Bethany Wentz is a doctoral student studying developmental psychology at the University of Notre Dame. Her research interests focus broadly on adolescents in contexts of ethnopolitical violence and armed conflict. She is also interested in translating research on political violence and its impact on youth into evidence-based interventions to assuage the negative consequences of violence on youth and bolster protective factors in their communities. Her dissertation research will focus on the impact of ethnopolitical violence on youth in Northern Ireland.

Wentz’s research and writing have recently appeared or are forthcoming in top journals including Child Development and Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Advances. She also contributed to a chapter in the upcoming book Building Cultures of Peace: Psychological Perspectives on Understanding and Addressing Violence against Children.

Bethany graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Ohio Northern University in 2012 and M.A. in Counseling and International Peace and Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University in 2018. She was selected as a LASER Fellow for the 2020-21 academic year. She is an active member of the Science Policy Initiative at Notre Dame and served on the executive board as the Community Director for the 2021-2022 academic year. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2012-2014. Her affinity for Ukraine is the driving force behind her work with youth exposed to ethnopolitical violence.