RESEARCH

Governed by The Council's Institutional Review Board, our Research Division conducts relevant empirical studies and publishes articles relating to behavioral health issues. Studies have examined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disorders, head injury, sexual abuse and violence, violence prevention, effectiveness of anti-psychotic medications and other topics that affect African Americans and other minorities. One of our most crucial recent studies explored preventing HIV/AIDS in South Africa . The CHAMP-South Africa study is funded by The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a federal research office that most often provides grants to universities. It is rare for a non-profit community mental health organization like The Council to receive a five-year, multimillion dollar grant.

Early results indicate that CHAMP is having an impact not only on HIV/AIDS prevention, but also on other family and community issues.

Recent Publications

Petersen, I., Mason, A., Bhana, A., Bell , C.C ., McKay, M. (2006). Mediating social representations using a cartoon narrative in the context of HIV/AIDS. The AmaQhawe family project in South Africa. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 197-208.

The authors describe how a cartoon narrative has been used in South Africa to educate people about and prevent the spread of HIV. This was found to be useful in health promotion and health-related behavior change.

Jenkins, E.J., Scott, R., Mock, L.O., & DeCarlo, A. (Accepted for publication 2006). Dating Violence in African–American and Hispanic Middle School Students. Illinois School Journal.

The authors discovered that in a suburban Illinois school district, African American, Hispanic, and "other race" students reported more victimization and perpetration of physical violence than white students. Also, African American students had the highest rates of perpetration of physical abuse. Implications of the findings for educators and school counselors are discussed.

Paruk, Z., Petersen, I., Bhana, A., Bell, C. C. and McKay, M. (2005). Containment and contagion: How to strengthen families to support youth HIV prevention in South Africa. African Journal of AIDS Research, 4, 57-63.

The authors found a lack of social cohesion to support South African youth and argued for stronger family and community leadership to support and protect youth, particularly against the HIV epidemic.

Bell, C.C. (November, 2005). Prevention in Action: Interventions empower African American boys. Clinical Psychiatry News, 54.

In this brief report, Dr. Bell challenges community psychiatrists to build up protective factors for African American boys, and to involve community adults in prevention efforts, rather than focus on risk factors as predictors of violence.

Ongoing, Staff-initiated Research Projects

Carl C. Bell, M.D. and Dr. Lynne Mock, CHAMP South Africa Study. The purpose is to adapt a culturally competent, community and family-based HIV/AIDS intervention for rural South African villages. April 2002 to September 2006.

Dr. Geri Donenberg, University of Illinois at Chicago and Dr. Esther Jenkins. Girl Talk Study. The purpose is to understand how family and partner processes influence the sexuality and relationships of girls in outpatient therapy. November 2003 to June 2008.

Carl C. Bell, M.D. and Johnnie Williamson, M.D. Seroquel Clinical Trials. The purpose is to study the efficacy of Seroquel for adolescents with psychotic diagnoses. April 2006 to June 2008.

Carl C. Bell, M.D. and Johnnie Williamson, M.D., Abilify Clinical Trials. The purpose is to study the efficacy of Abilify for adolescents with psychotic diagnoses. Contract pending.

Dr. Lynne Mock. Employment and Well-Being Study. The purpose is to understand the experiences of women with depression who are also TANF recipients or applicants, and how treatment may influence employment outcomes. February 2005 to February 2007.

Carl C. Bell, M.D. and Johnnie Williamson, M.D. Disruptive Behavior Disorders Clinic Study. The purpose is to examine the effectiveness of clinical services for families of children with disruptive behaviors. February 2005 to August 2007.

Dennis Casey, WISC-III Study. This is Mr. Casey's master's thesis project. The purpose is to explore the usefulness and accuracy of different scoring methods of the WISC-III verbal comprehension index scores.

Ongoing, Research Collaborations

1. Dr. Paul Schewe, University of Illinois at Chicago. Chicago Safe Start Study. The purpose is to understand and address the needs of children five years and younger who have been exposed to violence. November 2003 to November 2006.

2. Dr. Mary Smith, Illinois Department of Human Services. Dual Diagnosis Treatment Training. The purpose is to design and implement a training and evaluation program using the Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment toolkit. March 2005 to September 2007.

3. Dr. Kristin Davis, Thresholds, Inc. Thresholds Prison Aftercare Project. The purpose is to track psychiatric, correctional, social, and service outcomes for adults with mental illness and incarceration histories. May 2005 to December 2009.

4. Dr. Sue Pickett-Schenk, University of Illinois at Chicago. Pathways in Living. The purpose is to examine how a mental health consumer, peer-led education course might increase their community integration. January 2006 to October 2008.

5. Dr. Marc Atkins, University of Illinois at Chicago. Mental Health Services and Predictors of Learning in Urban Schools. The purpose is to use a scientific model for school-based mental health services and to study the model's relationship to social and emotional adjustment and academic achievement. May 2006 to March 2010.