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Sharon Johnson

photo of johnsonAssociate 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:

FS2010

  • SW 3410 - Research Design in Social Work

Grants:

  • Principal Investigator, “Project Research to Action in Mentoring” Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 2010-2013
  • 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

Pickard, J., Inoue, M., Chadiha, L. & Johnson, S. (forthcoming 2011).  The Relationship of Social Support to African American Female Caregivers’ Help-Seeking for Emotional Problems.  Social Service Review.

Johnson, S. D., Cottler, L.B., Ben Abdallah, A., & O-Leary, C.  (2010) History of sexual
trauma and sexual adult behaviors reported by community-recruited substance using women. AIDS and Behavior (Published online first July 2010).

Johnson, S. D., Cottler, L. B., O’Leary, C. C., Ben Abdallah, A. (2010). The association of trauma and PTSD with the substance use profiles of alcohol and cocaine dependent
out-of-treatment women.  The American Journal on Addictions, 19(6), 490-495.

Inoue, M., Pickard, J.G., Saleeby, P., & Johnson, S.  (2009). African American caregivers’ breast health behavior. Health Education Research, 24(5), 735-747.  

Johnson, S. D. (2008). High-risk behaviors. In G. Fischer & N. Roget (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. Sage Publications.

Johnson, S. D.  (2008). Substance abuse, post traumatic stress disorder and violence. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 21: 242-246.

Striley, C.L.W., Johnson, S. D., Cottler, L.B. (2008). Health Care Disparities among Out-of-Treatment Cocaine Users in St. Louis. Missouri Medicine. 105(1):72-78.

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.

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.

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.

Johnson, S.D., Davis, L., Williams, J. (2004). Enhancing social work practice with ethnic minority youth. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(6), 611-627.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.