Theresa S. Betancourt is the inaugural Salem Professor in Global Practice at the Boston College School of Social Work and director of the Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA). In this presentation, Betancourt will discuss her research on the psychosocial impact of adversity on children and families, using longitudinal data to co-develop family based and group interventions to promote more resilient outcomes, and mental health services research. She is principal investigator of an intergenerational study of war-affected youth in Sierra Leone and leads implementation science research in Rwanda to examine strategies for scaling and sustaining quality in an evidence based home visiting intervention to promote early childhood development and prevent violence (Sugira Muryango). Using community-based participatory research methods, she has co-developed similar family strengthening interventions for resettling refugee families in the U.S. raising school-age children.

Betancourt's book, Shadows into Light: A Generation of Former Child Soldiers Comes of Age, released in 2025 by Harvard University Press, provides insights from her 22 years of research on the intergenerational impacts of war-affected youth in Sierra Leone, offering a profound look into the deep psychological and developmental effects of war and violence, while also expanding our understanding of resilience in the aftermath of conflict.