (New York, NY), 1987.

The Future as if It Really Mattered, Bookmakers Guild (Longmont, CO), 1988.

(With Frances M. Stott and the faculty of the Erikson Institute) What Children Can Tell Us: Eliciting, Interpreting, and Evaluating Information from Children, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1989.

(With Kathleen Kostelny and Nancy Dubrow) No Place to Be a Child: Growing up in a War Zone, Lexington Books (Lexington, MA), 1991, new edition, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1998.

(With Modena Hoover Wilson, Susan P. Baker, Stephen P. Teret, and Susan Shock) Saving Children: A Guide to Injury Prevention, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1991.

Children in Danger: Coping with the Consequences of Community Violence, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1992.

Toward a Sustainable Society: An Economic, Social, and Environmental Agenda for Our Children's Future, Noble Press (Chicago, IL), 1992.

(With Anne C. Garbarino) Maltreatment of Adolescents, 3rd edition, National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (Chicago, IL), 1993.

Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1995.

(With John Eckenrode) Understanding Abusive Families: An Ecological Approach to Theory and Practice, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 1997.

Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, Free Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Claire Bedard) Parents under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life, Free Press (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Ellen de Lara) And Words Can Hurt Forever: How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence, Free Press (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Ellen de Lara) An Educator's Guide to School-Based Interventions, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2003.

See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More Violent and What Can Be Done about It, Penguin Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of Let's Talk about Living in a World with Violence. Author of Children and the Dark Side of Human Experience: Confronting Global Realities and Rethinking Child Development, and Little Matters of Life and Death: The Human Rights of Children Facing Trauma and Risk, both published by Springer, 2008.

Contributor to books on troubled youth and families. Contributor of papers to scholarly journals and conferences.

Coauthor of Don't Get Stuck There: A Film on Adolescent Abuse, 1981. Coproducer, with John Merrow, of Assault on the Psyche, a videotape program on psychological abuse.

SIDELIGHTS:

James Garbarino is a renowned expert on child development and youth violence. He earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1973 and has gone on to hold faculty positions at a number of institutions. He was the head of the Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development in Chicago from 1985 to 1994. In the mid-1990s, Garbarino returned to Cornell University as a faculty member and codirector of the Family Life and Development Center. Garbarino has published extensively throughout his career on various aspects of child development. His work is found not only in scholarly journals and government reports, but also in the commercial press.

Garbarino's most recent publications have been on violence and children. He has, for many years, been involved in research on the factors that lead to violent behavior in children as well as the effects of elements that make up what he calls "socially toxic environments." His studies of the impact of war upon children have been widely acclaimed.

Garbarino's work is distinguished by a willingness to engage directly with his subjects, to hear their stories firsthand. Some of the difficulties of communicating with children have been a concern for social workers, judges, and people in law enforcement. To address this issue, the author, with the assistance of colleagues, designed a set of principles and guidelines to assist adults who are in a position to influence decisions regarding the welfare of children. The results of this particular strand of research are contained in the book What Children Can Tell Us: Eliciting, Interpreting, and Evaluating Information from Children. Along with the formal research, his books include anecdotal accounts of his subjects' lives and advice to parents, teachers, and others who work closely with children. Garbarino's work has been praised by critics and the general public for its sensitivity and practicality.

In response to the widespread concern about violence in American schools, Garbarino published And Words Can Hurt Forever: How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence, written with Ellen de Lara. Published in 2002, the book focuses on the daily lives of adolescents and is intended to be a guide for parents. The extensive use of interviews gives a detailed portrait of teens' daily existence, which, the authors discovered, is much at variance with the assumptions of the students' parents. Garbarino and de Lara argue that the current surge of violence in high school is not attributable to the generally accepted factors such as adult indifference, "bad kids," and poor teachers, but rather the unique social environment that is the American high school. They also suggest that techniques that protect younger children from bullies are ineffective for adolescents. In her review in Booklist, Gillian Engberg noted that Garbarino describes the warning signs of dangerous behavior, such as stalking and sexual harassment, and provides suggestions for appropriate responses. As in his earlier work, Garbarino continues to speak directly with the subjects of his research. He asserts that it is necessary to ask students what they need to feel safe, rather than simply impose something upon them. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted: "This effective guide will help adult readers truly understand the cruelty and violence present in today's schools." Antoinette Brinkman, writing in Library Journal, commented that the authors' "research is impressive and generates many valuable suggestions for improving the school environment." In addition, Garbarino and de Lara offer readers "intelligent, comprehensive ‘What You Can Do’ lists that far exceed commonsense parenting advice." BookLoons reviewer Hilary Williamson called the book "an important resource for school administrators, teachers, and parents concerned to provide emotionally safe schools for children."

