Patricia K. Kerig

Patricia K. Kerig is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Utah's Department of Psychology. Her research examines developmental processes contributing to risk and resilience across the lifespan, with focus on trauma, violence exposure, and juvenile justice involvement.

Education includes:

• Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Colorado (1990)
• Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley (1989)
• Internship at Stanford University (1988)
• B.A. from University of California at Irvine (1982)

Research focuses on trauma-linked pathways to delinquency, gender differences in psychopathology, moral injury, and family systems. Current projects investigate mechanisms linking childhood trauma to justice involvement using longitudinal and psychophysiological methods.

Honors include the University Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award (2018), Superior Research Award (2017), and Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (2016). Current graduate students are Ava Alexander, Susan Chen, Mallory Kidwell, and Lucybel Mendez.

Recent publications examine autonomic stress profiles in justice-involved youth, discrimination effects in detained populations, and PTSD assessment methodologies. Her lab maintains active collaborations with juvenile justice systems nationwide.