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Ann Skinner

Research Scientist
Center for Child and Family Policy
Box 90545, Durham, NC 27708
210 Rubenstein Hall, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Ann Skinner joined the Center in 2001 and is a Research Scientist with Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) and C-StARR.  She is also the Principal Investigator for a study examining the effects of the war on young people and their families in Ukraine.

Her research focuses on the ways in which stressful community, familial, and interpersonal events impact parent-child relationships and the development of aggression and internalizing behaviors in youth. She has extensive experience in data management of multisite projects and in supervising teams for school- and community-based interventions and data collection. 

Skinner is a former supervisor in the Junior Researcher Programme, where she led a group of junior international scholars exploring the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent and young adult development.  She is currently a 2022-23 fellow with the ICDSS COVID-19 Global Scholars Program.

Prior to her work with Parenting Across Cultures, Skinner was a senior school specialist and research analyst on the GREAT Schools and Families middle school violence prevention project at the Center, as well as Project CLASS.

Skinner has a Ph.D in developmental psychology from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, a master's degree in education, and B.A. in psychology, both from the College of William and Mary, with a focus on teaching students with emotional and learning disabilities. Before joining the Center, she worked as a special education teacher, trainer, and supervisor in the North Carolina public schools and at residential facilities for at-risk youth in Rhode Island and North Carolina.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Recent Publications


The interaction among household chaos, parental rejection, and parental control in predicting adolescent executive function.

Journal Article Developmental psychology · December 2025 The present study examines the interaction between household chaos, parental control, and parental rejection/acceptance (i.e., warmth) in predicting adolescent executive function (EF) skills in a diverse sample. We tested a three-way interaction to underst ... Full text Open Access Cite

Parent-adolescent discrepancies in perceptions of parental warmth: Cross-cultural differences and longitudinal associations with internalizing symptoms.

Journal Article Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · December 2025 Research suggests that adolescents often perceive parental behaviors-such as expressions of warmth and affection-differently than their parents do. These parent-adolescent discrepancies offer meaningful insight into family functioning during adolescence an ... Full text Open Access Cite
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Recent Grants


Childhood, Adolescence, and Covid-Related Risk and Protective Factors in the Development of Adjustment in Early Adulthood Across Cultures

ResearchProject Manager · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2022 - 2027

Understanding how interpersonal relationships and social support during war promote resilience and recovery

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mental Research Institute · 2025 - 2026

Adolescents and AI

ResearchResearch Scientist · Awarded by University of California - Irvine · 2024 - 2026

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