Norman Watt
Research Professor, Clinical Child

An early research interest in understanding the development of severe psychopathology in young adults has evolved gradually into a preferred focus on studies of children and young families at high risk. This has led to extensive involvement with Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Denver, and a close collaboration with the Denver Public Schools. Of particular interest is the study of "resilient" children who survive or even thrive in spite of exposure to severe adversity in early life, such as poverty. In pursuit of those interests we have developed a comprehensive database of all previous Head Start children in Denver, and are in the process of expanding that database to include all Early Head Start children and all Colorado Preschool Program children, as well. The initial study within that framework is the Resilience Project, which conducts home interviews and school assessments of former Head Starters with exceptional reading proficiency, as measured on nationally normed tests, and comparing them with average readers from the same Head Start background. A second project examines the academic and psychological development of Denver Public School children in various forms of bilingual education. Two Early Head Start collaborations focus primarily on developing social competence in children from 0-3 years of age. The most recent endeavor seeks to promote literacy in preschoolers through the use of Head Start Ambassadors for Literacy, a collaborative venture with the Denver Public Schools that is designed to create employment opportunities for former Head Starters and foster savings for future college education.

Representative Publications:

Watt, N.F., Guajardo, M.R. & Markman, H.J. (1987). A psychological study of educational attainment among Hispanics. Final technical report on a research project sponsored by Project 2+2, Colorado Department of Education.

Watt, N.F., Moorehead-Slaughter, O., Japzon, D.M., & Keller, G.G. (1990). Children's adjustment to parental divorce: Self-image, social relations and school performance. In J.E. Rolf, A.S. Masten, D. Cicchetti, K.H. Neuchterlein, & S. Weintraub (Eds.), Risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology (pp. 281-303). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Watt, N.F. & Saiz, C. (1991). Longitudinal studies of premorbid development of adult schizophrenics. In E.F. Walker (Ed.), Schizophrenia: A life course developmental perspective (pp. 157-192). New York: Academic Press.

Mulholland, D.J., Watt, N.F., Philpott, A., & Sarlin, N.S. (1991). Academic performance in children of divorce: Psychological resilience and vulnerability. Psychiatry, 54, 268-280.

Watt, N.F. (1992). Longitudinal research on risk and prevention in mental health. Psychiatry, 55, 311-313.

Coie, J.C., Watt, N.F., West, S.G., Hawkins, J.D., Asarnow, J.R., Markman, H.J., Ramey, S.L., Shure, M.B., & Long, B. (1993). The science of prevention: A conceptual framework and some directions for a national research program. American Psychologist, 48, 1013-1022.

Watt, N.F., David, J.P., Ladd, K.L., & Shamos, S. (1995). The life course of psychological resilience: A phenomenological perspective on deflecting life's slings and arrows. Journal of Primary Prevention, 15, 209-246.

McCullough, J., Diaz, L. & Watt, N.F. (1996). Predelinquent comportment and achievement at school: Convergence and divergence regarding risk factors, protective factors and outcomes. Paper presented at the Society for Life History Research Conference, London, England, October 1-6, 1996.