Our research is...
DevelopmentalOur work considers the contexts and trajectories of children & youth development.
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Trauma-InformedWe recognize the long-lasting and wide-ranging impacts of trauma and aim to promote empowerment by focusing on survivor-defined outcomes.
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IntersectionalOur research examines power, privilege, and oppression, centering those with multiple intersecting identities.
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Active Projects
Drama Club: Sparking Creative Problem Solving for Violence Prevention
PIs: McCauley & Smith-Darden; Co-I: Brown
Funding: U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships
This community-partnered project focuses on implementation and evaluation of Drama Club, whose mission is to consistently care for youth – especially those who are incarcerated and court-involved – by creating space for them to thrive, using improvisational theater (or “improv”) as their guide. Specifically, our team is evaluating the effectiveness of the Drama Club curriculum in fostering social emotional skills, non-violent conflict resolution, and hope among young adults incarcerated at Rikers Island in New York City. We have also partnered with the award-winning podcast, Ear Hustle (Radiotopia from PRX), to tell the stories of young adults impacted by incarceration in NYC, including those who have remained connected to Drama Club.
Cultivating Communities for Change (C3)
PIs: McCauley & Smith-Darden; Co-I: Cortina & Brown
Funding: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (U01); Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan
This is a community-partnered study that grapples with the question: How do we mobilize entire communities to promote the rights and safety of children? We will explore this question in three steps: 1) building community connections, 2) exploring community voice, and 3) inspiring community action to prevent child sexual abuse. Funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation will allow us to explore community readiness for prevention.
Creating Protective Environments Through School Policy Development
PIs: Smith-Darden & Kernsmith; Co-I: McCauley
Community Partner: Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health
Funding: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (U01)
This study -- known as P3 -- comprises the evaluation of existing school policy in Michigan K-12 school districts to prevent and respond to sexual violence, and provision of technical assistance to promote full implementation based on best practices. Further, we are using a delayed treatment, mixed methods design to assess the effects of policy on school climate, and prevalence and incidence of sexual violence and harassment, teen dating violence, and bullying in Michigan schools.
Youth Empowerment Solutions for Healthy Relationships (YES-HR)
PIs: Smith-Darden & Kernsmith
Community Partner: Out-Wayne County School Districts
Funding: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U01)
YES-HR is a longitudinal implementation study to understand how experiences in adolescence impact behavior over time. Embedded in the 8th grade social studies curriculum, YES-HR early adolescents learn about identity, consent, gender equity, bystander intervention, bullying and harassment, appropriate use of technology, and healthy relationship behaviors, culminating in collaboration of funded community projects that are led by the youth.
Evaluation of the “Step Up Step In’’ Sexual Bullying Prevention Program
PI: Reidy; Co-Is: McCauley, Smith-Darden, & Orchowski
Community Partner: Georgia Department of Public Health
Funding: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (U01)
This project is an evaluation of the Georgia-based RPE-funded social marketing campaign to promote community-level norms that protect against sexual bullying. The team will focus on assessing the campaign’s impact on sexual violence among high-school students, with Drs. Smith-Darden and McCauley focusing on the impact of the program among sexual and gender minority youth specifically.
Measure Development to Advance the Scientific Study of Minority Stress in Transgender Individuals
PIs: Puckett, McCauley, & Anderson-Carpenter
Funding: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities & National Cancer Institute (R21)
Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people experience a range of health disparities in the face of social marginalization and minority stress. This is a mixed methods R21 study to develop and refine novel measures that assess for minority stressors in the lives of TGD people, strengthening research on TGD health and wellbeing.
Sexual Violence Prevention in Central Ohio: Interrupting Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus
PI: McCray; Consulting Evaluators: McCauley, Smith-Darden, Taylor, & Kliethermes
Funding: U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
This project involves the evaluation of the Fair Play intervention program in college athletic programs. Fair Play teaches athletes to understand sexual assault, consent, and rape culture in sports, and gives them tools and skills to intervene and stop sexual violence before it happens. The SPARK lab is collaborating with researchers from University of Wisconsin and Temple University to assess the implementation and effectiveness of this program among Division III student-athletes.