Kathryn A. Becker-Blease

Department of Psychology, VCLS 160G Office: 360.546.9145

14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue Fax: 360.546.9038

Washington State University Vancouver kblease@vancouver.wsu.edu

Vancouver, WA 98686

Education

Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, University of Oregon, 2002.

Dissertation: Attention and Traumatic Stress in Children.

Committee: Jennifer Freyd (chair), Kirby Deater-Deckard, Jeffrey Measelle, Dan Close.

M.S., Psychology, University of Oregon, 1999.

B.S., Psychology with honors, University of Oregon, 1998.

Professional Positions

Instructor, Psychology Department, Washington State University Vancouver. August, 2005 – present.

Specialist, Family Education and Policy, Cooperative Extension, University of New Hampshire. October, 2004 – May, 2005. (.80 FTE).

Assistant Professor, Family Studies, University of New Hampshire. October, 2004 – May, 2005.

(.20 FTE).

Research Associate, Family Research Lab/Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire. July, 2004 to May, 2005.

Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Family Research Laboratory/Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire. Supervisors: David Finkelhor and Murray Straus. 2002 to 2004.

Pre-doctoral Research Fellow, Development and Psychopathology Training Grant, University of Oregon. PI: Tom Dishion. 2000-2002.

Research Assistant, Treatment Foster Care Project, Oregon Social Learning Center. Supervisor: Phil Fisher. 2001-2002.

Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon. 1998-2000.

Research Assistant, University of Oregon and Oregon Social Learning Center, Preschool Social Development Project. Supervisors: Beverly Fagot and Katherine Pears. 1997- 1998.

Teaching

Instructor, Psychology of Women, Fall 2005, Summer 2006, Fall 2006, Summer 2007, Fall 2007.

Instructor, Psychology Practicum, Fall 2005, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2008.

Instructor, Psychology Internship, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2008.

Instructor, Introductory Psychology, Spring 2007, Spring 2008.

Instructor, Experimental Methods in Psychology, Spring, 2006.

Instructor, Psychology of Gender, Summer, 2001.

Instructor, Development and Psychopathology Undergraduate Seminar, Spring, 2001.

Teaching Assistant, Introductory Psychology (Mind and Society), Fall and Winter, 1999-2000.

Teaching Assistant, Psychology of Gender, Spring, 2000.

Lab Coordinator, Introductory Psychology classes, Spring, 2000.

Instructor, Introductory Psychology (Mind and Brain), Summer, 2000.

Teaching Assistant, Psychology of Trauma, Fall, 2000.

Awards and Grants

Pierre Janet Writing Award, International Society for the Study of Dissociation, 2005.

For Becker-Blease, Deater-Deckard, Freyd, Eley, Stevenson, & Plomin (2004).

Health of New Hampshire’s Foster and Medicaid-Eligible Children. (Research Grant). 2003 - 2005. $130,000. K. Becker-Blease (P.I., Yrs. 1 –2) and G. Kaufman-Kantor, (P.I., Yr. 3)

The major goals of this 3-year project are to assess health care access, utilization, and expenditures for foster children in New Hampshire. In the first year, we utilized Medicaid claims data to assess health care utilization and expenditures relative to other Medicaid-enrolled children. We also analyzed child protective services administrative data and previously collected interview data on the heath needs of families with substance abusing parents who had come to the attention of child protective services. In the second year, we interviewed the nurses employed by child protective services in New Hampshire to coordinate health care for foster children. We are in the process of interviewing foster parents and teens to better understand unmet health care needs and ways to improve access to care. The third phase will build on information and connections established during the first two years of the project with a larger, survey of foster parents and group home providers in New Hampshire. Funded by the Endowment for Health.

NIMH Post-doctoral Fellowship, Child Abuse and Neglect, 2002-2004.

NIMH Pre-doctoral Fellowship, Development and Psychopathology, 2000-2002.

Travel Award, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Fall, 2001.

Graduate Student Travel Award, Center for the Study of Women in Society, Fall, 2001.

