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Faculty

Sara Chiara Haden

Assistant Professor of Psychology

B.A., University of VirginiaM.A., Dartmouth Campus, University of Massachusetts Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

Description

Dr. Haden completed a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 2007 after receiving an M.A. degree in psychology from the Dartmouth Campus of the University of Massachusetts in 2002 and a B.A. degree in psychology and Italian from the University of Virginia in 1999. She completed her APA-accredited internship at the University of Florida in 2007 and served as the research postdoctoral fellow on the Forensic Inpatient Service at NYU/Bellevue Hospital Center from 2007-2008.

Dr. Haden's research focuses on the effects of exposure to community violence as well as risk and protective factors involved in the development of aggressive behavior in children. Her clinical experience includes work with survivors of torture and war trauma, psychiatric emergency patients, pediatric HIV clinic clients, primary care patients, mentally ill offenders and adult male prisoners.
Currently she has an active research lab comprised of undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning more about the effects of violence exposure to young urban adults. Dr. Haden is also a licensed psychologist in New York and a clinician at the New York Center for Neuropsychology and Forensic Behavioral Science.

Specialties

Clinical Child and Adult Psychology

Research Specialties: Trauma, Violence, Aggression, Risk and Resiliency

Publications

  • Co-Author, “The impact of peer aggression and victimization on substance use in rural adolescents,” published in the Journal of School Violence
  • Co-Author, “Being hot-tempered: Autonomic, emotional, and behavioral distinctions between childhood reactive and proactive aggression,” published in Biological Psychology
  • Co-Author, “Confirming a two-factor structure of impulsivity in a mentally ill forensic sample. Publish in the International Journal of Forensic Mental Health
  • Co-Author, “Mental illness, interactions with staff, and demographic variables as predictors of civil and forensic inpatient satisfaction with care,” published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
  • Co-Author, “Development and psychometric evaluation of the Inpatient Satisfaction Questionnaire,” published in The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
  • Co-Author, “Validation of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scales in a college population,” published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma
  • Co-Author, “Biosocial bases of reactive and proactive aggression: The roles of community violence exposure and heart rate,” published in the Journal of Community Psychology
  • Co-Author, “Trait impulsivity in a forensic inpatient sample: An evaluation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale,” published in Behavioral Sciences and the Law
  • Co-Author, “Community violence victimization and depressed mood: The moderating effects of coping and social support,” published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence
  • Co-Author, “Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and injury: The moderating role of perceived social support and coping for young adults,” published in Personality and Individual Differences
  • Co-Author, “The noradrenergeric system and its involvement in aggressive antisocial behavior,” published in Aggression and Violent Behavior
  • Co-Author, “Understanding and treating the juvenile firesetter: A review,” published in The Forensic Examiner
  • Co-Author, “Community violence victimization and aggressive behavior: The moderating effects of coping and social support,” published in Aggressive Behavior
  • Co-Author, “Community violence victimization and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: The moderating effects of coping and social support,” published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence
  • Co-Author, “Aggressive responses to betrayal: The effects of type of relationship, victim’s sex, and nature of aggression,” published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
  • Co-Author, “Lifetime prevalence and socioemotional effects of hearing about community violence,” published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence
  • Co-Author, “Childhood animal cruelty: A review of research, assessment, and therapeutic issues,” published in The Forensic Examiner

Honors/Awards

  • Recipient and Principal Investigator, Promoting Psychological Research and Training on Health Disparities Issues at Ethnic Minority Serving Institutions grant, American Psychological Association (APA)/ Science
  • Directorate's “Academic Enhancement Initiative” (Project: “Community Violence Exposure Prevalence and Outcomes among Urban Young Adults”)
  • Recipient, Ph.D. Fellowship, AdvanceVT, National Science Foundation
  • Recipient and Principal Investigator, Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers (ATSA) Pre-Doctoral Research Grant (Project: “Aggressive components of sexual aggression”)
  • Recipient, Sigma Xi Ph.D. Research Award
  • Recipient, Safe Zone Recognition Award for Teaching, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
    University
  • Recipient, Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) Scholarship, American Psychology Foundation
  • Nominee, P.E.O. Scholar Award, Southwestern Virginia Region
  • Recipient, Division 53 Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Research Award

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, American Psychological Association (APA)
  • Member, APA Division 5: Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics
  • Member, APA Division 35: Society for the Psychology of Women
  • Member, APA Division 37: Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice
  • Member, APA Division 56: Division of Trauma Psychology
  • Member, Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology

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