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Megan Haselschwerdt

Associate Professor, Director of the Family Violence Across the Lifespan Research Team

Biography

Megan Haselschwerdt is an Associate Professor in Child and Family Studies. Along with her research team of graduate and undergraduate students and faculty collaborators, she studies intimate partner violence (IPV) from the perspective of women, children exposed to violence in their family of origin, and social service providers working with women and children. 

Two Current Projects:

  • REVEAL: Real Experiences from Violence to Empowerment Across all Levels. Drs. Megan Haselschwerdt and Gregory Stuart in Psychology, along with two external researchers and five community agencies, received funding to study the experiences of intimate partner violence survivors across the socioeconomic spectrum to better understand these women's diverse help-seeking and disclosure decisions and experiences. Data collection finished in summer 2020.
  • Y'ALL: Young Adults Live and Learn. This project focuses on the experiences of young adults who were exposed to father-to-mother marital violence while they were growing up. There is three waves of the project: in-depth qualitative interviews with 25 young adults, an online survey of approximately 150 young adults, and in-depth qualitative interviews with 13 young adults to date. The purpose of this project is to understand the diversity of violence-exposed youths' experiences to shine on their struggles as well as resilience.

(Currently accepting new graduate students)


Research

  • Intimate partner violence
  • Children and adolescents' exposure to intimate partner violence
  • Affluent/professional women’s experiences with intimate partner violence
  • Help-seeking, disclosure, and coping in the context of intimate partner violence
  • Qualitative and mixed methods research designs

Education

  • Ph.D., Human and Community Development, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (2013)
  • M.S., Human and Community Development, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (2009)
  • B.S., Psychology, Indiana University-Bloomington (2007)

Curriculum Vitae


Awards and Recognitions

  • Chancellor's Excellence in Advising, 2021, University of Tennessee
  • Chancellor's Grant for Faculty Research, 2018, University of Tennessee
  • Best Student/New Professional Abstract, 2018, National Council on Family Relations, Research & Theory Section

Publications

Selected recent publications (*denotes student co-authors)

Haselschwerdt, M. L., Carlson*, C., & Hlavaty*, K. (2021). Romantic relationship trajectories: A qualitative analysis of young adults exposed to marital violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(7-9), 3065-3092. doi:10.1177/0886260518771679

Haselschwerdt, M. L., Maddox*, L., & Hlavaty*, K. (2020). Fathering and the father-child relationship in the context of domestic violence. Family Relations, 69, 335-350. Doi: 10.1111/fare.12406 

Haselschwerdt, M. L., Hardesty, J. L., Park,* S. Y., & Ward*, J. (2019). Civil court responses to intimate partner violence and child custody: The role of custody evaluators. In R. Fleury-Steiner, M. K. Hefner, S. L. Miller (Eds.), Civil court responses to intimate partner violence (pp. 115-133). San Diego, CA: Cognella 

Hardesty, J. L., Haselschwerdt, M. L., & Crossman, K. A. (2019). Qualitative research on interpersonal violence: Guidance for early career scholars. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34 (23-24), 4794-4816. doi: doi.org/10.1177/0886260519871532

Haselschwerdt, M. L., Savasuk-Luxton*, R., & Hlavaty*, K. (2019). A methodological review and critique of the “intergenerational transmission of violence.” Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20(2), 168-182. doi: 10.1177/1524838017692385

Haselschwerdt, M. L., Hlavaty*, K., Carlson, C.*, Schneider, M.*, Maddox, L.*, & Skipper, M*. (2019). Heterogeneity within domestic violence exposure: Young adults' retrospective experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(7), 1512–1538. doi: 10.1177/0886260516651625    

Haselschwerdt, M. L., & Hardesty, J. L. (2017). Managing secrecy and disclosure of domestic violence in affluent communities. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79(2), 556-570. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12345


Contact Information