Washington University in Saint Louis

Washington University in St. Louis News & Information > Faculty Experts at Washington University in St. Louis >

Curtis McMillen

URL: http://news-info.wustl.edu/sb/page/normal/91.html

Media Assistance:

Jessica Martin
Director, News & Information for the School of Law and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work
jessica_martin@wustl.edu
(314) 935-5251

Professor of Social Work

Expertise: child welfare, foster care system, traumatic stress, mental health services, HIV, post traumatic stress disorder

Bio:
McMillen
Curtis McMillen, associate director of the Center for Mental Health Services Research, has two primary substantive areas of expertise: older youth in the foster care system and coping with traumatic stress. He is the principal investigator on aNIMH funded study following older youth in the foster care system and works with Wendy Auslander and others on her HIV prevention study with older youth in the foster care system.

WUSTL Contact Information:
Work:(314) 935-7517
Fax:(314) 935-5182
E-mail:cmcmille@gwbmail.wustl.edu
Address:One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1196
St. Louis, MO 63130

Education:


News Stories & Tip Sheets:

Showing 1 Stories.
Teens in foster care

Foster youth desire college, study shows, but face roadblocks to learning (http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/452.html)

Oct. 2, 2003 --
Foster care teens have a desire to attend college.
Mary Butkus/WUSTL Photo
Foster care teens have a desire to attend college, study shows.
Download
A solid education is considered the foundation for a productive future, but for teens in foster care, education beyond high school is rarely a reality. In fact, a Westat study found that only 44 percent of 18-year-olds leaving the independent living program of the foster care system completed high school. But despite common thought, this dismal percentage is not due to a lack of educational aspirations among teens in foster care. According to a recent study at the George Warren Brown (GWB) School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, a surprisingly high percentage — 70 percent — of teens in the foster care system have a desire to attend college.



Showing 1 Stories.

Additional Background: McMillen's particular interest in the traumatic stress field is on the positive by-products of negative life experiences. He has a NIMH funded study examining this issue with motor vehicle crash survivors and has examined this phenomenon in prior studies with disaster survivors, disaster workers, persons with spinal cord injury, women sexually abused as children and substance abusers.

His articles on the positive by-products of acute and chronic stress, PTSD, and older youths in foster care have been selected for several journals, including the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Social Work Research, and the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

Recent Publications

* McMillen, J.C., Howard, M.O., Nower, L. & Chung, S. Positive By-Products of the Struggle with Chemical Dependency. (2001). Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 20, 69-79.

* McMillen, J.C.; North, C.S.; & Smith, E.M. (2000). What Parts of PTSD are Normal: Intrusion, Avoidance, or Hyperarousal? Data From the Northridge, California Earthquake, Journal of Traumatic Stress 13, 57-75.

* McMillen, J.C. (1999). Better For It: How People Benefit From Adversity, Social Work, 44, 455-468.

* McMillen, J.C. & Tucker, J. (1999). The Status of Older Adolescents at Exit From Out-of-home Care, Child Welfare 78, 339-360.

* McMillen, J.C. & Fisher, R. (1998). The Perceived Benefit Scales: Measuring Perceived Positive Life Changes After Negative Events, Social Work Research 22, 173-187.

* McMillen, J.C.; Smith, E.M.; & Fisher, R. (1997). Perceived Benefit and Mental Health After Three Types of Disaster, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 65, 733-739.

Affiliations, Associations, Consultation

* International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies

* Council on Social Work Education


Related Information


Related Links:
•McMillen's Web page (http://gwbweb.wustl.edu/Faculty/FullTime/Pages/CurtisMcMillen.aspx)

Related Groups: