Department of Psychology

Biography:

Keywords: children’s mental health; delinquency; criminal careers; physical restraints

In 1982 I entered the graduate program in applied social psychology (community psychology stream) at the University of Windsor with a particular interest in community mental health and psychosocial rehabilitation.  My doctoral work focused on the study of a personality variable, psycho-epistemology, as a predictor of attitude change. 

In 1989, I became Director of Research and Evaluation at Earlscourt Child and Family Centre (now the Child Development Institute) in Toronto.  Earlscourt specialized in the treatment of children, ages 6 to 11 years, with conduct problem behaviours.  My research was on the factors that contribute to an early onset of antisocial behaviour, including those behaviours that would be criminally chargeable if the child was over age 12 years.  This led to an interest in developmental criminology and work as a staff psychologist at a medium security prison for adult male offenders, prior to becoming a faculty member at Ryerson University in 1998.

At Ryerson, I have continued to pursue my dual interests in children’s mental health and developmental criminology.  One of my major research projects is a longitudinal investigation of developmental risk factors and criminal trajectories in a sample of 764 male offenders. A second project is a study of the psychological impact of physical restraints on children in residential and day treatment programs, funded by a grant from Ryerson University.  A third study examines predictors of sexual risk and injury risk behaviours in juvenile offenders. I enjoy research at the community-level and am fortunate to be able to continue this work with various agencies and organizations.

My teaching activities at Ryerson have paralleled my research interests and have included Social Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology, Community Psychology, and Introductory Psychology. Some of my publications are listed below.  My full Curriculum Vitae can be seen at http://www.arts.ryerson.ca/dday/docs/cvSept11.pdf.

Selected Publications:

Day, D. M., & Marion S. B. (2011). Applying social psychology to the criminal justice system (2^nd Ed.). In F. W. Schneider, J. Gruman, & L. Coutts (Eds.). Applying social psychology: Understanding and addressing social issues . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Ward, A. K., Day, D. M., Bevc, I., Sun, Y., Rosenthal, J. S., & Duchesne, T. (2010). Criminal trajectories and risk factors in a Canadian sample of offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 1278-1300.

Nunno, M.A., Day, D. M., & Bullard, L B. (Eds.). (2008). For our own safety: Examining the safety of high risk interventions for children and young people. Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America.

Koegl, C. J., Farrington, D. P., Augimeri, L. K., & Day, D. M. (2008). Evaluation of a targeted cognitive-behavioural program for children with conduct problems – the SNAP^®

Under 12 Outreach Project: Service intensity, age, and gender effects on short- and long-term outcomes. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 13, 419-434.

Augimeri, L. K., Farrington, D. P., Koegl, C. J., & Day, D. M. (2007). The SNAP^TM Under 12 Outreach Project: Effects of a community-based program for children with conduct problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 799-807.

Professional Affiliations:

• Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
• Ontario Psychological Association (OPA)
• Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
• American Psychological Association (APA)

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