Graduate Student Research Award, Center for the Study of Women in Society.

Spring, 2001.

National Research Service Award, NIMH, submitted 2000, not funded.

Travel Award, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Fall, 2000.

Graduate Student Research Award, University of Oregon, 1999.

Sheldon Zack Research Award, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, 1998.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Hulette, A. C., Freyd, J. J., Pears, K. C., Kim, H. K., Fisher, P. A., & Becker-Blease, K. A.(in press). Dissociation and Posttraumatic Symptoms in Maltreated Preschool Children. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Finkelhor, D., & Turner, H. (in press.) Media exposure predicts children’s reactions to crime and victimization. Trauma and Dissociation: Lifespan Development and Family Context, a special issue of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 9 (2).

Becker-Blease, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. (in press). A preliminary study of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and child abuse: A comparison of abused and non-abused children who have difficulty with inattention and hyperactivity. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma.

Becker-Blease, K.A. & Freyd, J.J. (2007). The Ethics of Asking about Abuse and the Harm of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" [Comment]. American Psychologist, 62, 330-332.

Becker-Blease, K.A., & Freyd, J.J. (2007). Dissociation and Memory for Perpetration among Convicted Sex Offenders. Co-published in Brown, L.S. & Quina, K. (Eds.). Trauma and Dissociation in Convicted Offenders: Gender, Science, and Treatment Issues. New York: Haworth Press, and a special issue of the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 8(2), 69-80.

Mitchell, K., Becker-Blease, K.A. & Finkelhor, D. (2007). Linking Youth Internet and Conventional Problems: Findings from a Clinical Perspective. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 15(2), 39 – 58.

Cromer, L. D., Freyd, J.J., Binder, A. K., DePrince, A. P., Becker-Blease, K. A. (2006). What’s the Risk in Asking? Participant Reaction to Trauma History Questions Compared with Other Personal Questions. Ethics and Behavior, 16, 347-362.

Wells, M., Mitchell, K., Finkelhor, D., Becker-Blease, K. A. (2006). Mental health professionals’ exposure to clients with problematic internet experiences. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 24, 35-52.

Becker-Blease, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. (2006). Participants telling the truth about their lives: The ethics of asking and not asking about abuse. American Psychologist, 6, 3, 218-226.

White, B. P., Becker-Blease, K. A., & Grace-Bishop, K. (2006). Stimulant medication use, misuse and abuse in an undergraduate and graduate student sample. Journal of American College Health, 54, 5, 261-168.

Becker-Blease, K.A., & Freyd, J.J. (2005). Beyond PTSD: An evolving relationship between trauma theory and family violence research. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 403-411.

Mitchell, K., Becker-Blease, K. A. & Finkelhor, D. (2005). Inventory of problematic internet experiences encountered in clinical practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36, 498- 509.

Freyd, J. J., Putnam, F. W., Lyon, T. D., Becker-Blease, K. A., Cheit, R. E., Siegel, N. B. & Pezdek, K. (2005). The science of child sexual abuse. Science, 308, 501.

Kendall-Tackett, K. & Becker-Blease, K. A. (2004). The importance of retrospective findings in child maltreatment research. Child Abuse and Neglect, 28, 723-727.

Becker-Blease, K. A. (2004). Dissociation states through new age and electronic trace music. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 5, 2.

Zurbriggen, E. L. & Becker-Blease, K. A. (2004). Predicting memory for childhood sexual abuse: "Non-significant" findings with the potential for significant harm. Invited commentary for the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 12, 113-121.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Freyd, J. J. and Pears, K. P. (2004). Preschoolers’ memory for threatening information depends on trauma history and attentional context: Implications for the development of dissociation. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 5, 113-131.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Deater-Deckard, K., Freyd, J. J., Eley, T., Stevenson, J. & Plomin, R. (2004). A genetic analysis of dissociative behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 45, 522-532.

