Neuropsychology, neuropsychology of reading and reading assessment, diagnostic decision-making, and evolutionary psychology. Dr. Decker has worked on numerous test projects including the Woodcock-Johnson Third Edition Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Tests of Achievement, the WJ III Diagnostic Supplement, Dean-Woodcock Neuropsychological Assessment System, and Stanford-Binet Fifth Edition.
Community implementation of evidence-based interventions for the impairments that are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including social communication, social skills, flexibility, externalizing behaviors, emotion regulation, and anxiety; Equitable community access to interventions; Implementation science; Family quality of life & ASD; Individual differences in intervention efficacy; Mechanisms of intervention efficacy.
Dr. Harrison has a Ph.D. in Health Psychology and a specialization in the field of Pediatric School Psychology. Her research focuses on improving the health and wellbeing of youth who are impacted by acute and chronic health conditions. Dr. Harrison's primary research interests include psychosocial and behavioral aspects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). She is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a mobile Health (mHealth) intervention to improve engagement in care and medication adherence for youth living with HIV in the Southern United States. She is also funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study adolescent vaccination, with the long-term goals of increasing vaccination coverage and reducing the impacts of preventable disease. Harrison runs the Healthy Futures Lab at UofSC.
Prevention and intervention for at-risk youth, middle to high school transition, adolescent well-being, teacher well-being, positive psychology, and longitudinal investigations of the interrelationships of adolescent well-being, stressful life events, personality, psychopathological symptomatology; and life outcomes.
Development of a positive (vs. pathology-based) school psychology; examination of the comparability of children's positive well-being measures across countries (e.g., Spain vs. US) and across cultural groups (e.g., African American vs. Euro-American adolescents); longitudinal investigations of the interrelationships of positive well-being measures, stressful life events, personality, and psychopathological symptomatology; determinants of school satisfaction in adolescents; and the utility of positive well-being measures with children and youth with mental disabilities.
Youth mentoring; motivational interviewing; school- and community-based services to prevent and reduce disruptive and delinquent behavior; mental health promotion in schools; quantitative methods; and program evaluation.
Biological mechanisms that underlie cognitive and behavioral functioning in children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism; fragile X syndrome; and AD/HD.
Children, adolescents and families; school mental health; positive behavior intervention and support; quality assessment and improvement; family engagement and empowerment; evidence-based practice; cognitive behavioral therapy; trauma focused intervention; interdisciplinary and cross-systems collaboration; systems analysis and change; policy influence. Dr. Weist directed a national center for school mental health for 15 years and edits the journal, Advances in School Mental Health Promotion (www.schoolmentalhealth.co.uk). He is active in the Clinical/Community and School programs
School Mental Health; suicide, self-injury prevention/intervention in adolescent populations; reducing rural mental health treatment disparities.
Gail Elmore, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, 2006
Mark Posey, Ph.D., University of South Carolina
Frederic J. Medway, Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Richard J. Nagle, Ph.D., Columbia University