Our Projects
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
The VOICES Project: Pathways to Healing After Trauma
The VOICES Project is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) initiative designed to develop a new trauma-focused treatment from the ground up. Working alongside survivors of violence and community providers, the project will identify what survivors most want to prioritize in treatment, what providers can realistically deliver in practice, and what research shows is most effective in reducing trauma-related mental health symptoms. The ultimate goal is to create a survivor-centered, evidence-informed approach that promotes healing and can be sustainably implemented in real-world community settings.
Enhancing Exposure Therapy with Exercise (EXPO) Study
This National Institute of Mental Health-funded study being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Tom Adams at Yale University and Dr. Josh Cisler at the University of Texas-Austin examines whether moderate-intensity physical exercise can enhance the effects of exposure-based therapy for PTSD among adults with histories of interpersonal violence. In the target engagement phase (R61), participants complete imaginal exposure sessions in an MRI setting, followed by either moderate exercise or low-intensity walking, to test whether exercise facilitates fear circuit engagement and consolidation of safety learning. In the treatment phase (R33), a brief version of Prolonged Exposure therapy is combined with exercise or walking control to evaluate impacts on PTSD symptoms, fear-related neurocircuitry, and affective arousal. The EXPO Study aims to establish exercise as a novel, mechanism-driven augmentation strategy to strengthen therapeutic outcomes for PTSD.
Language, Trauma, and Sexual Health Study
This study examines how the terms sexual victimization, sexual violence, and sexual violation shape reporting of unwanted sexual experiences among undergraduate students, and how these experiences relate to trauma symptoms and sexual health outcomes. Findings will provide insight into how language influences disclosure and help-seeking, while also clarifying the impact of unwanted sexual experiences on college students’ sexual functioning and wellbeing.
PTSD, Sleep, and Substance Use Study
This study tests whether PTSD symptoms predict alcohol and cannabis use as sleep aids among individuals with histories of interpersonal violence, and whether these associations are moderated by sleep reactivity. The project also examines links between PTSD severity, expectancies about alcohol/cannabis as effective sleep aids, and the frequency of using substances for sleep, with the goal of clarifying risk pathways that may inform targeted interventions.
Episodic Future Thinking and PTSD Study
This survey-based study examines whether difficulties in episodic future thinking—the ability to picture and imagine specific events that could happen in your personal future—are linked to PTSD symptoms among young adult women with victimization histories. The study also looks at coping self-efficacy, or how confident someone feels in their ability to handle the emotional and practical challenges of recovery after trauma. We aim to understand whether having trouble imagining the future is connected to more severe PTSD symptoms, in part because it may lower people’s confidence in their ability to cope.
RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS
Image-Based Sexual Harassment & Help Seeking
This mixed-methods study led in collaboration with Drs. Jennifer Scarduzio and Kimberly Parker in the UK College of Communication uses surveys and focus groups to examine experiences of image-based sexual harassment (e.g., unwanted sexting, non-consensual image sharing, and revenge porn) among college women. The project also explores women’s responses to these experiences, including barriers to seeking support, with the goal of informing prevention and intervention strategies on college campuses.
Justice and Recovery
Led by STARRC alumn Dr. Caitlyn Hood in the UK Department of Psychiatry, This mixed-methods project evaluated the needs, barriers, and facilitators to accessing trauma- and violence-informed services—including PTSD treatment—among women in Kentucky on probation or parole with a history of opioid use. Findings aim to inform the development of interventions and service delivery models to reduce health disparities and improve access to evidence-based care for justice-involved women in Appalachia and throughout the commonwealth.
Sleep Well Appalachia
This mixed-methods study evaluated the fit and acceptability of telehealth-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) among adults in Appalachia and elsewhere in Kentucky experiencing insomnia. The study placed particular emphasis on expanding access to evidence-based sleep interventions among individuals impacted by recent wide-scale flooding disasters. Quantitative and qualitative findings will inform future implementation strategies to address sleep health disparities in underserved, disaster-affected communities.
Healthy Recovery After Trauma (HRT) Study
This non-concurrent multiple baseline treatment study is aimed at evaluating whether Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), an empirically supported treatment for PTSD, is efficacious at reducing mental contamination (i.e., experiences of dirtiness and contamination in the absence of a physical contaminant) and trauma-related shame/guilt among individuals with PTSD following sexual trauma when delivered alone, or in combination with six sessions of self-compassion therapy for PTSD. Therapy sessions are conducted in-person at the Clinic for Emotional Health or via teletherapy.
Reclaiming Your Life After Sexual Trauma (RLT) Study
This multiple baseline study is assessing the efficacy and acceptability of Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a 5-session, empirically supported treatment for PTSD, in reducing symptoms of PTSD and trauma-related mental contamination (i.e., experiences of dirtiness and contamination in the absence of a physical contaminant) among individuals with PTSD following sexual trauma.
Emotions and Eating Behaviors Among Young Women
This two-wave survey study is focused on understanding eating behaviors and emotions among young women who have and have not experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Findings from this study may improve our understanding of the role of emotions in contributing to disordered eating among women who experienced CSA. Results may also help us better understand which types of emotions, if any, could be targeted in treatment to help women with histories of CSA who are experiencing difficulties related to food or their weight or body shape.
The Posttraumatic Experience & Regulation of Shame (PERS) Study This sequential mixed-methods project aims to improve our understanding of ways in which women with histories of interpersonal trauma (IPT; i.e., physical or sexual assault or abuse) may experience and manage feelings of shame related to these experiences. Study 1 will use daily diary data to improve our understanding of a) how frequent, intense, and variable shame is in women’s daily lives and b) relationships between shame and use of specific strategies aimed at managing emotions in women’s daily lives. Study 2 will explore women’s perspectives on how they experience and manage shame related to IPT in their daily lives via one-on-one interviews. Relationship and Sexual Health of
Young Adult Latina/Hispanic Women
This study is focused on understanding the impact of intimate partner violence on the intimate relationships and sexual health outcomes and behaviors of young adult Latina/Hispanic women. Findings from this study may expand our understanding of the sexual functioning and behaviors of young adult Latina/Hispanic women who have been in a recent relationship. Additional, results may inform the future development of culturally sensitive, trauma-informed interventions aimed at improving the sexual health outcomes of Latina/Hispanic women living in the U.S.
