Joyce A. Arditti
Human Development and Family Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
311 Wallace Hall (0416)
Blacksburg, Virginia
(540) 231-5758
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Family Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1988
M.A. Human Development and Family Relations, University of Connecticut, 1982
B.S. Child and Family Development, Magna Cum Laude, University of Georgia, 1980
A. Personal Statement
Dr. Joyce A. Arditti is a Professor in the Department of Human Development at Virginia Tech. She is a mixed-method family scientist with a coherent program of research that broadly focuses on at-risk parents and youth. Her program of research brings together interdisciplinary ideas, methods, and people to study complex and difficult topics for which creative solutions are urgently needed. These studies not only contribute to theoretical advances about the varieties of families and how they master everyday experiences, they also provide policy and practice related information that can affect the treatment of vulnerable persons and their families throughout society. Her research is nationally and internationally recognized, as evidenced by her publication activity, invited presentations, visiting scholar experiences, impact diagnostics, and consultant activity. Dr. Arditti recently served as Editor In Chief of Family Relations: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies. Under her leadership the journal’s impact factor doubled (from .684 in 2004 to 1.32 in 2009). Dr. Arditti also recently completed a book (NYU Press) on parental incarceration. She has a strong record of sponsored research and consultation focused on parenting in diverse contexts and programmatic intervention. Dr. Arditti served as a methodological consultant for the University of Missouri Extension CYFAR Project (funded by the National Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Program, US Department of Agriculture) to develop a mixed method design to evaluate a parenting intervention aimed at prisoners and their children. She is currently under contract with the Virginia Department of Corrections to evaluate a parenting intervention aimed at mothers reentering the community after a period of incarceration and intense drug treatment.
B. Positions and Honors
Recent Positions and Employment:
1988-1989 Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Services,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA.
1989-1995 Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
1997-1998 Visiting Scholar, Department of Family Resources and Human
Development, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
1995- 2012 Associate Professor, Department of Human Development, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
2012- Professor, Department of Human Development,
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Honors and Awards:
2011, National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Fellow. Honor awarded for members providing outstanding and enduring contributions to the field of the family in the areas of scholarship, teaching, outreach and professional service.
2006-2007, Excellence in Outreach Award, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
2003-2004, Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Award, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1995, Excellence in Research Award, Department of Family and Child Development,
College of Human Resources, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Other Experience and Professional Memberships:
Private Consultant
Contract Period: 2006-2010. University of Missouri-Extension. Program Evaluation:
Research design, human subjects, and substantive materials related to evaluating
the effectiveness of enhanced prison visiting for families. Project funded by the
National Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Program (CYFAR), US
Department of Agriculture.
Contract Period: 1994-1998. SBIR contract with the National Institute of Mental
Health entitled A Multimedia Behavioral Self-Help Package to Reduce Instances
of Child Abuse Among Teenage Mothers. Contracted by the American Research
Corporation of Virginia, Radford, VA.
Ad Hoc Reviewer
National Science Foundation, Law & Social Sciences Program (2009); William T. Grant
Foundation (2011).
Grant Reviewer and Consultant
Family Court Services Grant Program (1998-2000). Judicial Council of California, San
Francisco, California.
Memberships
National Council on Family Relations, Member, 1981-present
Research & Theory Section Chair (2011-present)
Member of the Journal Advisory Council (Advises Executive Director)
Society for the Study of Social Problems, Member, 2006-2010
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Member, 2001-2005
National Advisory Boards:
Family Justice Project, New York, New York, 10012 (www.familyjustice.org) (2009).
Reentry Aftercare, Altoona, Iowa, 50009 (http://www.reentryaftercare.org/index.html)
C. Select Publications
Arditti, J. A., Grzywacz, J., & Gallimore, S. (2012). A demedicalized view of
maternal distress: Conceptualization and instrument development. Psychological Services, 12, 1541-1559.
Arditti, J. A. (2012). Child trauma within the context of parental incarceration: A
family process perspective. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 4, 181-219.
Arditti, J. A., & Parkman, T. (2011). The developmental paradox of young men’s
reentry after incarceration. Family Relations, 60, 205-220.
Arditti, J. A., Burton, L. M., & Neeves-Bothelho, S. E. (2010). Maternal distress
and parenting in the context of cumulative disadvantage. Family Process, 49, 142-164.
Arditti, J. A. Joest, K. S., Lambert-Shute, J., & Walker, L. (2010). The role of
emotions in fieldwork: A self-study of family research in a corrections setting. The Qualitative Report, 15, 1387-1414.
Arditti, J. A., & Joest, K. (2009). Probation workers’ perceptions of the changing
sociopolitical climate of juvenile justice: Implications for youth and families. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 4, 1-20.
Arditti, J. A., & Few, A. (2008). Maternal distress and women’s reentry into family
and community life. Family Process, 47, 303-321.
Arditti, J. A., & Few, A. L. (2006). Mothers’ reentry into family life after
incarceration. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17, 103-123.
Arditti, J. A., Smock, S., & Parkman, T. (2005). “It’s been hard to be a father”: A
qualitative exploration of incarcerated fatherhood. Fathering, 3, 267-283.
Day, R., Acock, A., Bahr, S., & Arditti, J. (2005). Incarcerated fathers returning home
to children and families: Introduction to the special issue and a primer on doing
research with men in prison. Fathering, 3, 183-200.
Arditti, J. A. (2005). Families and incarceration: An ecological approach. Families in
Society, 86, 251-258.
