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Kenneth J. Ruggiero, Ph.D.   
[Lowcountry Children's Center and NCVC rotations]

Dr. Ruggiero, an Associate Professor at MUSC's National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, received his B.A. from SUNY Buffalo and M.A. and Ph.D. from West Virginia University. He is principal investigator on four ongoing federally funded grants. Two are R01 and R34 awards funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to develop and evaluate brief Web-based Interventions for disaster-affected adults, adolescents, and families using randomized controlled trial designs. Another is a Merit grant through VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) to develop self-help online mental health resources for Operation Iraqi Freedom / Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans. The fourth is a VA Merit grant through HSR&D to develop and evaluate a VA Web-based provider-training protocol in Prolonged Exposure for PTSD. Dr. Ruggiero also is a co-investigator on several ongoing grants funded by the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration. These grants address several areas, including: (a) epidemiology of violence exposure and post-disaster mental health, (b) development and evaluation of self-administered resources for at-risk youth (c) efficacy evaluations of behavioral interventions delivered via in-person vs. telepsychology formats, and (d) dissemination and transport of evidence-based interventions for youth exposed to violence.

Research Interests: efficacy, transport, dissemination, and effectiveness of evidence-based psychosocial interventions for youth; processes and mechanisms associated with change in psychosocial interventions; design and evaluation of Web-based educational interventions for disaster-, combat-, violence-affected communities; design and evaluation of Web-based training protocols for clinicians in evidence-based practice.

Honors/Awards:

Select Publications:

• Amstadter, A. B., McCauley, J. L., Ruggiero, K. J., Resnick, H. S., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (in press). Service utilization and help seeking in a representative sample of rape victims. Psychiatric Services.
• Hedtke, K. A., Ruggiero, K. J., Fitzgerald, M. M., Zinzow, H. M., Saunders, B. E., Resnick, H. S., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2008). A longitudinal investigation of interpersonal violence in relation to mental health and substance use. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 633-647.
• Kelley, M. L., Palcic, J. L., Vigna, J. F., Spell, A. W., Pellegrin, A., Davidson, K. L., Self-Brown, S., & Ruggiero, K. J. (in press). The effects of parenting behavior on children’s mental health post-Hurricane Katrina: Preliminary findings. In R. P. Kilmer, V. Gil-Rivas, R. G. Tedeschi, & L. G. Calhoun (Eds.), Meeting the needs of children, families, and communities post-disaster: Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Koenen, K. C., Amstadter, A. B., Ruggiero, K. J., Acierno, R., Galea, S., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Gelernter, J. (in press). Association between RGS2 and generalized anxiety disorder in an epidemiologic sample of hurricane-exposed adults. Depression and Anxiety.  
• McCauley, J., Conoscenti, L., Ruggiero, K. J., Resnick, H. S., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (in press). Prevalence and correlates of drug/alcohol-facilitated and incapacitated sexual assault in a nationally representative sample of adolescent girls. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
• Zinzow, H. M., Ruggiero, K. J., Resnick, H., Hanson, R., Smith, D., Saunders, B., Kilpatrick, D. (in press). Prevalence and mental health correlates of witnessed parental and community violence in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
• Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Ruggiero, K. J., Danielson, C. K., Resnick, H. S., Hanson, R. F., Smith, D. W., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of dating violence in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 755-762.
• Kilpatrick, D. G., Koenen, K., Ruggiero, K. J., Acierno, R., Galea, S., Resnick, H. S., Roitzsch, J., Boyle, J., & Gelernter, J. (2007). The serotonin transporter genotype and social support and moderation of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in hurricane-exposed adults. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 1693-1699.
• Acierno, R., Ruggiero, K. J., Galea, S., Resnick, H. S., Koenen, K., Roitzsch, J., de Arellano, M., Boyle, J., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2007). Psychological sequelae resulting from the 2004 Florida hurricanes: Implications for post-disaster intervention. American Journal of Public Health, 97, S103-S108.
• Ruggiero, K. J., Morris, T. L., Hopko, D. R., & Lejuez, C. W. (2007). Application of Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression to an adolescent with a history of child maltreatment. Clinical Case Studies, 6, 64-78.
• More Publications

Selected Presentations: 

• Ruggiero, K. J., & Resnick, H. S. (2008, June). Self-help resources for violence- and disaster-affected populations: New developments and preliminary data. Presentation at the 69th annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
• Amstadter, A. B., Koenen, K. C., Acierno, R., Kilpatrick, D. G., Ruggiero, K. J., & Gelernter, J. (2007, November). Rgs2 polymorphism and social support moderate risk of PTSD among adults exposed to the 2004 Florida hurricanes. Poster presented at the 41st annual convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
• Galea, S., & Ruggiero, K. J. (2007, November). Bringing a social epidemiologic lens to trauma-focused research: Challenges and opportunities. In D. Zatzick (Chair), Optimizing prevention in trauma-focused research: Social and clinical epidemiologic approaches. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the International Society on Traumatic Stress Studies, Baltimore, MD.
• Hanson, R. F., & Ruggiero, K. J. (2007, November). Implementing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy: A focus on training frontline clinicians. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the International Society on Traumatic Stress Studies, Baltimore, MD.
• Hubel, G. S., & Ruggiero, K. J. (2007, November). Mental health outcomes of disaster-affected youth: A review of three decades of research. Poster presented at the 41st annual convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
• Disaster CEI - PPT

Curriculum Vitae   (2009) (Requires Adobe® Reader to view)

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