My overarching area of study is close relationships, and within that general area, I have three major research interests: (1) social support, (2) relationship formation and maintenance, and (3) risky behavior. Within risky behavior I examine interpersonal violence and sexuality. My work involves preserving child welfare in the face of abuse, neglect, and partner violence and preventing child maltreatment through reducing risky sexual behavior and teen pregnancy. Over the past 12 years I have received more than 60 grants and contracts totaling over $21 million. My most recent $4.8M grant from the DHHS Office of Adolescent Health is to conduct a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of two different trainings to prevent teen pregnancy and STIs compared to a control condition with 1300 youth (urban, foster and immigrant and refugee) in over 12 community organizations.

My original training was in the field of social psychology with an emphasis on child and family development. In 1993 I took a job at the Kent School of Social Work evaluating training in child welfare. I then began pursuing a masters degree in social work in 1997 and received that degree in 2001 to give myself the tools to be a more effect social work researcher. Thus, from 1996 to the present, my research emphasis has primarily been in the area of risky behavior- particularly family violence -- still a part of the larger field of close relationships, but more focused on the social work concerns of system contributions to the detection, assessment, treatment and resolution of social problems affecting families. Recently I expanded the focus to risky sexual behavior to prevent child maltreatment through preventing pregnancy.

Primary Interests:

Applied Social Psychology
Close Relationships
Helping, Prosocial Behavior
Organizational Behavior
Sexuality, Sexual Orientation

Applied Social Psychology
Close Relationships
Helping, Prosocial Behavior

Organizational Behavior
Sexuality, Sexual Orientation

Research Group or Laboratory:

Kent Care Team
Interactive Map

Books:

Derlega, V., & Barbee, A. P. (Eds.). (1998). HIV and social interaction. Sage Publications.

Journal Articles:

Baesler, J., Winstead, B., Derlega, V., & Barbee, A. P. (2003). Prayer as interpersonal coping in the lives of women with HIV. Women and Therapy, 26, 283-295. [Also a chapter in a book entitled Women with visible and invisible disabilities: Multiple intersection, multiple issues, multiple therapies. Haworth Social Work Practice Press.]
Bledsoe, L., Sar, B. K., & Barbee, A. P.(2006). Impact of coordinated response to domestic violence on offender accountability. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 13, 111-131.
Cunningham, M. R., Shamblen,S. R., Barbee, A. P., & Ault, L. K. (2005). Social allergies in romantic relationships: Behavioral repetition, emotional sensitization, and dissatisfaction in dating couples. Personal Relationships.
Derlega, V., Winstead, B., Oldfield, E. C., & Barbee, A. P. (2003). Close relationships and social support in coping with HIV: A test of Sensitive Interaction Systems Theory. AIDS and Behavior, 7, 119-129.
Fox, S., Miller, V., & Barbee, A. P. (2003). Finding and keeping child welfare workers: Effective use of Title IV-E training funds. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 7, 67-82. [Also a chapter in Charting the Impacts of University-Child Welfare Collaboration. Ed. Katherine Briar-Lawson & Joan Levy Zlotnick. Haworth Social Work Practice Press.]
Martin, M. H., Barbee, A. P., Antle, B., Sar, B., & Hanna, S. (2002). Expedited permanency planning: Evaluation of the Kentucky Adoptions Opportunities Project (KAOP). Child Welfare: Special Issue on Permanency Planning, 81, 203-224.
Robinson, M. M., Barbee, A. P., Martin, M., Yegidis, B., & Singer, T. L. (2003). The organizational costs of caregiving: A call to action. Administration in Social Work, 27, 83-102.
Sprecher, S., Barbee, A. P., & Schwartz, P. (1995) Was it good for you too?: Gender differences in first intercourse experiences. Journal of Sex Research, 31, 1-13.
Winstead, B. A., Derlega, V. J., Barbee, A. P., Sachdev, M., Antle, B., & Greene, K. (2002). Impact of HIV on close relationships of mothers living with HIV. Loss and Trauma, 7, 157-184.

Other Publications:

Cunningham, M. R., Ault, L. K., & Barbee, A. P. (2003). Attraction. The international encyclopedia of marriage and family (2nd ed.). New York: MacMillan Reference USA.
Cunningham, M. R., & Barbee, A. P. (2000). Social support in close relationships. In C. Hendricks & S. Hendricks (Eds.), The close relationship sourcebook. Sage Publications.
Cunningham, M. R., Barbee, A. P., & Druen, P. B. (1997). Social antigens and the reactions that they produce: Escalation of annoyance and disgust in love and work (pp. 189-214). In R. Kowalski (Ed.), Aversive interpersonal behaviors. New York: Plenum Press.
Cunningham, M. R., Barbee, A. P., & Philhower, C. L. (2001). Dimensions of facial physical attractiveness: The intersection of biology and culture. In G. Rhodes & L. A. Zebrowitz (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives. London: Ablex.
Derlega, V., Barbee, A. P., & Winstead, B. (1994). Friendship, gender and social support: Laboratory studies of supportive interactions. In B. Burleson, T. Albrecht, & I. Sarason (Eds.), The communication of social support: Messages, interactions, relationships and community. London: Sage Publications.

Courses Taught:

Advanced Social Work Macro Practice
Advanced Systems in Social Work Practice
Grant Writing
Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Social Work and Human Sexuality

Advanced Social Work Macro Practice
Advanced Systems in Social Work Practice
Grant Writing

Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Social Work and Human Sexuality

Anita P. Barbee
Kent School of Social Work
202 Oppenheimer Hall
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
United States

Phone: (502) 852-0416
Fax: (502) 852-0422