Dr. Kjellstrand will not be accepting new PhD students in either Counseling Psychology or Prevention Science for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Dr. Kjellstrand's research and teaching interests focus on positive youth development and interventions to prevent problematic behavior among children in vulnerable situations. Her most recent research examines 1) the impact of parental incarceration on children and the specific mechanisms through which risk is transmitted, and 2) interventions to support incarcerated parents and their children both during the parents’ incarceration and after release. As a prevention scientist, she uses quantitative and qualitative research approaches to examine the role of key malleable individual, family, and community factors on the development of children of incarcerated parents. Then, working closely with organizations and communities within a participatory framework, she uses this information to help guide the development and testing of interventions to strengthen and support families. Her work is informed and guided by her previous career as a social worker where she developed and coordinated a variety of individual, group, and community interventions for children and families in high-risk circumstances.

PhD, Portland State University
Major: Social Work

M.S.W., University of Wisconsin
Major: Social Work
Concentration: Mental Health

B.A., Carleton College
Major: Mathematics
Minor: Education

2023-2024    Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Tampere, Finland.

2020-2021    Excellence in Teaching Award, College of Education, University of Oregon.

2013            NIMH Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services (CHIPS) Fellow. 

2013            Reach for the First R01 Workshop Fellow, Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Columbia University Medical Center. 

2012            NIH Summer Institute on Social and Behavioral Intervention Research Fellow. 

2009            Portland State University Award of Excellence - top graduating graduate student.  

2009            Portland State University Commendation Award - top graduate student within Social Work.  

2007-2008    Fulbright Scholar, Umeå, Sweden - Project title: Child resilience: pathways to health in Sweden and the United States.  

2007-2008    The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship (SYLFF). 

2007             American Scandinavian Foundation Award. 

Kjellstrand, J., Clark, M. , Mannan, I., & Loan, C. (2022).  Social support during incarceration: Predictors of external support for incarcerated individuals. American Journal of Criminal Justice. 

Clark, M., Loan, C., & Kjellstrand, J. (2022).  Predictors of parent-child contact during a parent’s incarceration. Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research. 

Ruff, S., Linville, D. & Kjellstrand, J. (2022). Experiences during COVID-19: Needs of college students with a history of foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 136, 106443–106443. 

Kjellstrand, J., Matulis, J., Jackson, A., Smith, J., & Eddy, J.M. (2021). The importance of positive social support during reentry from prison: Examining the role of volunteer mentoring. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.

Clark, M., Kjellstrand, J., & Morgan, K. (2021). Service needs for corrections-involved parents with a history of problematic opioid use: A community needs assessment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 667389–667389. 

Kjellstrand, J., Clark, M., Caffery, C., Smith, J., Eddy, J.M. (2021). Reentering the community after prison: Perspectives on the role and importance of social support. American Journal of Criminal Justice. 47(2), 176-201. 

Nichols, L.M., Mannan, I., Matulis, J. & Kjellstrand, J. (2021). Exploring problematic substance use during reentry from prison to the community: A thematic analysis. Substance Use and Misuse, 56(13), 2049–2058. 

Kjellstrand, J., Yu, G., Eddy, J.M., Clark, M., & Jackson, A. (2020). The role of parental incarceration in predicting trajectories of child internalizing problems. Children and Youth Services Review , 115, 105055. 

Gottlieb, A., McLeod, B., Charles, P., & Kjellstrand, J.M. (2020). Were California’s decarceration efforts smart?  A quasi-experimental examination of racial, ethnic, and gender disparities. Criminal Justice and Behavior.

Kjellstrand, J.M., Yu, G., Eddy, J.M. & Clark, M. (2019). Children of incarcerated parents and developmental trajectories of internalizing behaviors across adolescence. American Journal of Criminal Justice.

Kjellstrand, J.M., Yu, G., & Eddy, J.M. (2019). Parental incarceration as a predictor of developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviors across adolescence. Children and Youth Services Review, 103, 10-17.

Charles, P., Muentner, L., & Kjellstrand, J.M. (2019). Parenting and incarceration: Perspectives on father-child involvement during reentry from prison.  Social Service Review. 

Kjellstrand, J.M., Reinke, W.M., & Eddy, J.M. (2018). Children of incarcerated parents: Development of externalizing behaviors across adolescence. Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 628-635.

Kjellstrand, J.M., Yu, G., Eddy, J.M. & Martinez, C.R. (2018). Children of incarcerated parents: Developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior across adolescence. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45, 1742-1761.

Kjellstrand, J.M. (2016). Building a tailored, multilevel prevention strategy to support children and families affected by parental incarceration.  Smith College Studies in Social Work Journal, 87, 112-129.

DeGruy, J., Kjellstrand, J.M., Briggs, H.E., & Brennan, E.M. (2012). Racial respect and racial socialization as protective factors for African American youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 38, 395-420.

Kjellstrand, J.M., Cearley, J., Eddy, J.M., & Martinez, C. R. (2012). Characteristics of incarcerated fathers and mothers:  Implications for preventive interventions targeting children and families. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 2409-2415.

Kjellstrand, J.M. & Eddy, J. M. (2011). Mediators of the effect of parental incarceration on adolescent externalizing behaviors. Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 551-565.

Kjellstrand, J.M. & Eddy, J. M. (2011). Parental incarceration during childhood, family context, and youth problem behavior across adolescence. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 50, 18-36.