Completed Research Projects

Resilience Uniting Bereaved Youth (RUBY) & Grief and Resilience Among Children and their Environment (GRACE)

In collaboration with the Center for Good Grief, RUBY examined the impact of grief, communication, mental health, parenting, coping, and resilience in the context of bereavement among treatment-seeking youth and their caregivers. GRACE was conducted as an expansion of RUBY to examine the impact of bereavement on families that had not participated in bereavement services. This research was funded by the Memphis Research Consortium. Baseline participant data from this project has been cleaned and is available for analysis. Counselor and follow-up participant data from this project is currently being cleaned for analysis.

Pregnant Moms' Empowerment Program (PMEP) Pilot Focus Groups and Intervention

PMEP Pilot involved service provider and pregnant caregiver focus groups where participants provided feedback about engagement, healthy families and relationships, enhancing safety, reducing revictimization, enhancing positive parenting, reducing depression and posttraumatic stress, enhancing resilience, and improving caregiver and infant health outcomes.

Following the incorporation of focus group feedback, a pilot version of the PMEP intervention was implemented with a number of pregnant female caregivers across five time points. Data for this project has been cleaned and is available for analysis.

Evaluation of The Institute for Interdisciplinary Memphis Partnerships to Advance Community Transformation (iIMPACT)

The Institute for Interdisciplinary Memphis Partnerships to Advance Community Transformation (iIMPACT) serves as a catalyst for collaborative, cross-disciplinary prevention and mitigation of adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and their consequences. With funding from the Urban Child Institute, the intention of the iIMPACT evaluation was to assess risk and resilience factors across families, and how those factors related to the various iIMPACT programs. This project was conducted in partnership with Dr. Debra Bartelli and the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis. Data from this project has been cleaned and is available for analysis.

Examining Resilience in Youth Exposed to Adversity (PaTH Kids)

This NIH-funded study is an extension of the completed Parenting through Hardships Study (described below) completed in collaboration with Dr. Idia Thurston and the CHANGE Lab at Texas A&M University. This study aimed to understand how SAVA (substance use, violence, HIV/AIDS) in mothers may be associated with youth resilience and psychopathology. Community partnerships for this project included the Family Safety Center of Memphis, Friends for Life, St. Jude, Le Bonheur, and Grace House of Memphis. Data from this project has been cleaned and is available for analysis.

Parenting Through Hardships (PaTH) Study

In collaboration with Dr. Idia Thurston and the CHANGE Lab, the PaTH study examined the collective prevalence of SAVA variables (substance use, violence, HIV/AIDS) among violence-exposed women who were the primary caregivers of children ages 6-14. The PaTH study also determined associations between SAVA and parenting, in addition to examining mediators of this relationship. Data from this study has been archived and is no longer available for analysis. 

Stress in Obese Adolescents and their Resilience (SOAR) Study

Funded by NIH, the SOAR study examined differences in stress and resilience among Black youth with and without obesity-related metabolic complications. The goal of this project was to develop effective strategies for promoting metabolic health. The SOAR project was conducted in partnership with Dr. Idia Thurston at Northwestern University. Data from this project has been cleaned and is available for analysis.

The Community Violence Exposure (CVE) Study

This multi-site study examined how college students’ experiences with difficult or upsetting events in their community influenced them as young adults. Specifically, this study assessed types of community violence exposure that may have been experienced by participants and how that influenced problematic emotional, social, and behavioral issues during emerging adulthood. In addition to these negative outcomes, resilient processes and adaptive functioning were also assessed. Of specific interest were factors that predicted positive functioning following exposure to violence during childhood. This project was conducted in conjunction with Dr. Rachel Wamser-Nanney at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, utilizing web-based participation from college students at these respective universities. Data from this project has been cleaned and is available for analysis.

Childhood Loss and Trauma Study

This study investigated the impact of childhood and young adulthood traumatic events, and how those events link to problematic emotional, social and behavioral issues later in life. In addition to negative outcomes, resilient processes following traumatic events were also assessed. The goal was to understand how the effects of childhood traumatic events were similar to or different from the effects of recent traumatic events in young adults. Data from this study has been archived and is no longer available for analysis. 

College Retrospective Violence Exposure Study

This multi-site study examined how exposure to different forms of violence in childhood related to mental health outcomes in young adulthood. Of specific interest were factors that predicted positive functioning following exposure to violence during childhood. In addition, this study assessed how college students perceived rates of violence and attitudes about the acceptability of violence, both at a national and international level. Data for this study have been collected and analyzed at The University of Memphis (PI: Kathryn Howell, PhD), the University of Notre Dame (PI: Laura Miller-Graff, PhD), and the University of Michigan (PI: Erin Hunter, PhD). Data from this study has been archived and is no longer available for analysis.