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Winter/Spring 2010 PDP Schedule available January 4, 2010

 Dexter R. Voisin, Ph.D.

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Research

Exposure to community violence, either as victims or witnesses, is a widespread and persistent problem in many of America’s urban cities. In the U.S., the number of adolescents murdered each year can fill a high school of almost 6,000 students. As alarming as these figures are, the frequency of non-fatal adolescent injuries is at least 100 times that of youth murders, and it is estimated that more than 1.2 million crimes against adolescents go unreported yearly. Exposure to community violence has been linked to mental health problems, poor academic performance, involvement with risky peer networks, and more recently as Professor Voisin’s work has documented, engaging in unsafe sex which increases the chances of contracting HIV. Collectively, these are problems which disproportionately affect African American and Latino youths. According to research by Voisin, studies on the impact of community violence have been generally artificially compartmentalized to examine discipline-specific outcomes (e.g., mental health, education performance, delinquency, or sexual risks) and have not adequately considered the interrelationships among these various domains which represent a major focus of Voisin’s scholarship. Through engaged research, teaching, service, and training, Voisin is committed to illuminating the broad impact of community violence on the developmental trajectories of young persons.

For more than a decade, Professor Voisin has been conducting numerous studies which seek to better understand the various ways in which community violence exposure impacts the mental health, educational, and sexual trajectories of urban youth, with a major focus towards HIV prevention and intervention. This research has been funded by competitive awards from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the W.T. Grant Foundation, among others. His most recent U.S.-based study, entitled “Media Messages and HIV Prevention among Adolescents,” which was funded by the Children’s Place Association of Chicago, provided support for the passage of the Soto, Delgado Bill approved by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. This bill will provide a state advisory council which will make recommendations to the Illinois Department of Public Health on effective prevention messages to deter youths from engaging in risky behaviors that lead to HIV/AIDS infections (http://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/news/Voisin_Research_HIV_AIDSmessages.shtml).

A second focus of his research is on the role of culture and gender in sexual decision making, and on global HIV prevention and intervention. He has conducted and corroborated on international studies in the Caribbean and South Africa. Currently, he has partnered with international collaborators and is developing a study which examines the impact of partner violence on the sexual behaviors of married and unmarried female college students in Egypt, a critical problem for which there is little empirical research. 

Voisin’s expertise on community violence and adolescent sexual risks has been highly sought after by members of the international, national, and local media. Moreover, his expertise and research findings have been used by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the California Department of Education, the Nebraska Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health, among others.

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Biography

Dexter R. Voisin is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Service Administration and a Faculty Affiliate at Chapin Hall Center for Children. His fields of special interest include community violence exposure, adolescent sexual risk behaviors, the role of gender in adapting to risks, international HIV prevention, and social work practice. 

A central focus of Voisin’s scholarship is examining the impact of community violence on a wide range of problem behaviors and impact of gender on risk and protective youth trajectories. His research demonstrates that the problems of community violence exposure are correlated with youth mental health problems, school failure, negative peer networks, and high rates of HIV-related risk behaviors, which are interconnected outcomes in the lives of adolescents, particularly those who live in urban communities.  

Professor Voisin has published more than 30 peer-reviewed studies, with publications in the past year accepted in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Children and Youth Services Review, the Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, the Journal of Adolescent Health, Social Work, and Social Work Research. Due to his expertise on adolescent sexuality, trauma exposure, and international HIV prevention, he is highly sought after as a peer reviewer and has reviewed articles for more than 30 academic journals across many disciplines. He was appointed a Visiting Professor (summers 2004, 2005, 2007) at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He was also appointed a consulting editor for Social Work: Journal of the National Association of Social Workers (2003-2008), the Journal of HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention (2004-2007), and HIV AIDS and Social Services (2003 to present). He has also delivered a number of keynote speeches and conducted training on his research findings.

His expertise and research findings have been utilized by numerous members of the international, national, and local media such as Aljazeera Television, BBC World News Radio, India Times, the Sunday Business Post (Irish newspaper) Svenska Dagbladet (a leading Swedish national daily), the Associated Press, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, National Public Radio, The Powers Report, the Washington Times, Southern California Public Radio, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Public Television, the Chicago Tribune, CBS Chicago, FOX News Chicago, CLTV, The Santita Jackson Show (WVON), and various news blogs. 

Professor Voisin has more 17 years post-M.S.W. clinical experience, and at SSA he teaches direct practice in the core curriculum, and a doctoral course on models of prevention. He has also taught advanced courses on effective cross-cultural practice and clinical social work research. He has extensive social work practice expertise in the areas of substance abuse, adult psychopathology, and adolescent and family therapy.

Professor Voisin received his B.A. (psychology, cum laude) from St. Andrews College, M.S.W. (practice) from the University of Michigan, and Ph.D. (practice) from Columbia University School of Social Work.

