Faculty

Brian Barber, Child and Family Studies – Brian K. Barber, PhD is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict, professor of child and family studies, and adjunct professor of psychology, all at the University of Tennessee (USA). He is also Technical Advisor to the World Health Organization and to UNICEF, and is the Global Technical Group Leader for Youth and Violence in the Agency Learning Network on the Care and Protection of Children in Crisis-Affected Countries http://www.cpclearningnetwork.org/.

Dr. Barber researches adolescent development in social context in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. He specializes in the study of adolescent development in contexts of political violence, with a particular focus on youth from the Palestine and Bosnia. His work has been supported by the U.S. National Institute for Mental Health, the Social Science Research Council, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Jerusalem Fund, the United States Institute for Peace, and the Jacobs Foundation.

Dr. Barber publishes his work regularly in leading psychology and family sociology journals and is the author of Intrusive Parenting: How Psychological Control affects Children and Adolescents (2002, American Psychological Association Press); Parental Support, Psychological control, and Behavioral Control: Assessing Relevance across Time, Culture, and Method (2005, SRCD Monograph Series; and Adolescents and War: How Youth Deal with Political Violence (2009, Oxford University Press). His book One Heart, So Many Stones: The Saga of Palestinian Adolescents is forthcoming with Palgrave/MacMillan. He is also Series and Volumes Editor of Picking up the Pieces of War: Joint Efforts for Youth Well-Being (2010-; Oxford University Press).

Denise Bates, Public Health – Utilizing Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology, Dr. Bates’ research focus is on health disparities in underserved people groups in global communities. Her work over the last 14 years predominantly has been with refugees and immigrants, studying assimilation to dominate culture and the related and resulting health risks experienced by these groups of people, particularly youth.

Dr. Bates has implemented a community-based intervention project in Knoxville, TN entitled Healing Transitions: Program Interventions for Youth Refugees and Families. In conjunction with the Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict,

Dr. Bates works diligently with other faculty members, students, and multiple community agencies who are directly involved with incoming refugee families. The purpose of the study is to assess the social, cultural and educational needs of incoming and existing refugees in Knoxville. Qualitative and quantitative methodology, data collection and analysis are being used to identify cultural competency and content education needs for the community at large, as well as for refugees resettling in the area.

Clea McNeely, Public Health – Dr. McNeely’s international research includes developing and validating brief survey questions to monitor adolescent health and well-being across cultures. She also conducts community-based participatory evaluations of programs to improve adolescent health.

Dr. McNeely’s U.S.-based research focuses on the social contexts of adolescent health, with a particular emphasis on how schools and peers can promote healthy youth development. She uses social network measures to explore how peers influence health behaviors and has conducted several evaluations of youth development programs. She is co-author of the forthcoming Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development: The Teen Years Explained to be published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health as well as many other publications. Dr. McNeely has received funding from the William T. Grant Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Rockefeller Foundation, and several other foundations.

Contact

Brian Barber
Department of Child and Family Studies
College of Education, Health, & Human Sciences
University of Tennessee
115 Jessie Harris Building
1215 W. Cumberland Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37996-1912

Phone: (865) 974-2269
Email:  bbarber1@utk.edu
Website: http://csypc.utk.edu