UIC College of Education - University of Illinois at Chicago

EDUCATION

2000 - Ph.D., University of Maryland College Park, Human Development

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Dr. Horn's research interests relate to how social-cognitive development and social institutions influence the ways in which adolescents reason about peer harassment, peer discrimination, and peer relationships (in particular, harassment based on peer group membership, sexual orientation, and gender identity/expression). Additionally, she is interested in factors (e.g., age, religion, school context, intergroup context) related to sexual prejudice among adolescents and adults.

In her research, she is interested in how normative changes in adolescent social concepts affect the ways in which adolescents negotiate tensions between their moral understandings of how best to treat others with their conceptions of what is conventionally required for group membership and social solidarity. These conventional expectations are interwoven with adolescents' construction of personal identity, and intimately connected with their assumptions about personhood, and psychological normality. 

Dr. Horn is especially interested in how adolescents' concepts of person characteristics as essential or innate rather than personally chosen or constructed factor into the complex of decisions that result in acceptance of social exclusion and peer harassment, as well as how features of the social context relate to adolescents social reasoning about these issues.

In her teaching, she is interested in adolescent development, broadly, and how psychological, social, and cultural factors impact this development. She also examines how to use our knowledge about adolescent development in creating educational and social context that support and promote positive developmental outcomes for all youth, and specifically for youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Ruck, M. & Horn, S. S. (in press). Charting the landscape of childrenﾒs rights. Journal of Social Issues: Young People's Perspectives on the Rights of the Child: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice, 64, 685-699.

Horn, S. S., Szalacha, L. A., Drill, K. (in press). Schooling, sexuality and rights: An investigation of heterosexual students' social cognition regarding sexual orientation and the rights of gay and lesbian peers in school. Journal of Social Issues: Young Peopleﾒs Perspectives on the Rights of the Child: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice, 64, 791-813.

Horn, S. S., Drill, K., Heinze, J., Hochberg, M., & Frank, T. (in press). Development in grades six through eight. In T. Good (Ed.), 21st Century Education: A reference handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Ruck, M. & Horn, S. S. (in press). Journal of Social Issues: Young Peopleﾒs Perspectives on the Rights of the Child: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice, 64.

Horn, S. S. (2008). The multifaceted nature of sexual prejudice: What we can learn from studying how adolescents reason about sexual orientation and sexual prejudice. In S. Levy & M. Killen (Eds.), Intergroup attitudes and relations in childhood through adulthood (pp. 398-437). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Horn, S. S., Daddis, C., & Killen, M. (2008). Peer relationships and social groups: Implications for social and moral education. In L. Nucci & D. Navarez (Eds.) Handbook on Moral and Character Education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Horn, S. S. (2007). Leaving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students behind: Schooling, sexuality, and rights. In C. Wainryb, J. Smetana, & E. Turiel, (Eds.), Social development, social inequalities & social justice (pp. 131-153). Mahwaw, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Whitman, J. S., Horn, S. S., & Boyd, C. J. (2007). Activism in schools: Providing LGBTQ affirmative training to school counselors. In J. Glassgold & J. Drescher (Eds.) Activism in LGBT Psychology (pp. 143 ﾖ 154). Binghampton, NY: Haworth Press.

Adolescents' acceptance of same-sex peers based on sexual orientation and gender expression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, on-line first, 1-9

Horn, S. S. (2006). Group status, group bias, and adolescents' reasoning about the treatment of others in school contexts. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 208-218.

Horn, S. S. & Nucci, L. P. (2006). Harassment of gay and lesbian youth and school violence in America: An analysis and directions for intervention. In C. Daiute, L. P. Nucci, Z. Beykont, & C. Higson-Smith (Eds.), Global perspectives on youth conflict, (pp. 139-155). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Horn, S. S. & Szalacha, L. A. (2006). Youth Risk Behaviors in Chicago Public Schools: 2005. (Technical Report). Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Chicago Public Schools.

Killen, M., Stangor, C., Price, B. S., Horn, S. S., & Sechrist, G. (2004). Social reasoning about racial exclusion in intimate and non-intimate relationships. Youth and Society, 35, 293-322.

Horn, S. S. (2004). Adolescents' peer interactions: Conflict and coordination between personal expression, social norms, and moral reasoning. L. Nucci (Ed.), Conflict, contradiction and contrarian elements in moral development and education, (pp. 113-127). New York: Erlbaum.

Horn, S. S. (2004). Mean girls or cultural stereotypes? A critical essay based on Marion K. Underwood's Social aggression among girls. Human Development, 47, 314-320.

Horn, S. S. (2003). Adolescents' reasoning about exclusion from social groups. Developmental Psychology, 39, 71 - 84.

Horn, S. S. & Nucci, L. P. (2003). The multidimensionality of adolescents' beliefs about and attitudes toward gay and lesbian peers in school. Equity and Excellence in Education, Special Issue on LGBTQ issues in K-12 schools, 36, 1-12.

Horn, S. S. (2003). Shifting Mosaics: A Review of Kevin Kumashiros Troubling Intersections of Race and Sexuality: Queer Students of Color and Anti-Oppressive Education. [Review of the book Troubling Intersections of Race and Sexuality: Queer Students of Color and Anti-Oppressive Education]. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 6, 95-102.

Killen, M., & Horn, S. S. (2000). Facilitating children's development about morality, community, and autonomy: A case for service-learning experiences. In W. Van Haaften, T. Wren, & A. Tellings (Eds.), Moral sensibilities and the education, Volume II: The schoolchild (pp. 89 - 113). Bemmel, Netherlands: Concorde Publishing House.

Horn, S. S., Killen, M., & Stangor, C. (1999). The influence of stereotypes on adolescents' moral reasoning. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 98-113.

HONORS AND AWARDS

2006 - University of Maryland College of Education Distinguished Alumni Award for Young Scholars

2003 - Teaching Recognition Program Award, Council on Teacher Education, University of Illinois at Chicago

2000 - American Psychological Association, Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) Outstanding Dissertation Award

Board Member, Jean Piaget Society

Chair, Board of Directors, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, Chicago, IL

Horn, S. S. (2006, April). Peer harassment in schools: Moral, social and personal considerations. Invited presentation at Northside College Preparatory School, Adolescent Development Forum, Chicago, IL.

Horn, S. S. (2006, March). Charting the Landscape: Where do we go from here. Invited presentation at Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Youth: The Development of Lives in Context, Society for Research in Adolescence Pre-Conference Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Organizer, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex youth: The study of lives in context. Pre-conference meeting at the Society for Research on Adolescence annual meeting. San Francisco, CA, March 2006.

Horn, S. S. (2005, November). Peer harassment: Moral, conventional, and personal considerations. Lawrence Breslow Memorial Lecture, Department of Pediatrics, Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital, Park Ridge, IL. 

Morten, M., McAlpine, L., & Horn, S. S. (2005, May). Teaching respect for all: Reducing anti-gay violence in schools. Workshop presented to faculty at Oak Park Public High School staff development in-service, Oak Park, IL.

Horn, S. S. (2004, June). Leaving gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth behind: An exploration of GLBT students' rights in United States schools. In M. Ruck (Chair), Children's rights around the world. Invited paper symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Toronto, Canada.

Expert Panelist, The O'Reilly Factor, Discussing Adolescent Hazing, 2003.

Expert Panelist, A Safe Place to Learn, WBEZ Town Hall Meeting, Chicago Public Radio, Chicago, IL, 2003.

Editorial Board, Journal of Youth and Adolescence

Project Consultant and Advisory Committee, Straightlaced: Undoing gender. The Respect for All Project. Women's Educational Media, Oakland, CA. 

Member, Research Advisory Board, Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, New York, NY, 2001 - present.

Chair, Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues, 2006 - present