Book Chapters, Book Reviews, And Other Publications

Becker-Blease, K.A., Cheit, R.E., & Freyd, J.J. (in press). Sexual abuse: Legal and public policy perspectives. In R. A. Shweder (Ed.) The Chicago Companion to the Child. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Tucker, C. J. & Holt, M. (forthcoming, December, 2008). Family Abuse, Siblings, and the “Age of Possibilities". National Council on Family Relations Report.

Becker-Blease, K. A. (November, 2007). 5 Tools for Ethical Trauma-focused Research. ISTSS StressPoints.

Becker-Blease, K. A. (July, 2007). Supporting Traumatized Children’s Learning and School Success, ISSTD News.

Becker-Blease, K. A. & DePrince, Anne P. (2005). Child victimization, cognitive functioning, and academic performance. (pp. 6-1 – 6-13). In Child Victimization. K. Kendall-Tackett and S. Giacomoni, Eds. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.

Becker, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. (2001). Legal Remedies for Sexual Abuse Survivors [Review of the book Sexual Abuse Litigation: A Practical Resource for Attorneys, Clinicians, and Advocates]. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 258-259.

Becker, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. (2000). [Review of the book Momentous Events, Vivid Memories.] Biography, 23, 2, 372-374.

Presentations

Pears, K. C. & Becker, K. A. Pretend play, social cognitive abilities and dissociative tendencies in preschoolers. Poster presented at the meeting of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, San Antonio, TX, November, 2000.

Becker, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. Trauma and dissociation in Children and Parents. Poster presented at the 16^th annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Traumatic Stress, San Antonio, TX, November, 2000.

Becker, K. A., Deater-Deckard, K., Freyd, J. J., Eley, T., Stevenson, J. & Plomin, R. A genetic analysis of dissociative behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association Convention, Portland, OR, April, 2000.

Becker, K. A. & Pears, K. C. & Freyd, J. J. Analyses of post-traumatic stress and dissociation scales for children. Poster presented to the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN, April, 2001.

Becker, K. A. Methodological and ethical issues in child abuse research: A review of reported research procedures in journal articles published 1984-2000. Poster presented at the 7^th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July, 2001.

Becker, K. A., Pears, K. C., & Freyd, J. J. Relations among parents’ dissociation, harsh and inconsistent parenting, and children’s externalizing. Paper presented at the 7^th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July, 2001.

Becker, K. A. Methodological and ethical issues in child abuse research: A review of reported research procedures in journal articles published 1984-2000. Poster presented at the meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, New Orleans, Louisiana, December, 2001.

Becker, K. A., Pears, K. C., & Freyd, J. J. Relations among parents’ dissociation, harsh and inconsistent parenting, and children’s externalizing. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, New Orleans, Louisiana, December, 2001.

Becker-Blease, K. A. Dissociative states and popular music. Paper presented at the 19^th annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation. Baltimore, MD, November, 2002.

Becker-Blease, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. Attention context, trauma history and preschoolers' memory for threat-related information. Poster presented at the 43^rd annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Kansas City, MO, November, 2002.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Mitchell, K. & Finkelhor, D. Preliminary Findings of the Survey of Internet Mental Health Issues. Invited presentation for Stress, Trauma and Coping Research Group, University of Denver, CO, October, 2003.

Becker-Blease, K. A. & Freyd, J. J. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Differences in Key Factors between Abused and Non-Abused School-age Children. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. Tampa, FL, April 24-27, 2003.

Becker-Blease, K. A., & Freyd, J. K. Sex Offending: The role of previous victimization and cognitive processing. Paper presented at the 8^th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH, July 13-16, 2003.

Mitchell, K., Becker-Blease, K. A. & Finkelhor, D. Findings from the survey of internet mental health issues. Paper presented at the Victimization of Children and Youth: An International Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH, July 11 –14, 2004.

Becker-Blease, K.A., & Freyd, J.J. Why not ask about abuse? Beliefs that hold researchers back. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, July 28- August 1, 2004.

