The American Psychological Association (APA) awarded Dr. Deborah Johnson with the APA Fellow distinction with Divisions 7 (Developmental Psychology) and 45 (Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race), an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology. Fellow status requires that a person's work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level. Dr. Johnson is an MSU Foundation professor, director of the Diversity Research Network, and a faculty member in the MSU Department of Human Development and Family Studies.
“My career research addresses parenting and structural supports needed to promote the ascension of Black American, Latinx, international, and immigrant children and families to the best version of health, well-being, and access to economic, developmental and educational success as foundational,” Dr. Johnson said.
Dr. Johnson has had a distinguished career centered in developmental psychology, emphasizing research on identity and racial-ethnic socialization.
“My research contributions reflect the tensions inherent in integrating culture, race, and ethnicity within developmental science in an ecological framework across 40 years,” she said. “I also maintain a deep commitment to innovative exploration of these ideas, concepts, and learnings within global and domestic contexts where novel outcomes emerge and expand the field."
She has made longstanding contributions to racial-ethnic socialization research on parental messages and child racial coping and navigation skill development, with innovations in paper pencil measurement and observational approaches.
In 2019, Dr. Johnson co-edited the Handbook on Children and Prejudice, a 36-chapter edited volume, that has been downloaded over 170,000 times with over 168 citations.
In 2022, Dr. Johnson documented gendered experiences of Collegian women of color in a study emphasizing their resistance and resilience. The publication was predicated on how little attention had previously been paid to the ethno-gendered experiences of women of color on college campuses.
“My College Women of Color study addressed this gap and assessed the maternal messages at the intersection of race and gender for Black Americans and Latinas using PVEST -- a cultural-developmental approach -- and a critical race theoretical lens. Our study indicated that mothers’ messages, both spoken and observed, contributed positively to the educational and personal growth outcomes of their college daughters who used their messages to help navigate racism to succeed.”
Dr. Johnson has also demonstrated leadership in the areas of migrant, immigrant and refugee children and their family groups.
“The cultural adjustment research primarily addresses the experience of Sudanese refugee youth over 20 years of resettlement, but also other contexts where we find migrant and immigrant youth emphasizing purpose, as well as numerous aspects of social, educational, identity and other psychological adjustment,” she said.
The MSU Department of Human Development and Family Studies is pleased to congratulate Dr. Johnson on this well-deserved recognition by the APA.
By Katie Frey