INRICH Member Profile Card
Kim Ferguson
Sarah Lawrence College
BA, Knox College. MA, PhD, Cornell University. Psychology (2007-present) and the Art of Teaching (2010-present) faculty. She is a developmental and cultural psychologist with special interests in sustainable, community based participatory action research, cultural-ecological approaches to infant and child development, children at risk (children in poverty, HIV/AIDS orphans, children in institutionalized care), health and cognitive development, development in African contexts, and the impact of the physical environment on child development. Author of articles and book chapters on African and American infants' language learning, categorization and face processing, the built environment and physical and mental health, and relationships between the quality of southern African orphan care contexts and child development and health.
Type of member: Regular (since 2017)
Telephone: (914) 395-2372
Email Address: kferguson@sarahlawrence.edu
Mailing Address: 1 Mead Way, Bronxville, NY 10708
Current research interests
I am a member of the Child Development Institute at Sarah Lawrence College that serves children from all backgrounds, and particularly low-income children in Yonkers and Mt. Vernon, New York, as well as in the NY Metropolitan area. I serve on the faculty advisory board for our Community Partnerships Office. I am currently partnering with Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network on various projects involving the health and well-being of low-income mothers and their infants. Outside of the United States, I partner with community based organizations in Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe to better understand health and well-being, particularly in early childhood, and to develop community-based solutions to extreme poverty. The Continuity and Change in Tanzania, South Africa & Zimbabwe, which is a study-abroad program I developed and direct, partners with some of these organizations.
Research priorities
Pathways and mechanisms: Social into the biological and epigenetic. Intergenerational influences. | Methodological issues: Methods for examining change over time including longitudinal effects studies. Multi-level studies - Society, Family & Individual. Which indicators? for example, perception of health vs. objective measures of health (these may be more reliable in studying mechanisms). | Other:
Global health inequalities, especially in southern and East Africa
Selected publications
Ferguson, K. T., & Evans, G. W. (in press 2022). The built environment, family processes, and child and adolescent health and well being. The Pennsylvania State University’s 29th Annual National Symposium on Family Issues.
Ferguson, K. T. , Evans, G. W., & Lipschutz, H. K. (2021). Poverty. In S. Hupp, & J. Jewell (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119171492.wecad429 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119171492.wecad429
Ferguson, K. T., & Evans, G. W. (2018). Family systems and family psychology in bioecological and bioecocultural perspective. In Fiese, B. H. (Ed.), APA Handbook of Contemporary Family Psychology.
Ferguson, K. T., Schecter, B., Feltham, E., & Davis, A. (2017). “Play’s the thing”: Bringing Community Adventure Play Experiences (CAPEs) to diverse communities in the United States, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Journal of the International Play Association/USA, Fall 2018, pp. 15-20. Retrieved 31st January, 2018 from http://www.ipausa.org/pdf/IPA_USA_ejournal_Fall_2017.pdf https://digitalcommons.slc.edu/cdi_research/1/
Ferguson, K. T., Cassells, R. C., MacAllister, J. W., & Evans, G. W. (2013). The physical environment and child development: An international review. International Journal of Psychology, 48(4), 437-468.
profile updated: 06/08/2022