Dorothy Espelage

Educational Background

Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Indiana University, 1997
M.A., Clinical Psychology, Radford University, 1993
B.S., Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1991

Key Professional Appointments

Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007--
Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004-2007
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, Counseling Psychology Division, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997-2004

Activities & Honors

Incoming Vice President, AERA Division E, 2010-2013
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2005- present
University Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005-2008
Secretary, Division E, American Educational Research Association, 2005-2007
Fellow Status, American Psychological Association Division 17 (Society of, Society of Counseling Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2005-2006
University of Illinois Campus Award for Excellence in Off-Campus Teaching, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004-2005
Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) Fritz Linn & Kuder Early Scientist/Practitioner Career Award, American Psychological Association, 2004-
R. Stewart Jones Award for Outstanding Teacher in Educational Psychology, Unknown, 2001-2002
Teacher of the Year, Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society, College of Education, 2001-
Distinguished Teaching Award, Delta Sigma Omicron, College of Education, 2000-
R. Stewart Jones Award for Outstanding Teacher in Educational Psychology, College of Education, 1998-1999
Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997-2001
Paul Munger Award - Outstanding Graduate Student, Indiana University, 1996-

Research Statement

Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D., is a Professor of Child Development in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is an University Scholar and has fellow status in Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Indiana University in 1997. She has conducted research on bullying, homophobic teasing, sexual harassment, and dating violence for the last 18 years. As a result, she presents regularly at regional, national, and international conferences and is author on over 90 professional publications. She is co-editor of four published books including “Bullying in North American Schools: A Social-Ecological Perspective on Prevention and Intervention” and “International Handbook of Bullying” published by Routledge. She is Associate Editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology. She has presented thousands of workshops and in-service training seminars for teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers across the U.S. Her research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention and intervention programming. She is currently funded by the CDC for a randomized clinical trial of a bullying prevention program in 36 middle schools. She authored a 2011 White House Brief on bullying among LGBTQ youth and attended the White House Conference in 2011. She is also funded by National Science Foundation to develop better methods to assess bullying among adolescents and CDC and NIJ are funding a longitudinal study of predictors of bullying and dating violence among adolescents. Dr. Espelage has appeared on many television news and talk shows, including The Today Show; CNN; CBS Evening News; The Oprah Winfrey Show, Anderson, Anderson 360 and has been quoted in the national print press, including Time Magazine, USA Today, People, Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal. Her dedicated team of undergraduate and graduate students are committed to the dissemination of the research through various mechanisms (www.espelageagainstbully.com)

Grants

Principal Investigator, Bullying, Sexual, and Dating Violence Trajectories from Early to Late Adolescence, National Institute of Justice, 2012-2013
Co-Principal Investigator, Analyzing Partially Observable Computer-Adolescent Networks, National Science Foundation, 2010-2011
Principal Investigator, Multi-site Evaluation of Second Step: Student Success Through Prevention (Second Step -SSTP) in Preventing Bullying and Sexual Violence, Centers for Disease Control, 2009-2012
Senior Personnel, CDI-Type II: Collaborative Research: Groupscope: Instrumenting Research on Interaction Networks in Complex Social Contexts, National Science Foundation, 2009-2014
Principal Investigator, Middle School Bullying & Sexual Violence: Measurement Issues & Etiological Models, Centers for Disease Control, 2007-2011
Principal Investigator, Bullying as a Peer Group Process During Early Adolescence, Campus Research Board, 1999-present
Principal Investigator, Validation of a Disease-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (University of Florida), 1999-2000
Fellow, Faculty Fellow, Bureau of Educational Research, 1999-2000
Principal Investigator, Arnold O. Beckman Award, Campus Research Board, 1998-present