Parents under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life was written for parents and is divided into two parts. The first part of the book describes what the author refers to as the "toxic environment" or cultural conditions of contemporary America. Particular attention is paid to media portrayals of violence, the fragility of family life, and the feelings of insecurity these portrayals foster. In Human Ecology, Joe Wilensky related that Parents under Siege came about as a result of interviews Garbarino conducted with shooter Dylan Klebold's parents after the Columbine massacre. The book also looks at issues of blame and accountability on the part of the parents. The second part of the book describes tools parents can use to actively help their children and to retrieve a role of respect and authority in children's lives, although Garbarino and coauthor Claire Bedard argue that the ability of a parent to effectively intervene has limitations.

Understanding Abusive Families: An Ecological Approach to Theory and Practice, written with John Eckenrode, explores the many complex precursors, social characteristics, and environmental elements that can lead to the development of an abusive family situation. Garbarino and Eckenrode make it clear that abusive families are not limited to any particular socioeconomic strata. They can develop anywhere, and are not restricted to the poor, the uneducated, the violent, or the "bad." The book "is neither trendy nor clinical," commented R. Leveque in Whole Earth Review. "The ecology of American family life is probed; negative situations are seen to arise in natural consequence; solutions developed are also complex and ecological." The authors note some of the failings of the American social service system and contend that helping abuse victims and their families requires more than simply expecting them to develop independence. They also consider the reasons why the social service system has developed more in line with a model that endorses rehabilitation and cure, rather than prevention. They suggest a larger-picture approach that recognizes that a variety of problems, each the purview of a single social service agency, can evolve from the same point of family dysfunction.

Garbarino collaborated with Kathleen Kostelny and Nancy Dubrow in writing No Place to Be a Child: Growing up in a War Zone. In this book, the authors present "compelling stories of children who have been and continue to be victimized by war," commented Linda Southward in the Journal of Comparative Family Studies. Throughout, the authors rely on the children themselves to tell their own stories and to relate the effects that war has had on them physically, socially, psychologically, and culturally. In such a harsh and dangerous place as a war zone, children are deprived of the understanding, safe, and nurturing environment necessary to their effective growth and development. Trust cannot develop; emotional contacts are strained; fear, hunger, pain, and uncertainty are constant forces arrayed against the children and their families.

In the book, Garbarino examine the effects of various war zones around the world, some of which appear in surprising locations. The authors consider the poverty-stricken inner-city areas of Chicago as much as war zone as those in Cambodia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, or Palestine. Coming out of each of these areas, "the children's stories richly describe both the degradation they have endured and the resilience they exhibit," Southward noted, including a ten-year-old who takes on the responsibility of caring for six younger siblings after his parents have been kidnapped by Nicaraguan Contras. Another child, whose parents were killed by the Contras, does not crave revenge, but instead just wants the killing to stop. The authors offer the positive note that there are "six factors which contribute to healthy adaptability when children grow up in stressful situations. These factors are as follows: actively trying to cope with stress, cognitive competence, experiences of self-efficacy, a stable emotional relationship with at least one parent or parent figure, an open and supportive educational climate, and social support from persons outside the family," commented Karen Stinson in Human Rights Quarterly. "Most children can in fact overcome the trauma of war and live normal lives if they have the support of parents," Stinson noted. "This book is an important work that summons all of us to understand that the children are the real losers in any war," remarked Southward. A reviewer in the Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter called the book a "remarkable record of the effects on children of war and other kinds of violence."

Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them treats the theme of violence in boys and how best to approach it. The first part of the book presents the social and historical context of the study. Statistics of the incidence of violence and its geographical patterns are included. The second section of the book is a description of the psychological condition of "lost boys." Garbarino theorizes that violence is not a predetermined condition, but instead is the result of a combination of a number of factors. In his review of the book in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Elliott Pittel called attention to the factors Garbarino identifies as socially toxic, including poverty, media mayhem, firearms, and racism. These are seen as major factors contributing to violence when combined with a problematic early life. Pittel also noted that in Garbarino's view, it is more productive to see children as individuals exposed to a multitude of negative situations without any protection rather than as irredeemably bad. "Inside almost every violent teenager … is an untreated traumatized child," Garbarino writes. Suggestions for treatment make up the final part of the book. Garbarino advocates a move away from the tough conditions imposed by juvenile detention centers and toward a calm, safe place designed more along the lines of institutions for children who have suffered severe trauma.

Garbarino turns a similarly critical and analytical eye toward the increasing problem of violence by and among females in See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More Violent and What Can Be Done about It. Relying on extensive research as well as a number of first-person reports from teens, Garbarino "uncovers a steadily increasing trend toward violence among America's girls," reported Booklist reviewer Colleen Mondor. For example, some social service professionals have noted that verbal tactics of bullying such as rumors and gossip have sometimes been abandoned for physical violence, reported Judy Tarjanyi in the Toledo Blade. Garbarino examines a number of social and cultural forces that he sees as contributing to the rise in aggressive, violent behavior among young females. Among the factors he cites are increased participation in sports, where aggression is not only accepted but encouraged; the continued depiction of violence in the media, especially those cartoons, movies, and other programs that depict women behaving violently; and greater overall acceptance and encouragement of violence and aggression in society at large. He also considers the effects of biology, early childhood development, family life, and other elements. As a solution, he suggests educational programs that teach and encourage social assertiveness rather than actual violence. Library Journal contributor Lynne F. Maxwell observed that Garbarino "depicts the problem so powerfully that his reasonable solution pales by comparison."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Blade (Toledo, OH), June 25, 2006, Judy Tarjanyi, "Girls Get Violent: In a Culture That Embraces Aggression, They Aren't Afraid to Fight."

Booklist, December 1, 1986, review of The Psychologically Battered Child, p. 533; August, 2001, Vanessa Bush, review of Parents under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life, p. 2067; August, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of And Words Can Hurt Forever: How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence, p. 1896; December 1, 2005, Colleen Mondor, review of See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More Violent and What Can Be Done about It, p. 8.

Book Report, March/April, 1989, Margaret Ann Fincher, review of The Future as if It Really Mattered, p. 49.

Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, December, 1991, review of No Place to Be a Child: Growing up in a War Zone, p. 5.

Child Abuse and Neglect, Deborah Daro, review of Let's Talk about Living in a World with Violence, p. 894.

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, April, 1997, Brenda Kurz, review of Children in Danger: Coping with the Consequences of Community Violence, pp. 139-143.

Childhood Education, December, 1987, Bruce Roscoe, review of The Psychologically Battered Child, p. 128.

Children Today, September, 1981, Cecilia Sudia, review of Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect: Developing and Maintaining Effective Support Systems for Families, p. 32; September-October, 1984, Cecilia Sudia, review of Social Support Networks: Informal Helping in the Human Services, p. 37; summer-fall, 1994, review of Let's Talk about Living in a World with Violence, p. 1.

Choice, October, 1980, review of Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect, p. 326; February, 1981, review of Understanding Abusive Families: An Ecological Approach to Theory and Practice, p. 828; January, 1982, review of Successful Schools and Competent Students, pp. 667-668; April, 1987, J.A. Coffey, review of The Psychologically Battered Child, p. 1292; May, 1990, C.R. Harper, review of What Children Can Tell Us: Eliciting, Interpreting, and Evaluating Information from Children, p. 1590; June, 2006, R.B. Stewart, Jr., review of See Jane Hit, p. 1905.

