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Faculty by area of expertise 
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Barbara J. Myers
Associate professor and director of Developmental Division
Contact information
Phone: (804) 828-6752
E-mail: bmyers@vcu.edu
Education
Ph.D. (1981) Temple University
Program affiliation
Developmental Psychology
Research and applied interests
My current research is with two groups of high-risk children — children with disabilities and their families, and children and families affected by incarceration. I am interested in the pressures that parents of children with disabilities experience, including how families make treatment/therapy choices for their children, especially children in the autism spectrum. I also conduct research with children of incarcerated mothers and their kin's caregivers, with special attention to factors that bolster resiliency. I work every summer, along with my students, with these children at a camp, where we conduct research in between swimming and archery and other outdoor pursuits. I was originally an infancy/early childhood researcher and still maintain these interests, especially in regard to young children with special needs.
Selected publications
Mackintosh, V.H., & Goin-Kochel, R.P., & Myers, B.J. (in press). Sources of Information and Support Used by Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal on Developmental Disabilities.
Goin-Kochel, R.P., Mackintosh, V.H., & Myers, B.J. (in press). How Many Doctors Does It Take to Make an Autism-Spectrum Diagnosis? Autism.
Goin-Kochel, R.P. & Myers, B.J. (2005). The congenital vs. regressive onset of autism and parents’ beliefs about causes. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20 (3), 169-179.
Mackintosh, V.H., Myers, B.J., & Kennon, S.S. (in press). Children of incarcerated mothers and their kinship caregivers: Factors affecting the quality of their relationship. Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Amlund Hagen, K., Myers, B.J., & Mackintosh, V.H. (2005). Hope, social support, and behavioral problems in at-risk children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75 (2), 0-00.
Recent/current courses taught at VCU
- Child Psychology, undergraduate level
- Lifespan Developmental Psychology, undergraduate level
- Parenting, undergraduate level
- Developmental Processes Seminar, graduate level
- Research Methods in Developmental Psychology, graduate level
- Infant Behavior and Development, graduate level
- Parenting, graduate level
- Teaching of Psychology, graduate level
| Recent grants or awards |
| 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.” |
| 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. |