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In a longitudinal study of 205 children from an urban community who were followed for ten years, Masten and her colleagues used multiple methods to examine children’s growth in competence, the adversities they faced, and the psychosocial resources each child had available to them, such as optimism, coping skills, a sense of mastery or personal control, and social support. Children who were higher functioning intellectually and experienced higher quality parenting had better academic outcomes, conduct, and peer social competence, even when faced with extreme adversity. In work with Karin Best and Norman Garmezy, Masten emphasizes that human psychological development is buffered which allows children to adapt when faced with challenging or threatening circumstances. Children manage adversity better when they have positive relationships with responsible adults, are good problem solvers, and are engaging and have characteristics that are valued by themselves and others. Masten and colleagues observed that long-term problems in contexts of adversity were often associated with neurobiological damage and with severe perturbations to the normal relationships of children with their caregivers.

In an interview with MinnPost in 2014, Masten indicated that research by Norman Garmezy on resilience inspired her to leave her job at the National Institute of Health in 1976 to collaborate with Garmezy at the University of Minnesota. Masten directs the Project Competence on Risk and Resilience at the University of Minnesota, which aims to increase understanding of resilience, i.e., positive adaptations to challenging circumstances encompassing poverty, homelessness, war, natural disasters, migration, and everyday life. International and domestic projects aim to identify optimal interventions and strategies for disadvantaged children to increase resilience and foster their success. As an example, Masten's team works on developing strategies to help homeless kids be resilient when faced with adversity.

Masten's work is recognized internationally. In 2013, she was appointed Co-Chair of the new Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. She served as the United States delegate at the International Congress on Psychology in Yokohoma, Japan in 2016, and was invited speaker at the 10th Annual Psychology Day at the United Nations in 2017. Masten teaches a MOOC on Coursera titled “Resilience in Children Exposed to Trauma, Disaster and War: Global Perspectives".

Masten received her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in Psychology and English at Smith College in 1973. She went to graduate school at the University of Minnesota and obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1982. Masten joined the faculty of the Institute for Child Development at the University of Minnesota in 1986. She holds the positions of Regents Professor of Child Development, Irving B. Harris Professor in Child Development, and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota.

Ann S. Masten (born 1951) is a Professor at the Institute for Child Development at the University of Minnesota known for her research on the development of resilience and for advancing theory on the positive outcomes of children and families facing adversity. Masten received the American Psychological Association Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contributions to the Service of Science and Society in 2014. She has served as President of the Society for Research in Child Development and of Division 7 (Developmental) of the American Psychological Association.