Christian Science Monitor, September 11, 1992, Laurel Shaper Walters, review of Children in Danger, p. 10.

Contemporary Psychology, September, 1987, review of Emotional Maltreatment of Children, p. 832; November, 1989, review of The Future as if It Really Mattered, p. 1047.

Contemporary Sociology, July, 1981, David G. Gil, review of Understanding Abusive Families, p. 601; November, 1987, Mary W. Lindahl, review of The Psychologically Battered Child, p. 854.

Educational Forum, fall, 1982, Catherine Cornbleth, review of Successful Schools and Competent Students, pp. 126-127.

Families in Society, Gloria Darden Gettys, review of Children in Danger, pp. 525-526; April, 1997, Priscilla A. Day, review of Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment, pp. 218-219.

Human Ecology, December, 2001, Joe Wilensky, review of Parents under Siege, p. 21.

Human Ecology Forum, winter, 1995, Mike Powers, "Stop the Violence," p. 4.

Human Rights Quarterly, August, 1994, Karen Stinson, review of No Place to Be a Child, pp. 586-590.

Journal of Comparative Family Studies, autumn, 1994, Linda Southward, review of No Place to Be a Child, p. 420.

Journal of Marriage and the Family, May, 1981, Joan Virginia Hoskins, review of Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect, pp. 468-471; May, 1999, Margaret H. Young, review of Understanding Abusive Families, p. 545.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, January, 2001, Elliot Pittel, review of Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, p. 122.

Library Journal, September 15, 1992, Anne Page Mosby, review of Toward a Sustainable Society: AnEconomic, Social and Environmental Agenda for Our Children's Future, p. 81; September 1, 2002, Antoinette Brinkman, review of And Words Can Hurt Forever, p. 202; January 1, 2006, Lynne F. Maxwell, review of See Jane Hit, p. 136.

Newsweek, June 10, 1991, review of No Place to Be a Child, p. 64.

Occupational Safety & Health, May, 1992, Pat Burling, review of Saving Children: A Guide to Injury Prevention, p. 29.

People, April 13, 1998, Linda Kramer, "Asking the Question ‘Why?’," interview with James Garbarino, p. 107.

Publishers Weekly, April 26, 1999, review of Lost Boys, p. 66; August 6, 2001, review of Parents under Siege, p. 84; July 1, 2002, review of And Words Can Hurt Forever, p. 66; November 7, 2005, review of See Jane Hit, p. 64.

Reason, February, 2002, Chris Lehmann, review of Parents under Siege, pp. 52-53.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 1992, review of Children in Danger, p. 24.

Social Work, March, 1982, Warren C. Haggstrom, review of Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect, p. 200.

Time, September 3, 2001, Amy Dickinson, review of Parents under Siege, p. 92.

Tribune Books (Chicago), February 19, 2006, Laura Ciolkowski, "An Expert Looks at Aggression in Girls," review of See Jane Hit, p. 5; February 19, 2006, "See Jane Play. See Jane Mad. See Jane Break Free of Constraining Gender Roles and Hit Sally: An Interview with Loyola University Professor James Garbarino," p. 1.

Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), December 1, 2006, Elizabeth Simpson, "Expert on Violence Says Cooperation Can Deter Bullying."

Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2002, review of And Words Can Hurt Forever, p. 419.

Washington Post, September 3, 2002, Gregory Mott, "Lessons on High School Bullying," review of And Words Can Hurt Forever, p. F2.

Washington Post Book World, August 1, 1999, Marilyn Murray Willison, "Family Issues," p. 8.

Whole Earth Review, fall, 1993, R. Leveque, review of Understanding Abusive Families, p. 14.

ONLINE

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (November 19, 2007), Hilary Williamson, review of And Words Can Hurt Forever.