Dr. Priscilla Blanton
Professor
My graduate training was in the field of counseling psychology with a strong cognate area in child and family studies. After taking my first class in family studies, I knew I had found my niche professionally! After thirty years of involvement in the field, I find it as interesting and stimulating as ever. Both intellectually and experientially, I believe that individuals can be understood most fully in the context of their families. My emphasis in terms of my scholarly work on families leans more toward the internal dynamics of family functioning, although I am very aware of the broader social context as it influences how families function. The theoretical perspective I have found most useful in understanding family functioning is Adlerian psychology. Through this lens, I have been particularly interested in how families experience stressful transitions and situations.
My earlier research was focused on work/family stressors. I was particularly interested in the ways in which gender could be used as an organizing construct for understanding how families balanced work/family demands. I have focused also on how the context of clergy families influenced the work-related stressors they experienced. Most of the research I conducted earlier in my career was based on a quantitative paradigm. Of great importance to me throughout my research endeavors has been the discovery of useful information about families that has clear implications for application.
More recently, I began to develop my skills as a qualitative researcher and to utilize the qualitative paradigm in my research efforts. I am currently conducting a phenomenological study of family caregiving to frail elders. The unit of analysis in this study is the family and multiple family members are being interviewed about their experiences with the caregiving process. Some of what I have learned is that the process of caring for frail elders is often a fulfilling and rewarding experience, although it is certainly demanding in many ways. Too often in scholarly work our emphasis has been on the problematic aspects of family experience which has given us an incomplete sense of the meaning of experiences to families.
Bruckman, M. & Blanton, P.W. (In press). Welfare-to-work single mothers’ perspectives on parent involvement in Head Start: Implications for parent-teacher collaboration. Early Childhood Education Journal.
Blanton, P. W. & Vandergriff- Avery, M. (2001). Marital therapy and marital power: Constructing narratives of sharing relational and positional power. Contemporary Family Therapy, 3, 295 – 308.
Agee, A., & Blanton, P.W. (2001). Families and the Future: Integrating theory and research on family caregiving and Alzheimer’s disease. Family Relations & Human Development/Family Economics & Resource Management Biennial Journal, 4, 20 – 29.
Roberts, L., & Blanton, P.W. (2001). AI always knew Mom and Dad loved me best: Experiences of only children. Journal of Individual Psychology, 2, 125- 140.
Yarbrough, D., & Blanton, P.W. (2000). Socio-demographic indicators of intervention program completion with the male court referred perpetrator of partner abuse. Journal of Criminal Justice, 28, 517-526.
Blanton, P. W. (2000). The Adlerian perspective in the context of contemporary marriages. Journal of Individual Psychology, 4, 411-418.
Carter, S. A., Morris, M.L., & Blanton, P.W. (2000). Couples' beliefs in myths about marriage and remarriage. Family Science Review, 13, 112-130.
Agee, A. L., & Blanton, P.W. (2000). Service providers modes of interacting with frail elders and their families: Understanding the context for caregiving interactions. Journal of Aging Studies, 14, 313-333.
Contact Information
1215 W. Cumberland Ave
421 Jessie Harris Building
Knoxville, TN
37996-1912
Phone: 865-974-6270
Email: pblanton@utk.edu
Contact CEHHS
335 Claxton Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718