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Dr. Shanti Kulkarni has been an advocate, program developer, and researcher in the violence against women movement for close to 20 years. Early in her career, she provided clinical services to sexual assault survivors and was the Director of Sexual Assault Services at a rape crisis program. In 2004, she received her PhD in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin, with a portfolio in Women and Gender Studies (Women’s Health and Relationships). She has been a social work faculty member at UNC Charlotte since 2006

Dr. Kulkarni’s research focuses broadly on the impact of trauma, violence, and abuse upon vulnerable populations and seeks to positively influence practitioner behavior, service delivery systems, and policy in ways that best promote survivor healing. She engages in interdisciplinary community-based research utilizing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies to build and expand scientific knowledge.

Her recent work has involved working closely with youth to develop and implement innovative teen dating violence prevention initiatives, such as My Next Girlfriend  and LoveSpeaksOut.  These projects partner with youth to create and deliver health education about healthy relationships.

Selected publications:

1. Bell, H., Kulkarni, S., & Dalton, L. (2003).  Organizational prevention of vicarious trauma.  Families in Society, 84(4), 463-470.
2. Rew, L., Chambers, K. & Kulkarni, S. (2002). Planning a sexual health promotion intervention with homeless adolescents.  Nursing Research, 51(3), 168-174.
3. Kulkarni, S.  (2006). Interpersonal violence at the crossroads between adolescence and adulthood: Learning about partner violence from young mothers.  Violence Against Women, 12(2), 187-207.
4. McPhail, B., Busch, N., Kulkarni, S., & Rice, G. (2007). Integrative feminist model:  The evolving feminist perspective on intimate partner violence, Violence Against Women, 13(8), 817-841.
5. Kulkarni, S. (2007). Romance narrative, feminine ideals, and developmental detours for young mothers.  Affilia, 22(1), 9-22.
6. Kulkarni, S. (2009). The relational consequences of interpersonal violence (IPV) for adolescent mothers.  Youth & Society, 41(1), 100-123.
7. Kulkarni, S.J., Kennedy, A., & Lewis, C.M. (2010).  Using a risk and resilience framework and feminist theory to guide social work interventions with adolescent mothers. Families in Society, 91(3), 217-224.
8. Kulkarni, S.J., Bell, H., & Wylie, L. (2010). Why don’t they follow through?: Intimate partner survivors’ challenges in accessing health and social services. Family & Community Health, 33(2) 94-105.
9. Scarborough, M. K., Lewis, C. M., & Kulkarni, S. J. (2010). Enhancing adolescent brain development through goal setting activities.  Social Work, 55(3), 276-8.
10. Kulkarni, S.J., Lewis, C.M., & Rhodes, D.M. (2011). Clinical Challenges in Addressing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) with Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents. Journal of Family Violence 26(8), 565-574.
11. Kennedy, A.C., Bybee, D., Kulkarni, S.J., & Archer, G. (2012). Sexual Victimization and Family Violence among Urban African-American Adolescent Women: Do Violence Cluster Profiles Predict Partner Violence Victimization and Exposure to Sex Trade?  Violence Against Women, 18(11) 1319–1338.
12. Kulkarni, S.J., Racine, E.F., & Ramos, B.M. (2012). Examining the Relationship Between Latinas’ Perceptions About What Constitutes Domestic Violence and Domestic Violence Victimization. Violence & Victims. 27 (2), 182-193.
13. Kulkarni, S.J., Bell, H., & Rhodes, D. (2012). Back to basics:  Essential qualities of services for survivors of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 18(1):85-101.
14. Kulkarni, S. J., Bell, H., Hartman, J., & Herman-Smith, R. (2013). Exploring individual and organizational factors that contribute to compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout in domestic violence service providers.  Journal of Society of Social Work and Research, 4(2), 114-130.
15. Kulkarni, S.J., Herman-Smith, B.H., & *Ross, T.C. (2015).  Measuring intimate partner violence (IPV) service providers’ attitudes: The development of the Survivor-Defined Advocacy Scale (SDAS). Journal of Family Violence, 30: 911. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10896-015-9719-5.
16. Kulkarni, S.J. & *Ross, T.C. (2016). Exploring employee intimate partner violence (IPV) disclosures in the workplace. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15555240.2016.1213637
17. Mennicke, A., & Kulkarni, S. J. (2016). Understanding gender symmetry within an expanded partner violence typology. Special Issue ofJournal of Family Violence. DOI 10.1007/s10896-016-9867-2.

Ongoing Research Support:

National Institutes of Child and Human Development (R13)

Title: Shaping the Message: African American Youth and their Families Use Media to Promote Violence Free Dating Relationships

Kulkarni, SJ (PI) 7/2015-6/2018

Purpose: This project will use community-based participatory methods to engage community members and academics in conducting preliminary research that identifies core intervention elements necessary to integrate two evidence-supported prevention approaches—youth and family engagement and media literacy

Completed Research Support:

North Carolina Council for Women, Family Violence Prevention and Services Act       Kulkarni (PI)   10/2014 – 9/2015

The purpose of this project is to leverage and sustain LoveSpeaksOut, a youth-adult speakers’ bureau to develop and support teen dating violence prevention and intervention initiatives. Additional activities will involve expansion in developing and implementing professional trainings on identifying and serving victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Role: PI

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Social Services, Family Violence Prevention and Services Act  Kulkarni (PI) 10/2010-9/2014

The purpose of this project was to leverage and sustain Youth-Adult Partnerships to develop and support teen dating violence prevention and intervention initiatives. Role: PI

Women + Girls Research Alliance, UNC Charlotte Kulkarni (PI)  4/2013-10/2013

The purpose of this project was to explore employee domestic violence attitudes and experiences within a large corporation. Role: PI

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Social Services, Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, Kulkarni (PI) 10/2008-9/2010

The purpose of this project was to partner with youth to develop innovative and youth-relevant media resources to support teen dating violence prevention and intervention initiatives. Role: PI

Faculty Research Grant, UNC Charlotte, Kulkarni (PI), 6/2009-12/2010

The purpose of this project was to explore the relationship between demographic, organizational, and individual staff factors and various aspects of domestic violence service quality. Role: PI

Faculty Research Grant, UNC Charlotte via NC Research Campus,  Ramos (PI), 5/2008-7/2008

The purpose of this project was to explore the relationship between acculturation stress, IPV and alcohol use within a community sample of Latinos. Role: Co-I

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Social Services, Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, Kulkarni (PI), 11/2007-9/2008

The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a school nurse training program for teen dating violence assessment and intervention. Role: PI

Faculty Research Grant, UNC Charlotte, Kulkarni (PI), 6/2007-12/2008      

The purpose of this project was to assess barriers and strategies service providers encounter in addressing interpersonal violence with pregnant and parenting adolescents. Role: PI

National Domestic Violence Hotline under contract with Health Services Resources Administration, Bell (PI), 4/2005-8/2005

The purpose of this project was to assess barriers and strategies service providers encounter in addressing interpersonal violence with pregnant and parenting adolescents. Role: Co-PI