Ann Skinner

Ann Skinner is a Research Scientist and joined the Center for Child and Family Policy in 2001. 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.  As a developmental psychologist with prior work in education, her recent work examines the impact of war on the adjustment of youth and their families in Ukraine, and the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on parent-child relationships and young adult adjustment across countries. She has extensive experience in data management of multisite projects and in supervising teams for school- and community-based interventions and data collection. 

She is currently the Principal Investigator for a study examining how interpersonal relationships and social support during war promote resilience and recovery in Ukraine, and has been working with the Parenting Across Cultures study since its inception in 2008. 

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 was also 2022-23 fellow with the ICDSS COVID-19 Global Scholars Program. Prior to her work with Parenting Across Cultures, Skinner worked 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.