Emmy Werner

Emmy E. Werner (1929 – October 12, 2017) was an American developmental psychologist. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska and was a professor emerita in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Werner was best known in the field of child development for her leadership of a forty-year longitudinal study of 698 infants on the Hawaiian island of Kauai—the island's entire birth cohort for the year 1955. The study supported the conventional wisdom that many children exposed to reproductive and environmental risk factors (for instance, premature birth coupled with an unstable household and a mentally ill mother) go on to experience more problems with delinquency, mental and physical health and family stability than children exposed to fewer such risk factors. Among Werner's most significant findings was that one third of all high-risk children displayed resilience and developed into caring, competent and confident adults despite their problematic development histories. She and her fellow researchers identified a number of protective factors in the lives of these resilient individuals which helped to balance out risk factors at critical periods in their development. Among these factors were a strong bond with a nonparent caretaker (such as an aunt, babysitter, or teacher) and involvement in a church or community group like the YMCA.

Her book Through the Eyes of Innocents tells the stories of children caught up in World War II in their own words.

Awards

• Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (1999)
• Dolley Madison Presidential Award for Outstanding Lifelong Contributions to the Development and Well-being of Children and Families (1999)
• Arnold Gesell Prize, German Society for Social Pediatrics (2001)
• University of California Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award (1999/2000)
• Distinguished Friend of the University Award, UC Davis (2015)

Books

• Werner, E. E. (2000). Through the eyes of innocents: Children witness World War II. Westview Press.
• Werner, E. E. (2002). A conspiracy of decency: the rescue of the Danish Jews during World War II. Westview Press.
• Werner, E. E. (2006). In pursuit of liberty: Coming of age in the American Revolution. Greenwood Publishing Group.
• Werner, E. E. (2009). Passages to America: oral histories of child immigrants from Ellis Island and Angel Island. Potomac Books, Inc..
• Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Cornell University Press.
• Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk, resilience, and recovery. Cornell University Press.