Stephanie D. Block

Stephanie D. Block serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell's College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, conducting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of child development, legal systems, and trauma psychology. Her work directly informs child welfare policy through empirical studies of children's legal system experiences.

Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology (2008) and M.A. in Psychology (2006) from the University of California - Davis, and a B.S. in Psychology (2003) from Union College:

• Ph.D.: Developmental Psychology, Children in Court (2008), University of California - Davis
• M.A.: Psychology (2006), University of California - Davis
• B.S.: Psychology (2003), Union College - Schenectady, NY

Block's research integrates three interconnected domains: Child Maltreatment (examining resilience in at-risk children and developing prevention interventions), Psychology and Law (optimizing children's legal participation and adult evaluation of child witnesses), and Memory for Trauma (investigating children's memory of emotional events). Her social-ecological framework emphasizes real-world applications for child welfare systems, with recent work analyzing how victim disclosure barriers and penetration abuse increase recommendations for victim support services by 100% in child sexual abuse cases.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent methodological rigor across psychology, law, and criminology disciplines, with 2022-2024 works demonstrating increasing focus on non-prosecutorial interventions and caregiver support systems in child sexual abuse cases. Her publications employ diverse methodologies including large-scale case analyses (n=500), experimental memory studies, and interdisciplinary collaboration with legal professionals.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008-2011)
• NIH Loan Repayment Program Recipient (2009-2011)

Block has secured over $679,000 in research funding as Principal Investigator, including a $498,333 National Institute of Justice award (2014-2018) and Children's Justice Act grants totaling $171,249 (2022: $81,276; 2023: $89,973). Current projects examine non-offending caregiver needs to facilitate abuse investigations and expand non-prosecutorial recommendations, directly addressing gaps in victim support systems identified through her prosecutorial decision research.

She directs the Block Research Lab, which trains students in interdisciplinary research methods while investigating children's legal system experiences and trauma memory. The lab's collaborative environment bridges developmental psychology, forensic interviewing techniques, and policy implementation to generate actionable knowledge for legal and child welfare professionals.