Publications

Robinson, J.P., & Espelage, D.L. (2012). Bullying Explains Only Part of LGBTQ-Heterosexual Risk Disparities : Implications for Policy and Practice. Educational Researcher, 41 (8), 309 – 319.
Espelage, D.L., & Poteat, V.P. (2012). School-based prevention of peer relationship problems. In Betsy Altmaier & Jo-Ida Hansen (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Counseling Psychology (pp. 703 – 722). New York: Oxford University Press.
Espelage, D.L., Anderman, E., Brown, V., Jones, A., Lane, K., McMahon, S.D., Reddy, L.A., & Reynolds, C.R. (2013). Understanding and preventing violence directed against teachers: Recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda.American Psychologist, Feb-March, 75-87.
Robinson, J.P. & Espelage, D.L. (2011). Inequities in educational and psychological outcomes between LGBTQ and straight students in middle and high school. Educational Researcher, 40, 315-330.
Swearer, S. M., & Espelage, D. L. (2011). A social-ecological framework of bullying among youth. In D. L. Espelage, & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in North American schools. New York: Routledge.
Rose, C. A., Monda-Amaya, L. E., & Espelage, D. L. (2010). Bullying perpetration and victimization in special education: A review of the literature. Remedial and Special Education, doi:10.177/071932510361247, Online First.
Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2010). A social-ecological model for bullying prevention and intervention: Understanding the impact of adult communities children live in. In S. R. Jimerson, S. M. Swearer, & D. L. Espelage (Eds.), The handbook of bullying in schools: An international perspective (pp. 61-72). New York: Routledge.
Swearer, S., Espelage, D.L., Vaillancourt, T., & Hymel, S. (2010). Challenges facing educators and researchers regarding school bullying: Linking research to educational practice. Educational Researcher, 39, (1), 38-47.
Lee, S.Y., Hong, J.S., & Espelage, D.L. (2010). An ecological understanding of youth suicide in South Korea. School Psychology International, 31(5), 531-546.
Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2010). Bullying and peer harassment. In H. Walker, M. Shinn, & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for achievement and behavior in a three-tier model including RTI. New York: Springer Publishing.
Basile, K. C., Espelage, D. L., Rivers, I., McMahon, P. M., & Simon, T. R. (2009). The theoretical and empirical links between bullying behavior and male sexual violence perpetration. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14(5), 336-347.
Poteat, V. P., Espelage, D. L., & Koenig, B. W. (2009). Willingness to remain friends and attend school with lesbian and gay peers: Relational expressions of prejudice among heterosexual youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7), 952-962.
Birkett, M., Espelage, D. L., & Koenig, B. (2009). LGB and questioning students in schools: The moderating effects of homophobic bullying and school climate on negative outcom es. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7), 989–1000.
Poteat, V. P., Aragon, S. R., Espelage, D. L., & Koenig, B. W. (2009). Psychosocial concerns of sexual minority youth: Complexity and caution in group differences. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(1), 196-201.
Mayberry, M., Espelage, D. L., & Koenig, B. (2009). Multilevel modeling of direct effects and interactions of peers, parents, school, and community influences on adolescent substance use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(8), 1038-1049.
Rose, C. A., Espelage, D. L., & Monda-Amaya, L. E. (2009). Bullying and victimization rates among students in general and special education: A comparative analysis. Educational Psychology, 29(7), 761-776.
Swearer, S. M., Espelage, D. L., & Napolitano, S. A. (2009). Bullying prevention and intervention. New York: Guilford Publications.
Espelage, D. L., Aragon, S. R, & Birkett, M. (2008). Psychological Adjustment and SexualOrientation During Adolescence: Do Parents and Teachers Help? In D.L. Espelage, & S.M. Swearer (Eds.), Sexual Orientation, Homophobia, Bullying, and Psychological Adjustment During Adolescence [Special issue]. School Psychology Review, 37, 202-216.
Espelage, D., & Horne, A. (2008). School violence and bullying prevention: From research based explanations to empirically based solutions. In S. Brown & R. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (4th ed., pp. 588 – 606). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Ybarra, M.L., Espelage, D.L., & Martin, S. (in press). Unwanted sexual and harassing experiences: From School to Text Messaging. Journal of Adolescent Health.
Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2008). Addressing research gaps in the intersection between homophobia and bullying. In D. L. Espelage, & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Sexual Orientation,Homophobia, Bullying, and Psychological Adjustment During Adolescence [Specialissue]. School Psychology Review, 37, 155-159.
