Research Interests
My current research is with two groups of high-risk children — children with autism and their families, and children and families affected by incarceration. I am interested in the pressures and decisions that parents of children with disabilities experience—especially children in the autism spectrum—including how families make treatment/therapy choices for their children. My grad students and former grad students and I are pursuing this with both large sample online studies and qualitative interview studies.
I am also involved with children and families experiencing incarceration. I am Chair of the Board of Juvenile Justice for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and in that capacity lead a board that oversees the policies and practices of juvenile correctional centers, detention facilities, and group homes across the state. I also conduct research with children of incarcerated mothers, with special attention to factors that bolster resiliency or that contribute to problem behavior. I work every summer, along with my students, with these children at a camp, where we conduct our research in between the swimming and archery and campfires. I was originally an infancy/early childhood researcher and still maintain these interests, especially in regard to young children with special needs. My special joy is working with my graduate students, who are the best in the world, at least in my eyes.
Selected Publications
Christon, L. M., Mackintosh, B. J., & Myers, B. J. (2010). Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments by parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4, 249-259.
Lotze, G. M., Ravindran, N., & Myers, B. J. (2010). Moral emotions, emotion selfregulation,
callous-unemotional traits, and problem behavior in children of incarcerated mothers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 702-713.
Kiefer, R. P., Worthington, E. L., Myers, B. J., Kliewer, W. L., Berry, J. W., Davis, D. E., Miller, A. J., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Hunter, J. L. (in press). Training parents in forgiving and reconciling. American Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 32-39.
Myers, B. J., Mackintosh, V. H., & Goin-Kochel, R. P. (2009). “My greatest joy and my greatest heartache:” Parents’ own words on how having a child in the autism spectrum has affected their lives and their families’ lives. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3 (3), 670-684.
Goin-Kochel, R. P., Mackintosh, V. H., & Myers, B. J. (2009). Parental reports on the efficacy of treatments and therapies for their children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3 (2), 528-537.
Recent Courses Taught at VCU
- Child Psychology, undergraduate level
- Lifespan Developmental Psychology, undergraduate level
- Parenting, graduate and undergraduate level
- Developmental Processes Seminar, graduate level
- Research Methods in Developmental Psychology, graduate level
- Infant Behavior and Development, graduate level
Recent Grants
Parenting Children of Promise: This project funds the teaching of parent education to inmates in Virginia’s state prisons. Three Developmental graduate students, under the direct supervision of a former Developmental student, teach a 12-week parenting education program to some very grateful mothers and fathers who are locked away from their children but still love them and want to do the best parenting they can do from the “inside.” 2004-Present.
Youth in Corrections: This grant supports an undergraduate service learning course on juvenile justice. The adjunct professor, a lawyer, teaches about youthful offenders and how the juvenile justice system works. A graduate student supervises the undergraduate students as they provide weekly tutoring services to the young men who are incarcerated in juvenile correctional facilities. 1998-Present.