Peter D. Stacy, LISW, MSW, PhD

Academic: 2004 – PhD in Social Work, University of Minnesota: 1974 – MSW in Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: 1968 – BA degree (Psychology and Sociology majors), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Additional graduate and post graduate studies in early childhood development, public service administration, and advanced statistical analysis.

Professional: 1998 – present - Faculty member at Minnesota State University – Mankato, Community faculty member in MSW program at University of Minnesota, Coordinator of Criminal Justice program at Inver Hills College, Faculty member in Psychology at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI.

1968 - 1998 – Wisconsin Department of Corrections as Sector Chief for field services and southern correctional institutions administrator, proposed, developed and was warden for 17 years of an intensive therapeutic community correctional facility.

Community Involvement: 2000 – present - Served as consultant to juvenile, treatment, and family courts for various jurisdictions in Wisconsin and Michigan.  Provided multiple training seminars at local and state level conferences as well as in service training for various local and state level human service, correctional, and law enforcement agencies in the areas of early childhood development, effective intervention strategies, and working with involuntary clients.

1985-present- served on numerous elected and volunteer roles in the public sector including school boards, township boards, and religious institutions.

2004-present – maintained a small private practice providing pro bono services to individuals and families who were seeking to address a range of mental health issues.

Research Interest: 1977-present – Seeking to identify effective intervention strategies for working with involuntary clients, the impact of early childhood attachment disorders, and what differentiates resilient from non-resilient siblings. 

Early Childhood Attachment as the Defining Determinant Between Resilient and Non-Resilient Siblings

Identifying early childhood attachment experiences can be critical in an individual’s ability to overcome numerous later life changing risk factors.  Two recent studies, which will be the focus of this presentation, identified how early childhood attachment experiences of male and female sibling pairs defined their later life ability to remain resilient.  For purposes of these studies, resilience was defined along three variables: criminal history, chemical dependence, and educational attainment.  The degree of attachment was examined as related to the research subject’s mother, father, other significant adult, and best friend.  The research assessed both the level of attachment, as measured by standardized instruments, and the presence or absence of each attachment figure.  In all instances the research identified significant findings that early childhood attachment differentiated resilient from non-resilient siblings.  These finding have further contributed to potential intervention strategies that seek to either reinforce the need for early childhood attachments or to help remediate the impact as experienced by those individuals who were denied early childhood attachment experiences.