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• Voisin, D., & Neilands, T. In press. Academic achievement, peer influences, and sexual behaviors among high school African-American adolescent boys. In W. Johnson (Ed.), Social Work and Social Welfare Responses to African American Males: What have we seen with our own eyes.  Oxford University Press.
• Voisin, D., & Neilands, T. In press. Low school achievement and sexual behaviors among African American youths: Examining the influences of gender, peer norms, and gang involvement. Children and Youth Services Review.
• Voisin, D., & Neilands, T. In press. Mechanisms linking community violence exposures and school engagement among African American adolescents: Examining the roles of psychological problem behaviors and gender. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
• Corbin, D., Voisin, D., & Snell, C. 2009. Exploring the relationship between spirituality and HIV-related risk factors among young Black college students. Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services 8: 238-249.
• Voisin, D., & Bird J. 2009. What African American adolescent males are telling us about HIV infection among their peers: Cultural implications for HIV/ STD prevention. Social Work 54(3): 201-209.
• Voisin, D., & Guilamo-Ramos, V. 2008. A commentary on community violence exposure and HIV risk behaviors among African American adolescents. African American Research Perspectives 12(1): 83-100.
• Voisin, D., Neilands, T., Salazar, L., DiClemente, R., Crosby, R., & Yarber, W. 2008. Pathways to drug and sexual risk behaviors among detained adolescents. Social Work Research 11: 147-157.
• Voisin, D., DiClemente, R., Salazar, L., Crosby, R., Yarber, W., & Staples-Horne, M. 2007. Community violence exposure and health-risk outcomes among detained adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 74: 506-513.
• Voisin, D., Salazar, L., Crosby, R., DiClemente, R., & Yarber, W. 2007. Understanding motivations for having sex among detained youth: Implications for HIV prevention programs. Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services 6(3): 29-41.
• Baptiste, D., Voisin, D., Smithgall, C., Da Costa Martinez, D., & Henderson, G. 2007. Preventing HIV/AIDS among Trinidad and Tobago teens using a family-based program: Preliminary outcomes. In M. McKay, D. Baptiste, R. Paikoff, & C. Bell (Eds.), Community collaborative partnerships and empirical findings: The foundation for youth HIV prevention. New York: Haworth Press.
• Voisin, D. 2007. The effects of family and community violence exposure among youth: Recommendations for practice and policy. Journal of Social Work Education 23(1): 51-66.
• Crosby, R., Voisin, D., Salazar, L., DiClemente, R., Yarber, W., & Caliendo, A. 2006. Family influences and biologically confirmed sexually transmitted infections among detained adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 76(3): 389-394.
• Voisin, D., Salazar, L., Crosby, R., DiClemente, R., & Yarber, W. 2006. Ecological factors associated with STD-risk behaviors among detained adolescent females. Social Work 51(1): 71-78.
• Voisin, D., Baptiste, D., Da Costa Martinez, D., & Henderson, G. 2006. Exporting a U.S. HIV/AIDS prevention program to a Caribbean island-nation: Lessons from the field. International Social Work 49(1): 75-86.
• Baptiste, D., Petersen, I., Bhana, A., McKay, M., Voisin, D., Bell, C., & Martinez, D. 2006. Community collaborative youth-focused HIV/AIDS prevention in two countries: Preliminary findings. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 31(2): 1-12.
• Baptiste, D., Voisin, D., Smithgall, C., Da Costa Martinez, D., & Henderson, G. 2006. Preventing HIV/AIDS among Trinidad and Tobago teens using a family-based program: Preliminary outcomes. Social Work in Mental Health 5(3-4): 327-348.
• Voisin, D., Salazar, L., Crosby, R., DiClemente, R., Yarber, W., & Staples-Horne, M. 2006. HIV testing among detained youth. Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children and Youth 6(2): 83-96.
• Voisin, D. 2005. The relationship between violence exposure and HIV sexual risk behaviors: Does gender matter? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 75(4): 497-506.
• Voisin, D., Salazar, L., Crosby, R., DiClemente, R., Yarber, W., & Staples-Horne, M. 2005. Teacher connectedness and health-related outcomes among detained adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health 37(4): 337.e17-337.e23.
• Voisin, D., Salazar, L., Crosby, R., DiClemente, R., Yarber, W., & Staples-Horne, M. 2005. The association between gang involvement and sexual behaviors among detained adolescent males. Sexually Transmitted Infections 80: 440-442.
• Voisin, D. 2003. Victims of community violence and HIV sexual risk behaviors among African American adolescent males. Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention & Education for Adolescents & Children 5(3-4), 87-110.
• Anderson, T., DeCarlo, A., Voisin, D., & Bell, C. 2003. Trauma and violence in childhood: A U.S. perspective. Psychiatric Times 20(10): 17-20.
• Voisin, D. 2002. Family ecology and HIV sexual risk behaviors among African American and Puerto Rican adolescent males. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72(2), 294-302.
• Voisin, D., & Dillon-Remy, M. 2002. Psychocultural factors associated with HIV infection among Trinidad and Tobago adolescents. In B.A. Dicks (Ed.), HIV/AIDS and Children in the English Speaking Caribbean (pp. 65-82). New York: Haworth Press.