Courtenay Cavanaugh, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology– San Francisco, an APA-accredited program after completing an APA-accredited internship at Bellevue Hospital/New York University. Dr. Cavanaugh completed two postdoctoral fellowships, both of which were funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and focused on substance abuse prevention and drug dependence epidemiology, at Yale and Johns Hopkins Universities. She joined the faculty at Rutgers University—Camden in 2010.

Dr. Cavanaugh’s research examines the impact of violence on women’s health including risk for psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, suicide, and HIV/STIs. She seeks to inform, adapt, and implement interventions to improve the health of women affected by interpersonal violence as well as improve trauma-related intervention implementation, dissemination, and sustainability. Her lead author publications are in psychiatry, suicide, violence/trauma/abuse, and HIV/women’s health journals. Her professional contributions include the following:

1) Advancing HIV Prevention Implementation Science for Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence

Cavanaugh, C.E. & Ward, K. (2021). HIV/STI prevention interventions for women who have experienced intimate partner violence: A systematic review and look at whether the interventions were designed for dissemination. AIDS& Behavior, 25, 3605-3616.

Cavanaugh, C.E.*Harvey, J., Alexander, K.A., Saraczewski, S., & Campbell, J.C. (2021). Assessing domestic violence shelter workers views and practices pertaining to HIV prevention services for women residing in domestic violence shelters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36, 3964-3981.

Cavanaugh, C.E., Campbell, J.C., Whitt, V., & Wingood, G. (2020). Pilot test of an adapted, evidence-based intervention for preventing HIV for women residing in domestic violence shelters. Violence Against Women, 76, 771-783.

Cavanaugh, C.E.,Campbell, J.C., Braxton, N., Harvey, J., & Wingood, G. (2016). Adapting an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention for women in domestic violence shelters. [Special Issue: Interventions for Violence]. Psychology of Violence, 6, 469-477.

Cavanaugh, C.E.,*Mial, K., & Tulloch, D. (2016). Assessing and mapping the availability of the female condom in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. AIDS & Behavior, 20, 2845-2849.

2) Developing a Novel Model for Advancing Sexual Assault Education and Prevention on Campus that May be Used Nationwide

Cavanaugh, C.E. (2019). A novel model for advancing student learning and sexual assault prevention on campus. Teaching of Psychology, 46, 306-311.

Covered in the April 2022 Issue of the Monitor on Psychology (download PDF)

https://news.camden.rutgers.edu/2022/04/rutgerscamden-professor-heightens-awareness-of-sexual-assault-and-violence-prevention/

https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/opinion/readers/2018/09/27/when-brett-kavanaugh-hearing-rutgers-camden-takecare-college-education-include-sex-assault-awareness/1439729002/

https://news.camden.rutgers.edu/2018/03/professor-and-her-students-pioneer-sexual-assault-prevention-and-awareness-program-on-campus/

https://www.insidehighered.ttps://news.camden.rutgers.edu/2018/03/professor-and-her-students-pioneer-sexual-assault-prevention-and-awareness-program-on-campus/com/quicktakes/2020/01/27/psychology-students-train-bystanders

3) Applying Latent Class Analysis to Inform the Tailoring of Interventions for Abused Women

Cavanaugh, C.E., Petras, H., & Martins, S.S. (2015). Gender-specific profiles of adverse childhood experiences, past year mental and substance use disorders, and their associations among a national sample of adults in the United States. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50: 1257-1266.

Cavanaugh, C.E., Martins, S., Petras, & Campbell, J.C. (2013) Mental disorders associated with subpopulations of women affected by violence and abuse. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26, 459-466. 

Cavanaugh, C.E., Messing, J.T., Petras, H., Fowler, B., LaFlair, L., Agnew, J., Fitzgerald, S., Bolyard, R., & Campbell, J. C. (2012). Patterns of violence against women: A latent class analysis. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 4, 169-176.

4) Examining the Impact of Violence on Women’s Suicidal Behaviors

Cavanaugh, C.E.& Wismar, A. (2023). Examining whether the impact of different types of interpersonal violence and mental disorders on attempted suicide is greater for bisexual women. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. Advance Online Publication.

Cavanaugh, C.E., Messing, J.T., *Eyzerovich, E., & Campbell, J.C.(2015). Ethnic differences in correlates of suicidal behavior among women seeking help for intimate partner violence. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 36, 257-266. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000321

Cavanaugh, C.E., Messing, J.T., Del-Colle, M., O’Sullivan, C., & Campbell, J. C. (2011). Prevalence and correlates of suicidal behavior among adult female victims of intimate partner violence. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 41, 372-383. doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278x.2011.00035.x

5). Examining the Impact of Posttraumatic Stress and Dissociation on Women/Girl’s Sexual Risk & Related Behavior 

Cavanaugh, C.E. & *Kapij, A. (2020). A brief report on the association between dissociation during sex and condom use self-efficacy among women residing in domestic violence shelters. International Journal of Sexual Health, 32, 171-176. DOI: 10.1080/19317611.2020.1749209 

Cavanaugh, C.E. (2013). Brief Report: The influence of posttraumatic stress on unprotected sex among sexually active adolescent girls and boys involved in the child welfare system of the United States. Journal of Adolescence, 36, 835-837. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.07.004

Cavanaugh, C.E., Hansen, N., & Sullivan, T.P. (2010). HIV sexual risk behavior among low-income women experiencing intimate partner violence: The role of posttraumatic stress disorder. AIDS and Behavior, 14, 318-327. doi: 10.1007/s10461-009-9623-1

6) Increasing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

Cavanaugh, C.E., & Nelson, T. (2022). A national study of the influence of adverse childhood experiences on depression among Black adults in the United States. Journal of Affective Disorders, 311, 523-529.

Cavanaugh, C.E. & Green, K. (2020). Training faculty search committees to improve racial/ethnic diversity and inclusion in hiring. [Special Issue: State of Progress in Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives across Industries and Contexts]. Consulting Psychology Journal: Research & Practice, 72, 263-274.

Cavanaugh, C.E. & Abu Hussein, Y. (2020). Do journals instruct authors to address sex and gender in psychological science? Research Integrity and Peer Review.

Cavanaugh, C.E., Messing, J.T., Amanor-Boadu, Y.E., O’Sullivan, C.S., Webster, D. W., & Campbell, J. C. (2014) Intimate partner sexual violence: A comparison of foreign- versus U.S.-born physically abused Latinas. Journal of Urban Health, 91, 122-135.

Cavanaugh, C.E., Floyd, L.J., Penniman, T.V., Hulbert, A., Gaydos, C., & Latimer, W.W. (2011). Examining racial/ethnic disparities in sexually transmitted diseases among recent heroin-using and cocaine-using women. Journal of Women’s Health, 20, 197-205.