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Theresa Stichick Betancourt, ScD, MA

Research Fellow in Psychiatry
Department of Global Health and Social Medicine Affiliate

Theresa S. Betancourt, ScD, MA, is the Salem Professor in Global Practice at the Boston College School of Social Work and Director of the Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA). Her central research interests include the developmental and psychosocial consequences of concentrated adversity on children, youth and families; resilience and protective processes in child and adolescent mental health and child development; refugee families; and applied cross-cultural mental health research. She is Principal Investigator of an intergenerational study of war in Sierra Leone (LSWAY). This research led to the development of a group mental health intervention for war-affected youth that demonstrated effectiveness for improving emotion regulation, daily functioning and school functioning. This intervention, the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI), is now at the core of a scale-up study within youth employment programs now underway in collaboration with the major development actors and Government of Sierra Leone as a part of the NIMH-funded Mental Health Services and Implementation Science Research Hub called Youth FORWARD. Dr. Betancourt has also developed and evaluated the impact of a Family Strengthening Intervention for HIV-affected children and families and is leading the investigation of a home-visiting early childhood development (ECD) intervention to promote enriched parent-child relationships and prevent violence that can be integrated within poverty reduction/social protection initiatives in Rwanda. Domestically, she is engaged in community-based participatory research on family-based prevention of emotional and behavioral problems in refugee children and adolescents resettled in the U.S. She has written extensively on mental health and resilience in children facing adversity including recent articles in Child DevelopmentThe Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent PsychiatrySocial Science and Medicine, JAMA Psychiatry, Pediatrics, the American Journal of Public Health and PLOS One. Her work has been profiled in the New Yorker, National Geographic, NPR, CNN.com and in an interview with Larry King on the programPoliticKing.

A Tale of Two Programs for Parents of Young Children: Independently-Conducted Case Studies of Workforce Contributions to Scale in Bhutan and Rwanda.
Authors: Authors: Aboud F, Choden K, Tusiimi M, Gomez RC, Hatch R, Dang S, Betancourt T, Dyenka K, Umulisa G, Omoeva C.
Children (Basel)
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Ebola Virus Disease Sensitization: Community-Driven Efforts in Sierra Leone.
Authors: Authors: Collier KM, Klein EK, Sevalie S, Molleh B, Kabba Y, Kargbo A, Bangura J, Gbettu H, Simms S, O'Leary C, Drury S, Schieffelin JS, Betancourt TS, Crea TM.
J Community Health
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Adverse childhood experiences and lifelong health.
Authors: Authors: Bhutta ZA, Bhavnani S, Betancourt TS, Tomlinson M, Patel V.
Nat Med
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Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021-30.
Authors: Authors: Tol WA, Le PD, Harrison SL, Galappatti A, Annan J, Baingana FK, Betancourt TS, Bizouerne C, Eaton J, Engels M, Hijazi Z, Horn RR, Jordans MJD, Kohrt BA, Koyiet P, Panter-Brick C, Pluess M, Rahman A, Silove D, Tomlinson M, Uribe-Restrepo JM, Ventevogel P, Weissbecker I, Ager A, van Ommeren M.
Lancet Glob Health
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Family Violence Reduction Within a Parenting Intervention in Rwanda: A Mixed-Methods Study.
Authors: Authors: Jensen SKG, Murray SM, Placencio-Castro M, Kajani U, Amponsah D, Sezibera V, Betancourt TS.
Pediatrics
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Applying Human-Centered Design in Global Mental Health to Improve Reach Among Underserved Populations in the United States and India.
Authors: Authors: Black CJ, Berent JM, Joshi U, Khan A, Chamlagai L, Shrivastava R, Gautam B, Negeye A, Iftin AN, Ali H, Desrosiers A, Bhan A, Bhattacharya S, Naslund JA, Betancourt TS.
Glob Health Sci Pract
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Exploring Naturalistic Diffusion of an Evidence-Based Mental Health Intervention across Peer Networks of Youth in Sierra Leone.
Authors: Authors: Desrosiers A, Bond L, Hoffman M, Kumar P, Schafer C, Metzger IW, Vandi A, Hinton M, Betancourt TS.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
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Understanding mechanisms of change in a family-based preventive mental health intervention for refugees by refugees in New England.
Authors: Authors: DiClemente-Bosco K, Elizabeth Neville S, Berent JM, Farrar J, Mishra T, Abdi A, Beardslee WR, Creswell JW, Betancourt TS.
Transcult Psychiatry
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HIV-Exposed Uninfected Children: A Systematic Review on Psychological Well-Being and Association with School Performances in Africa.
Authors: Authors: Mensi M, Ahishakiye A, Journeay K, Baiocco R, Betancourt TS, Paganotti GM.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
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Alternative Delivery Platforms for Expanding Evidence-based Mental Health Interventions for Youth in Sierra Leone: A Pilot Study.
Authors: Authors: Desrosiers A, Freeman J, Mitra R, Bond L, Santo LD, Farrar J, Borg R, Jambai M, Betancourt TS.
Vulnerable Child Youth Stud
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