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Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D.

About

Katherine Stuart van Wormer grew up in New Orleans and was active in civil rights movements in North Carolina and Northern Ireland, where she was an English teacher. She got her Ph.D. in sociology with an expertise on women in prison, taught criminal justice, and later returned to graduate school to become a social worker. Dr. van Wormer practiced alcoholism counseling in the U.S. and Norway and has recently retired as a professor of social work at the University of Northern Iowa. She is the author and co-author of over 20 books on various topics related to human behavior, addictions, female offenders, and domestic homicide. Her favorite book, because of its personal nature, is The Maid Narratives: Black Domestics and White Families in the Jim Crow South, 2012. Her most recent books are Addiction Treatment, A Strengths Perspective (2024, co-authored with Diane R. Davis), Women and the Criminal Justice System (2021, co-authored with C.Bartollas), and Social Work and Social Welfare: A Human Rights Foundation (2018, co-authored with Rosemary Link).

Books by Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D.
Recent Posts
Risk and Resilience in the Days of the Coronavirus Pandemic

What is resilience? There is much we can learn from social science and history to help sustain us as national disaster strikes.

What is resilience? There is much we can learn from social science and history to help sustain us as national disaster strikes.

Women’s History Month: The True Heroes of Jim Crow

Southern life under the norms of segregation was "sui generis," a world apart. We can only learn the truth in the stories of those who lived through it and share their memories.

Southern life under the norms of segregation was "sui generis," a world apart. We can only learn the truth in the stories of those who lived through it and share their memories.

What Is the One Overlooked Advantage of All-Girls Schools?

In a country that takes pride in its coeducational schools, have you ever considered the advantages some girls might have in attending an all-girls' school? One is very long-term.

In a country that takes pride in its coeducational schools, have you ever considered the advantages some girls might have in attending an all-girls' school? One is very long-term.

Survivor's Guilt: The Connection to Mass Shootings

Why do innocent people sometimes suffer from guilt reactions following a near-death situation such as a school shooting? Consider the Parkland and Sandy Hill suicides as examples.

Why do innocent people sometimes suffer from guilt reactions following a near-death situation such as a school shooting? Consider the Parkland and Sandy Hill suicides as examples.

Alcohol Intoxication, Violence, and Judge Kavanaugh

How can one reconcile the conflicting descriptions of Judge Kavanaugh's character? An understanding of personality changes associated with heavy alcohol consumption can help.

How can one reconcile the conflicting descriptions of Judge Kavanaugh's character? An understanding of personality changes associated with heavy alcohol consumption can help.

Prediction: The Cave-Trapped Boys Will Not Be Traumatized

How likely is it that the boys, trapped in a cave in Thailand, will develop PTSD? How about their coach?
The risks may be greater for the coach than for the boys.

How likely is it that the boys, trapped in a cave in Thailand, will develop PTSD? How about their coach?
The risks may be greater for the coach than for the boys.