Ernest Jouriles

Biographical Information and Areas of Research

Dr. Jouriles served as Chair of the SMU Department of Psychology from 2003-2015 and established the department’s APA-approved doctoral program in clinical psychology. He also served as Director of Graduate Studies and Interim Department Chair from 2019-2021 and is currently serving as Director of Clinical Training.

Dr. Jouriles’ lab conducts research on interpersonal violence and violence prevention. Current efforts focus on two topics: (1) understanding the wide range of mental health outcomes among children and adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse and violence, and (2) understanding effects of discrimination, which can be conceptualized as a form of violence, on young adults, and learning how best to deal with discrimination. The research on both of these topics is designed to help inform and refine scientific theory and clinical practice to help survivors of violence.

The lab also investigates how technology, such as virtual reality, can be used to study and enhance our understanding of interpersonal violence and violence prevention. For example, we have been evaluating how interactions in virtual reality can be used to assess behavior during otherwise difficult-to-capture situations involving violence.

Prior studies have focused on intimate partner violence effects on children and the prevention of violence among adolescents and young adults. Although not the primary focus of the lab at present, research on these topics continues.

Our team’s work owes much to its longstanding and rewarding collaborations with community organizations, such as Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, the Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center of the Smokies, as well as colleagues at universities across the United States and beyond. The research has long been supported by federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Jouriles is committed to mentoring and teaching the next generation of clinical scientists and assisting agencies in using evidence-based knowledge to help their clients. He teaches doctoral level courses in research methods and developmental psychopathology at SMU. When he is not working, you can often find him enjoying time with his family and friends, sampling BBQ throughout the state of Texas, preparing for his next marathon, or rooting for one of his favorite sports teams—as a native of Northern Ohio, this includes Cleveland-based teams as well as the Indiana Hoosiers, UH Cougars, and SMU Mustangs.

Education and Publications

Ph.D., Psychology, specialization in clinical psychology
State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1987.

B.A.,Psychology, minor in Mathematics
Indiana University, 1982.

Publications listed on Google Scholar here.