Gordon Harold, Ph.D. Gordon Harold, Ph.D. 
Professor Gordon Harold is Chair in Behavioral Genetics and Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Leicester (UK). His primary research interests focus on the role of the family as a context for understanding children’s normal and abnormal psychological development. He has particular interest in the interparental relationship, and the effects of interparental conflict on children’s emotional, behavioral, and academic development. He is presently involved in several ongoing longitudinal projects including studies examining the interplay between genetic and family environmental factors on children’s mental health, the early origins of childhood aggression and disruptive behavior disorders, the long-term impact of domestic violence on children’s psychological development and the implementation of effective intervention programs aimed at assisting children in the context of parental separation and divorce. Professor Harold is a Senior Research Fellow at the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships in London, and an Honorary Professor at Cardiff University Law School.
Originally from Dublin, Professor Harold spent a number of years in the United States studying and working at the Institute for Social and Behavioral Research (1991-1995), Iowa State University. During his time at Iowa, he worked on a longitudinal study of families looking at the effects of family stress on children’s development, known as the Iowa Youth and Families Project.
Professor Harold moved to Cardiff University in Wales in 1996, where he completed his PhD and was appointed Lecturer in Psychology in 1998 and Professor of Psychology in 2008. During this period he completed several major longitudinal studies of family influences on children’s psychological development, as well as developing a parent education program aimed at informing parents about the effects of inter-parental conflict on children, and a practitioner assessment pack aimed at assessing the psychological impacts of witnessing interparental conflict and violence on children for use in the family court. He moved to Dunedin, New Zealand to take up the position of Alexander McMillan Chair and Professor of Psychology at the University of Otago in 2008, moving to the University of Leicester to take up his present appointment in 2011.