Sharon Johnson

Associate Professor
204 Bellerive Hall
Telephone: 314- 516-6817
Fax: 314-516-6416
Sharon_Johnson@umsl.edu

Dr. Johnson joined the faculty of the School of Social Work in the Fall of 1999. She received a BA degree in Social Work from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, and an MSW and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Biostatistics and Psychiatric Epidemiology and received a Master of Psychiatric Epidemiology (MPE) degree from Washington University's School of Medicine. During her academic pursuits, she received the Chancellor's Graduate Fellowship, NIMH Minority Supplement, and was an NIMH graduate trainee. Her dissertation research was selected to receive a Social Work Dissertation Award and was presented at the prestigious Social Work Doctoral Research Symposium.

She has worked in the social work field as a case manager for adults with mild mental retardation who were living independently within the community and as a sentencing specialist for Missouri’s Public Defender System. She has several publications that focus on the mental health and social functioning of African Americans, adolescents, and urban samples. Dr. Johnson’s current research focuses on adolescents of substance-using mothers and the role of their biological fathers.

Research Interests:

Adolescent mental health
HIV-risk among women and African Americans
Trauma exposure and PTSD
Co-morbid substance use disorders

Teaching Interests:

Research Methods and Analysis
Ethnic Minorities' Health and Mental Health
Social Work Practice with Individuals

Education:

MPE, Washington University School of Medicine, 2002
Ph.D., Washington University, 1999
MSW, Washington University, 1992
BASW, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, 1989

Courses:

FS2009

SW3100 - Introduction to Interventive Strategies for Social Work Practice
SW 3410 - Research Design in Social Work

Grants:

Principal Investigator, "The Father Factor in Research with Adolescents", University of Missouri System Research Board, 2006-2009
Principal Investigator, NIMH 1 K01 MH067771-01, "Developmental Psychopathology and Maternal Substance Use", 2004-2009

Recent Publications

Williams, J.H., Davis, L.E., Johnson, S.D., Williams, J.A. (2007). Substance Use and Academic Performance among African American High School Students. Social Work Research 31(3), 151-161.
(Abstract: Academic performance among African American students continues to be a concern. Adolescent developmental research has identified numerous factors that affect academic performance. School-based intervention programs have focused on substance use prevention to improve academic performance. This study investigated to what extent family financial concerns, individual and parental norms, and substance use are associated with academic performance among a sample of 212 African American students attending an urban high school located in the midwestern United States. The student body was 99% African American, with approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. The results indicated that marijuana use, parental substance use norms, and family financial concerns were associated with students' academic intentions. Grade point average was associated with both marijuana use and parental substance use norms. These results highlight the importance of family-related correlates in addition to substance use when investigating academic performance among African American students.)

Johnson, S.D., Striley, C., and Cottler, L.B. (2007). Comorbid Substance Use and HIV Risk in Older African American Drug Users. Journal of Aging and Health 19(4), 646-658.
(Abstract: This analysis examines substance abuse/dependence and related HIV risk behaviors among older drug users in comparison to their younger counterparts. Methods: Data related to substance use disorders and HIVrelated behaviors were collected from 1,079 African American drug users recruited using a street outreach method.
Results: Older users were less likely to have engaged in recent sexual activity, but those who did engage did not vary significantly in their sexual risk behaviors than did drug users aged 25 to 44. Older users were more likely to abuse cocaine and be opiate dependent than younger users were, and this abuse and dependence, along with alcohol abuse, were associated with older users' perception of their risk for HIV/AIDS. Discussion: Although the years 25 to 44 are considered a critical age for HIV risk, older substance users have similar levels of risk for HIV/AIDS. However, older users may not understand how some behaviors contribute to HIV risk.)

Johnson, S.D., Striley, C., and Cottler, L.B. (2006). The association of substance use disorders with trauma exposure and PTSD among African American drug users. Addictive Behaviors 31(11), 2063-2073.
(Abstract: This study examines the association of traumatic exposure, PTSD and substance use among 1098 out-of-treatment African American drug users. Over 40% of the respondents experienced a DSM-III-R qualifying traumatic event with 44% of those developing PTSD. Early onsets of marijuana and heroin use, alcohol dependence and opiate dependence were each associated with exposure to a traumatic event for males and early onset alcohol use and alcohol dependence were associated with females' exposure to a traumatic event. Alcohol dependence and depression disorder were co morbid with PTSD in men, while the early onset of alcohol and alcohol dependence were associated with PTSD in women. In the 16% of the sample who reported trauma exposure and poly-substance use, the trauma occurred after the onset of all substance use, with the exception of crack cocaine use. Implications for multifaceted treatment which addresses multiple psychopathologies, PTSD, and risk for exposure are discussed.)

Johnson, S., Davis, L., Williams, J. (2004). Enhancing social work practice with ethnic minority youth. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(6), 611-627.
(Abstract: Social workers have the task of addressing issues that are unique to ethnic minority youth in clinical practice; however, they may be ill equipped to begin practice with these youth due to a lack of specificity within generalist curricula. Using African-American youth as an example, the paper provides evidence that there are critical areas of development and functioning that diverge from the generalist perspective. Social workers are provided with strategies to fill gaps in their knowledge of ethnic-minority youth to enhance their direct practice with this population.)

