Marybeth Shinn

Marybeth Shinn

New York University, Steinhardt School of Education

Professor of Applied Psychology and Public Policy

Phone: (212) 998-7923
Email: beth.shinn@nyu.edu

• Applied Psychology

Marybeth (Beth) Shinn studies how social settings influence individual well-being, and how settings can be modified to foster individual welfare. Because understanding the characteristics of settings requires measuring them, she is also interested in techniques for ecological assessment. Shinn is currently editing a book (with Hiro Yoshikawa) of examples of efforts to change settings to promote positive youth development. Each chapter describes the authors' theory of change and their approach to measuring setting characteristics. Much of Shinn's work focuses on individuals who face social exclusion due to poverty, homelessness, and/or mental illness. She is currently studying characteristics of settings that foster capabilities for homeless individuals with mental illness. In the past, she has done both surveys and intervention studies with homeless families and individuals and written about the prevention of homelessness. Three recent projects involved a survey of older adults in poverty to understand why some become homeless, an evaluation of New York City' street count, and a field experiment to determine whether rapid re-housing with transitional services fostered positive outcomes for children who were homeless with their families. She has also studied whether exposure to violence and undiagnosed mental health problems create barriers for women attempting to comply with the requirements of the welfare system. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the W.T. Grant Foundation, among others.

Shinn is interested in using research to influence public policy. She has done collaborative studies with New York City's Department of Homeless Services, Human Resources Administration, and Department of Health. She has participated in State Policy Academies run by the Federal Interagency Council on Homelessness and serves on research advisory panels for the New York City Department of Homeless Services and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, among others.

Shinn also has an appointment at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service and taught in the NYU Department of Psychology (FAS) prior to coming to Steinhardt. She has served as president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and the Society for Community Research and Action. She received the 2002 Golden Dozen Teaching Award from NYU's College of Arts and Science. Shinn received her doctorate in social and community psychology from the University of Michigan in 1978.