Poteat, P., Espelage, D. L., & Green, H. (2007). The socialization of dominance: Peer group contextual effects on heterosexist and dominance attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1040-1050.
Espelage, D. L., Holt, M., & Isaia, A. (2007). Dating violence among high school students--Understanding the roles of attachment, self-esteem, dominance, and need for interpersonal control. In K. Kendall-Tackett & S. Giaccamoni (Eds.), Intimate partner violence (pp. 14-15). Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.
Espelage, D. L., Wasserman, S., & Fleisher, M. (2007). Social networks and violent behavior. In D. J. Flannery, A. T. Vazsonyi, & I. Waldman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of violent behavior. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mayberry, M., & Espelage, D. L. (2006). Associations among empathy, social competence, and reactive/proactive subtypes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(6), 787 - 798.
Swearer, S. M., Peugh, J., Espelage, D. L., Siebecker, A. B., Kingsbury, W. L., & Bevins, K. S. (2006). A social-ecological model for bullying prevention and intervention in early adolescence. In S. Jimerson & M. Furlong (Eds.), Handbook of school violence & school safety (pp. 257-273). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Breen, H.B., DeSilva, P., & Espelage, D.L. (2006). The role of medical nutrition therapy in treatment of disordered eating. www.currentmedicalliterature.com
Hund, A., & Espelage, D. L. (2006). Childhood emotional abuse and disordered eating among undergraduate females: Mediating influence of alexithymia, distress, and dissociation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(4), 393-407.
VanBoven, A., & Espelage, D. L. (2006). Influence of depression on coping assessment and disordered eating among college females. Journal of Counseling and Development, 84(3), 341-348.
Holt, M. K., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Social support as a moderator between dating violence victimization and depression/anxiety among African-American and Caucasian adolescents. School Psychology Review, 34(3), 309-328.
Glomb, S., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Restrictive emotionality and the appraisal of sexual harassment. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6, 240-253.
Poteat, V. P., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Exploring the relation between bullying and homophobic verbal content: The Homophobic Content Agent Target (HCAT) scale. Violence and Victims, 20, 513-528.
Hale, C. J., Hannum, J. W., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). The influence of different sources of social support on physical health. Journal of College Student Health, 53, 276-284
Murthi, M., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Association among childhood sexual abuse, social support, and loss. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1215-1231.
Hund, A., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Relationship between childhood sexual abuse and disordered eating: Alexithymia, dissociation, and negative affect as potential mediators. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 559-573.
Holt, M. K., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Peer victimization among adolescents: A preliminary perspective on the co-occurrence of sexual harassment, dating violence, and bullying victimization. In K. Kendall-Tackett & S. Giacomoni (Eds.), Victimization of children and youth: Patterns of abuse and response strategies (pp. 13-16). Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.
Cauffman, E., Piquero, A. R., Broidy, L., Espelage, D., & Mazerolle, P. (2004). Heterogeneity in the association between social-emotional adjustment profiles and deviant behavior among male and female serious juvenile offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 48(2), 235-252.
Breen, H., & Espelage, D. L. (2004). Nutrition expertise in eating disorder. Eating & Weight Disorders: Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia, and Obesity, 9, 120-125.
Espelage, D. L., Mebane, S., & Adams, R. (2004). Empathy, caring, and bullying: Toward an understanding of complex associations. In D. L. Espelage, & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools: A social ecological perspective on prevention and intervention (pp. 37-61). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Espelage, D. L., Mebane, S., Swearer, S. M., & Turner, R. (2004). Gender differences in bullying: Moving beyond mean level differences. In D. L. Espelage & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools: A social ecological perspective on prevention and intervention (pp. 15-35). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Swearer, S. M., & Espelage, D. L. (2004). An ecological framework of bullying among youth. In D. L. Espelage & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools: A social ecological perspective on prevention and intervention (pp. 1-15). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (Eds.). (2004). Bullying in American schools: A social-ecological perspective on prevention and intervention. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Espelage, D. L. (2004). Preventing bullying among school-age children. The Prevention Researcher, 11, 3-6.
