George Holden (professor)
{{Infobox person
| name = George Walker Holden
| alma_mater = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| occupation = Professor emeritus and Developmental Psychologist
}}
George Walker Holden is professor emeritus and a developmental psychologist who worked at the Southern Methodist University, where he was the former Chair of the Psychology Department. Prior to that he was professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Holden is the co-founder of the U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children and the author of several books on the subject of child development. He is the father of three children and grandfather of five.
Early life
George Holden's father was Reuben A. Holden, who was an administrator at Yale University and later become President of Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/03/nyregion/reuben-holden-77-college-president-and-yale-executive.html|title=Reuben Holden, 77, College President And Yale Executive|first=Eric|last=Pace|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 3, 1995}} He received his BA from Yale University and his MA and PhD in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.{{cite book |page=11 |title=The Preschool Years |author=Ellen Galinsky|publisher=Ballantine Books |year=1990}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qUk5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA484|title=Handbook of Dynamics in Parent-Child Relations|first=Leon|last=Kuczynski|date=December 31, 2003|publisher=SAGE|isbn=9780761923640|via=Google Books}}
Positions
After graduate school, in 1984 George Holden went to the University of Texas at Austin. Among other roles, he served as Associate Chair in the Department of Psychology. In 2008 he moved to Southern Methodist University where he was Professor of Psychology. From 2015 to 2020 he chaired the Department of Psychology.{{Cite web|url=https://www.psypost.org/2014/04/corporal-punishment-study-shows-kids-misbehave-within-10-minutes-of-spanking-24436|title=Corporal punishment study shows kids misbehave within 10 minutes of spanking|date=April 15, 2014}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Dedman/Academics/Departments/Psychology/people/faculty/HoldenG|title=George Holden|website=www.smu.edu}} Holden co-founded the U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children in 2011, and serves as the organization's President.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/the-end-of-spanking/2013/01/02/d328cf1e-3273-11e2-bb9b-288a310849ee_story.html |title=The end of spanking? |date=2013-01-03 |author1=Steve Hendrix |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}} From 2011 to 2020 he served on the board of Family Compass, a Dallas child abuse prevention non-profit, where he was board president from 2016 to 2017. He currently is on the board of the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment (beginning in 2016) and joined the board of Nurturings (formerly Attachment Parenting International) in 2021. He was previously the President of the Society for Research in Human Development.{{Cite news|url=https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/author/george-w-holden|title=Holden, George|date=December 29, 2019|website=SAGE Publications Inc}}
Research
Holden has researched the problem of corporal punishment of children, parenting practices and cognitions, and family violence, in addition to other topics.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/smu-study-shows-many-parents-still-spank-kids/|title=SMU Study Shows Many Parents Still Spank Kids|date=June 30, 2011}}{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/the-discipline-wars-2/|title=A Surprising Number of Americans Still Spank Their Kids}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/news/texas-anti-paddling-activists-see-little-response-to-education-secretary-letter-9013162|title=Texas Anti-Paddling Activists See Little Response to Education Secretary Letter|first=Carter|last=Sherman|date=December 13, 2016|website=Houston Press}} In 2014 Holden released a study that showed evidence that parents that favor corporal punishment are prone to changing their minds on its usefulness if shown how the punishment can negatively affect their child.{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2014/01/29/Parents-can-change-mind-on-spanking-if-told-it-harms-a-child/57891391029506/|title=Parents can change mind on spanking if told it harms a child|website=UPI}} In addition to his research, Holden has discussed parenting and child abuse issues and controversies in the media,{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/desoto-mistakenly-paddles-kindergartener-because-texas-8091506|title=DeSoto Mistakenly Paddles Kindergartener, Because Texas|first=Eric|last=Nicholson|date=March 4, 2016|website=Dallas Observer}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbcnews-com/make-the-case-corporal-punishment-333554243800|title=Make the Case: Corporal Punishment|website=NBC News}} and has written for periodicals including the New York Times.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/08/14/is-spanking-a-black-and-white-issue/spanking-is-more-a-product-of-stress-than-race|title=Spanking Is More a Product of Stress Than Race|website=www.nytimes.com}} In addition to research articles, he has published books on the subject including Parents and the Dynamics of Child Rearing, and he was the co-editor of the books Children Exposed to Marital Violence, and The Handbook of Family Measurement Techniques. He is also the author of Parenting: A Dynamic Perspective.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Parenting;+a+dynamic+perspective.-a0211161204|title=Parenting; a dynamic perspective. - Free Online Library|website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}
Honors
Holden is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and was a various academic organizations including the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, the International Society for the Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Society for Research in Child Development. In 2018 he received the Distinguished Career Award from the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.{{Cite web|url=https://medschool.duke.edu/about-us/calendar/childrens-bodies-keep-score-adverse-childhood-experiences-study-aces-and-psychopathology-youth-and|title=Children's Bodies Keep Score: The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs) and Psychopathology in Youth and Adults | Duke School of Medicine|website=medschool.duke.edu}} He also received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Society for Research in Human Development in 2010.