Freyd, J.J. & Becker-Blease, K.A. Context for Enhancing Learning about Trauma and Oppression. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, July 28 – August 1, 2004.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Mitchell, K., & Finkelhor, D. Internet Mental Health Issues: Clinicians’ Treatment of Youth Experiences. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, July 28- August 1, 2004.

Mitchell, K., Becker-Blease, K. A. & Finkelhor, D. Problematic pornography use on the Internet: Client characteristics and impact. Paper accepted for the 23^rd annual research and treatment conference, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Albuquerque, NM, October 27 – 30, 2004.

DePrince, A.P., Becker-Blease, K.A., & Freyd, J.J. Forgetting trauma stimuli in and out of the lab. Paper presented to the 20th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, New Orleans, LA, November 14-18, 2004.

White, B. P, Becker-Blease, K. A., & Grace-Bishop, K. Stimulant medication use and misuse/abuse in an adolescent university student sample. Paper presented to the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Atlanta, GA, April 7 – 10, 2005.

Becker-Blease, K. A., Freyd, J. J., & Friend, D. Male Victimization and Perpetration. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, August 18 – 21, 2005.

Becker-Blease, K., Friend, D. & Freyd, J.J. (2006). Child Sex Abuse Perpetrators among Male University Students. Poster to be
presented at the 22st Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Hollywood, CA, November 4-7, 2006.

Cholankeril, A., Freyd, J.J., Becker-Blease, K.A., Pears, K.C., Fisher, P.A. (November 2006). Examining dissociation in maltreated preschool children. Poster presented at the International Society for the Study of Dissociation 23rd International Fall Conference, Los Angeles, California, November 9-11, 2006.

Becker-Blease, K. A. (2007). Undergraduates Indicate Favorable Cost-Benefit Ratio for Victimization and Perpetration Questions. Paper presented at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, California, August 17-20, 2007.

Cholankeril, A., Freyd, J.J., Becker-Blease, K.A., Pears, K.C., Kim, H.K., Fisher, P.A. (2007). Dissociation and post-traumatic symptoms in maltreated preschool children. Poster presented at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, California, August 17-20, 2007.

Becker-Blease, K. A. (2007). Undergraduates Endorse Survey Research on Victimization and Perpetration. Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), Baltimore, MD, November 15-17, 2007.

Tucker, C. J.., Holt, M. & Becker-Blease, K. A. (2007). Sibling support and exposure to inter-parental conflict: Links to depression in emerging adulthood". Poster presented at the National Council on Family Relations' 69th Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 7 – 10, 2007.

Professional Service

Contributing Editor, ISTSS StressPoints

Assistant Book Review Editor, ISSTD News

Editorial Board

Journal of Trauma and Dissociation (Volume 8 - present)

Ad Hoc Reviewer

Journal of Traumatic Stress (Statistical Reviewer)

Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology

Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect

Personality and Individual Differences

Journal of Trauma and Dissociation

Journal of the Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Children’s Bureau Grant Review, 2003

National Council on Family Relations Conference, 2004

Faculty Advisor, Psi Chi at Washington State University Vancouver

Undergraduate honors thesis advisor

Antonio Garcia, Marital Conflict and Aggression: Child Affect and Family Functioning, 2000- 2001.

Brian Ellis, Male University Students’ Experiences with Child Sexual Abuse, 2000- 2000.

Kara Stolsig, Intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting and physical abuse.

2001 – 2002.

Undergraduate honors thesis reader

Daniel Friend. The Role of Attachment and Dissociation in the Intergenerational Transmission of Abuse. 2003-2004.

Faculty Search Committee, Family Studies Department, University of New Hampshire, 2005.

Graduate Admissions Committee, Psychology Department, University of Oregon, 2000-01.

Development and Psychopathology Undergraduate Training Committee, Psychology Department, University of Oregon, June, 2000- June, 2001.

Court Appointed Special Advocate, for abused and neglected children, 2002 – 2004.

Professional Memberships

American Psychological Association, Div. 35 and 56

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

Society for Research in Child Development

Last update: 2.1.2008

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