Gerlach, J. L., & Espelage, D. L. (2004). Exercise, coping, and disordered eating. Eating Behaviors, 5, 337-351.
Swearer, S. M., & Espelage, D. L. (Eds.). (2003). Bullying prevention and intervention: Integrating research and evaluation findings [Special issue]. School Psychology Review, 32, 365-470.
Espelage, D. L., Cauffman, E., Broidy, L., Piquero, A., & Mazerolle, P. (2003). A cluster-analytic investigation of MMPI profiles of serious male and female juvenile offenders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 770-777.
Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2003). Research on bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we need to go? In S. M. Swearer & D. L. Espelage (Eds.), Bullying prevention and intervention: Integrating research and evaluation findings [Special issue]. School Psychology Review, 32, 365-383.
Mazzeo, S. E., Espelage, D. L., Sherman, R., & Thompson, R. (2003). A 10-year trend analysis of symptoms in an outpatient eating disorders clinic. Eating Disorders, 4, 211-220.
Espelage, D. L. (2003). Bullying among children and adolescents. In L. VandeCreek & T. L. Jackson (Eds.), Innovations in clinical practice: A source book, Vol. 20, 83-95. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resources Press.
Espelage, D. L., Holt, M. K., & Henkel, R. R. (2003). Examination of peer group contextual effects on aggression during early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 205-220.
Espelage, D. L., Mazzeo, S. E., Quittner, A. L., Sherman, R., & Thompson, R. (2003). Examining the construct validity of the Eating Disorder Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 15, 71-80.
Holt, M., & Espelage, D. L. (2003). A cluster analytic investigation of victimization profiles among high school students: Are profiles associated with differential psychological and educational outcomes? Journal of Applied School Psychology, 19, 81-98.
Broidy, L., Cauffman, E., Espelage, D. L., Mazerolle, P., & Piquero, A. (2003). Empathy and offending: The relation between consideration of others and sex differences in offending. Violence and Victims, 18, 503-516.
Mazzeo, S. E., & Espelage, D. L. (2002). Association between childhood physical and emotional abuse and disordered eating behaviors in female undergraduates: An investigation of the mediating role of alexithymia and depression. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49(1), 86-100.
Espelage, D L., & Holt, M. L. (2001). Bullying and victimization during early adolescence: Peer influences and psychosocial correlates. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2(3), 123-142.
Espelage, D. L., & Asidao, C. (2001). Conversations with middle school students about bullying and victimization: Should we be concerned? Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2(2), 49-62.
Espelage, D. L., Bosworth, K., & Simon, T.R. (2000). Examining the social context of bullying behaviors in early adolescence. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 326-333.
Espelage, D. L., Quittner, A.L., Sherman, R., & Thompson, R. (2000). Assessment of problematic situations and coping strategies in women with eating disorders: Initial validation of a situation-specific problem inventory. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessent, 22, 271-297.
Bosworth, K., Espelage, D. L., Dahlberg, L., Daytner, G., DuBay, T., & Karageorge, K. (2000). The effectiveness of a multimedia violence prevention program for early adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 24, 268–280.
Espelage, D. L., Bosworth, K., & Simon, T. (2000). Examining the social environment of middle school students who bully. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 326-333.
Bosworth, K., Espelage, D.L., & Simon, T. (1999). Factors associated with bullying behavior in middle school students. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19(3), 341-362.

In The News

Skills learning program in middle schools dramatically reduces fighting, according to new study by Dorothy Espelage

May 7, 2013

MAY 6, 2013, UI NEWS BUREAU, CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Sharita Forrest — Middle school children who completed a social-emotional skills learning program at school were 42 percent less likely to engage in physical fighting a year later, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Read more...