Johnson, S. D., Phelps, D. L., & Cottler, L., (2004). The association of sexual dysfunction and substance use in a community epidemiological sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33(1), 55-63.
(Abstract: This study examines the prevalence of DSM-III sexual dysfunctions and their association with comorbid drug and alcohol use in a community epidemiologic sample. The data for these analyses are based on the Epidemiological Catchment Area Project, a multistage probability study of the incidence and prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the general population conducted in 1981–83. Only the sample of 3,004 adult community residents in the St. Louis area was queried on DSM-III sexual dysfunctions of inhibited orgasm, functional dyspareunia (painful sex), inhibited sexual excitement (i.e., lack of erection/arousal), and inhibited sexual desire. There was a prevalence rate of 11% for inhibited orgasm, 13% for painful sex, 5% for inhibited sexual excitement, 7% for inhibited sexual desire, and 26% for any of these sexual dysfunctions (14% for men and 33% for women). The prevalence of qualifying lifetime substance use among the population was 37%, with males meeting more drug and alcohol use criteria than females. After controlling for demographics, health status variables, and psychiatric comorbidity (depression disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and residual disorders), inhibited orgasm was associated with marijuana and alcohol use. Painful sex was associated with illicit drug use and marijuana use. Inhibited sexual excitement was more likely among illicit drug users. Inhibited sexual desire was not associated with drug or alcohol use.)

Johnson, S. D., Cunningham-Williams, R. & Cottler, L. (2003). A tripartite of HIV-risk for
African American Women: The Intersection of Drug use, Violence & Depression. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 70(2), 169-175.
(Abstract: The intersection of drug use, violence, and depression with HIV-risk among African American women is an under explored area of research. The current analyses examine whether particular sexual risk behaviors are associated with exposure to violence, depression or both among 420 African American out-of-treatment female drug users. Women were stratified into four mutually exclusive groups: drug users with exposure to violence (n=64), drug users with clinical depression (n=62), drug users with both (n=41), and drug users only (n=253). Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined the association of demographics and
sexual risk behaviors across the tripartite groups. Women with a history of sexually transmitted diseases were more likely to
experience violence and depression both alone and jointly. Women who had two or more sexual partners in the last 30 days (OR=2.26) and women who had an early onset of alcohol use (OR=2.50) were at an increased risk for having the full tripartite of drug use, violence and depression. Never being married was a protective factor for the full tripartite. As expected, more risk factors were found among women who had the full tripartite than among women with one or two of the factors. The co-existence of the tripartite factors and sexual risk behaviors may indicate a need to ultimately provide more specialized prevention and intervention efforts to combat HIV infection. This area of research may improve our understanding of the numerous obstacles to HIV intervention among drug-using populations.)

Davis, L., Saunders, J., Johnson, S., Miller-Cribbs, J. & Scheuler-Whitaker, L. (2003).Predicting positive academic intentions among African American males and females. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(11), 2306-2326.
(Abstract: Significant attention has been given to the educational shortcomings of African American students. This study examined predictors of educational success among African American high school sophomores. It explored factors that predict differences in students' academic intention to complete the school year, and how these factors differ by gender. The study was guided conceptually by the theory of planned behavior (TPB). We also assessed perceptions of self. Results indicated that most students had positive predispositions toward school-year completion, with females being more positively oriented toward academic success than males. The TPB's attitude component was the only predictor tested to operate differentially across gender. Having a positive attitude toward school was a significantly greater predictor of intention to complete the school year for males than for females.)

Johnson, S., North, C. & Smith, E. (2002). Psychiatric Disorders Among Victims of a Courthouse Shooting Spree: A Three-Year Follow-Up Study. Community Mental Health Journal, 38(3), 181-194.
(Abstract: This study examined the longitudinal course of psychiatric sequelae of a
mass shooting incident at a courthouse. A sample of 80 individuals was examined 6–8
weeks after the incident and 77 of these were reassessed one and three years later
using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule/Disaster Supplement. Only 5% of the study
sample met criteria for PTSD after this incident. Universal distress, however, was
evident as 96% of the respondents reported PTSD symptoms and 75% described the
incident as “very upsetting.” The need for intervention among symptomatic individuals
not meeting diagnostic criteria should not be discounted as subdiagnostic distress may
warrant specific intervention.)

Davis, L., Johnson, S., Miller-Cribbs, J. Cronen, S. & Whitaker, L. (2002). A Brief Report: Factors influencing African American youth decisions to stay in school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17(3), 223-234.
(Abstract: The goal of the study was to assess positive factors that contribute to African American students’intentions to stay in school. Two hundred and thirty-one African American students participated in this study. Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a conceptual model, surveys measured student attitudes toward school-year completion, social support for completing the academic year, and their perceptions of personal control over school completion. The contributions of self-esteemand racial self-esteemwere also examined for their influence on academic strivings. The TPB was a better predictor of intentions to complete the school year than student grade point averages (GPAs). Self-esteemadded only slightly to the variance explained in predicting intentions to complete the school year, but neither self-esteemnor racial self-esteemwas a significant predictor of GPAs.)

Miller-Cribbs, J., Cronen, S., Davis, L., & Johnson, S. (2002). An Exploratory Analysis of Factors that Foster School Engagement and Completion among African American Students. Children & Schools, 24(3), 159-174.
(Abstract: The exploratory study discussed in this article assessed African American freshman and sophomore students' decisions to remain in school and their opinions about specific programs designed to increase academic engagement. Results indicated that students believed that school completion would prepare them for the future. The opinion of family members was ranked consistently as most important in supporting students' decisions to remain in school. The primary barriers to completing school were related to family issues, academic problems, and personal issues. Overall, students were most interested in intervention programs that prepared them for jobs and achieving their goals. The importance of tailoring education to meet the needs of African American students is emphasized.)