Kathryn L. Humphreys

Media Appearances

• Mom Guilt is Real—And Here are 13 Ways to Overcome It in Any Situation

  Parent guilt happens when you don’t meet those goals or standards that you’ve built up in your mind, even if you know on some level that they’re not attainable. “When parents feel that they are falling short of their expectations or goals, guilt is a normal emotional response,” says Kathryn Humphreys, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University Peabody College of Education and Human Development.

  March 3rd, 2022

• Human-rights groups are urging the Biden administration to get children out of the makeshift Border Patrol facilities

  "Even short stays in detention centers have the potential to be traumatic experiences," said Kathryn Humphreys, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University.

  March 23rd, 2021

• Quarantine Diaries: How I Stopped Feeling Guilty About ‘Me Time’ During the Pandemic

  arent guilt happens when you don’t meet those goals or standards that you’ve built up in your mind, even if you know on some level that they’re not attainable. “When parents feel that they are falling short of their expectations or goals, guilt is a normal emotional response,” says KathrynHumphreys, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University Peabody College of Education and Human Development.

  September 16th, 2020

• What happened to American childhood?

  When I spoke with Kathryn L. Humphreys, a psychology professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in the effects of caregiving in early life, she observed a widespread hesitancy to talk about depressing concepts with kids. Parents seem to feel that doing so is “developmentally inappropriate,” she mused, though this strikes her as exactly backwards given what we know about the benefits of graduated exposure to things that frighten us. Humphreys listens to the news after work, and her 4-year-old daughter will often ask tough questions. She told me she understands why people are concerned about having difficult conversations with kids, and yet, she asked, “At what age is it that you think kids are capable of that?” Scary things are happening all the time, and avoiding them—“We’re just gonna turn off the news!” as she put it—won’t change that. “Sometimes it’s the avoidance that makes it harder for kids who are anxious,” she added.

  April 17th, 2020

• A 4-month-old baby was separated from his parents at the border last year and still can't walk or speak. Experts say he could grow up with trauma he has no memory of experiencing.

  Kathryn L. Humphreys, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who studies psychology and early childhood development, said the bulk of Constantin's trauma would likely have been experienced not when he was separated from his birth parents, but when he was reunited with them.

  July 12th, 2019

• What a typical day is like for a child in government custody at a Texas Border Patrol station

  Kathryn L. Humphreys, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who studies psychology and early childhood development, said those reactions are unsurprising. Typically, institutionalized children who lack a parent or close caregiver often already suffer negative health outcomes. But to couple the lack of adults with an additional lack of basic needs such as toothbrushes, soap, and diapers was "horrific," she said.

  July 1st, 2019

• The children who have been detained in appalling conditions at the border could bear scars from the experience for life, experts say

  Kathryn L. Humphreys, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who studies psychology and early childhood development, told INSIDER that many people wrongly think children can survive and thrive if only their basic needs like food, shelter, sanitation, and medical care are met.

  July 11th, 2019