Frosso Motti – Stefanidi, Ph.D
Ph.D, 1986, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
Professor Emerita at National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
President of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral
Development (ISSBD)
E-mail: frmotti@psych.uoa.gr
Frosso Motti-Stefanidi, PhD
Distinguished International Alumni Award, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 2005.
Selected Publications
Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2023). Acculturation and resilience of immigrant-origin youth: “Do their school experiences reflect nonimmigrants” “native supremacy”
Leadership in National and International Scientific Conferences
Athens, November 2023. Chair of a one-day conference on “Resilience in Military Context”, Hellenic Armed Forces Officers’ Club.
Honors and Awards
2022
ISSBD Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Research and Theory in Behavioral Development.
2022
Fellow, International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD)
2022
Chen Yidan Visiting Global Fellow, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University.
2010
Fellow, Association for Psychological Science (APS)
2005
Distinguished International Alumni Award, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota.
Professional Memberships and Leadership Roles
2026–2030
President, International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD)
2020–2022
President, International Consortium of Developmental Science Societies (ICDSS)
2015–2021
Member, Governing Council, Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
2013–2015
President, European Society for Developmental Psychology (EADP)
2008–2010
President, European Association of Personality Psychology (EAPP)
Scientific Activities
IMMIGRANT YOUTH RESILIENCE
My primary line of research focuses on the adaptation, development, acculturation, and resilience of immigrant and refugee youth. I developed the Athena Studies of Resilient Adaptation (AStRA), a research program supported by three grants co-funded by the European Social Fund and Greek national resources.
The AStRA project comprises three longitudinal cohort studies conducted during distinct historical periods in Greece: before the Great Recession (2005–2007), during the recession (2013–2015), and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023). The studies involved more than 3,500 immigrant-origin adolescents and their non-immigrant classmates, as well as 100 refugee adolescents.
The project also includes the implementation and evaluation of the Identity Project, a randomized controlled trial designed to promote ethnic–cultural identity exploration and resolution. The intervention was developed by Professor Adriana Umaña-Taylor and her colleagues.
I have collaborated on different aspects of this research with Professors Ann Masten (Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, USA); Jens Asendorpf (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany); Vassilis Pavlopoulos and Philia Issari (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece); Katariina Salmela-Aro † (University of Helsinki, Finland); Adriana Umaña-Taylor (Harvard University, USA); Olga Kornienko (George Mason University, USA); and Selçuk Şirin (New York University, USA).
RESILIENCE IN MILITARY CONTEXT
I am currently contributing to a collaborative project between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the Hellenic Armed Forces. The project’s principal investigator is Assistant Professor Ioannis Tsaousis, an expert in psychometrics. Our aim is to develop an instrument for assessing resilience among peacekeeping forces and other military personnel. We have collaborated on this project with Professor Melissa Polusny of the University of Minnesota Medical School, who was also a staff psychologist at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.