Arditti, J. A., Lambert-Shute, J., & Joest, K. (2003). Saturday morning at the jail:
Implications of incarceration for families and children. Family Relations, 52,195-
204.
Arditti, J. A. (2003). Locked doors and glass walls: Family visiting at a local jail.
Journal of Loss and Trauma, 8, 115-138.
Arditti, J. A. (2001). Introduction: Criminal justice and families. Marriage and
Family Review, 32, 3-10.
Arditti, J. A., & McClintock, C. (2001). Drug policy and families: Casualties of the
war. Marriage and Family Review, 32, 11-32.
Schindler, M. & Arditti, J. A. (2001). The increased prosecution of adolescents in the
adult criminal justice system: Impacts on youth, family, community. Marriage and Family Review, 32, 165-187.
Arditti, J. A., & Kelly, M. (1994). Fathers' perspectives of their co-parental
relationships post-divorce: Implications for practice and legal reform. Family Relations, 43, 61-67.
Arditti, J. A., & Keith, T. Z. (1993). Visitation frequency, child support payment, and
the father-child relationship post-divorce. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55,
699-712.
Books:
Arditti, J.A. (2012, May). Parental incarceration and the family: Psychological and
social effects of imprisonment on children, parents, and care-givers. New York: NYU Press.
Arditti, J.A. (Ed.) (in preparation). Family Problems: Stress, risks, and resilience.
Malden MA: Wiley-Blackwell
Book Chapters in Edited Books
Arditti, J.A. (forthcoming). Mental illness and criminal justice involvement. In J. Ross
(Ed.), Encyclopedia of street crime in America. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Arditti, J. A., Acock, A., & Day, R. (2005). Incarcerated fathers and non-incarcerated
family members. In V. Bengston, A. Acock, K. Allen, P. Dilworth-Anderson, &
D. Klein (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: An interactive
approach (pp. 352-356). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Other Selected Research Publications
Arditti, J.A. (Spring, 2008). Parental imprisonment and family visitation: Overview and recommendations for family friendly practice. CW360: A comprehensive look at a prevalent child welfare issue, Children of incarcerated parents, Volume 1, pp. 16, 32. Publication of the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota. (Invited paper)
Arditti, J. A., & Few, A. L. (2007, August). Mothers’ reentry into family life following
incarceration: Case study analysis (Summary of findings). Report disseminated to
the Western Probation Region, State of Virginia.
Arditti, J. A. (2003, November/December). Humanizing family visiting. American Jails,
17, 9-14.
Arditti, J. A. (2003, June). Incarceration is a major source of family stress. National
Council on Family Relations Report, 48, F15-F17.
Arditti, J. A. (2000, December). Conscious mental health practice and drug-using youth. National Council on Family Relations Report, 45, F19-20.
E. Recent Selected Research Support
Virginia Department of Corrections
October 1, 2010-September 31, 2012
Family reunification and reentry pilot program for female offenders.
Arditti, J.A. (PI). The purpose of this project is to develop instrumentation and an evaluation plan to determine the efficacy of a pilot intervention aimed at supporting mothers who were incarcerated and receiving intense drug treatment who then subsequently were released to rural communities in Southwest Virginia. Mothers participating in the pilot program received therapeutic video visitation with their families and parent education during their incarceration.
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Jerome Niles Dean’s Faculty Research Award.
June 2011-June 2012
Mentoring Children of Prisoners.
Arditti, J. A. (PI). This study aims to examine family and parenting processes
linked to child trauma in single parent families impacted by incarceration. The modifying influence of children’s participation in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program is also assessed. Utilizing a community based sample of single parent families, interviews are conducted with primary caregivers and their children. Within group comparison between those children separated from a parent due to incarceration and those who are separated from a parent for other reasons (divorce, death) will yield information pertaining to the unique implications of parental incarceration and mentoring program participation for children.
Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, Virginia Tech.
March 2009-March 2010
Disadvantage and Single Mothers: Operationalizing the Theory of Maternal Distress.
Arditti, J. A (PI) and Grzywacz, J. (Co-I; Wake Forest University Medical School).
The goal of this study was to develop a pilot instrument of maternal distress to determine its feasibility and utility. The project was specifically intended to serve as a foundation for an R21 application to NICHD. As PI, I took the lead in conceptualization, project management, item generation, data analysis, and write-up. Co-I, primarily responsible for data collection and data entry, assisted with design and write-up.
CLAHS Faculty Research Grant, Virginia Tech
August 2007-May 2008
The implications of familial incarceration for mothers in economically disadvantaged families.
Arditti, J.A., (PI) and L. Burton, Duke University, Co-I). The purpose of this project was to examine parenting trajectories of disadvantaged single mother families characterized by parental incarceration (either maternal, paternal, or both). I was responsible for primary conceptualization, project management, training and supervision of graduate student research team, data coding and analysis, and write-up. Co-I shared ethnographic data from 3-City Study, assisted with write-up. Confirmed grounded theory pertaining to Maternal Distress.
Issues of Diversity Small Grant Program, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech
August 2003 (initial award also provided limited support for follow-up study August 2007)
Mothers’ reentry into family life following incarceration.
Arditti, J.A., (PI). (A. Few, Co-I). The goal of this project was to examine mothers’ experience after a period of incarceration. The grant funded an initial wave of data collection and then in depth follow up for 10 mothers. The project is the basis of my development of the “theory of maternal distress.” PI provided leadership in conceptualization; PI & Co-I shared data collection and interviewing responsibilities.