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Daphne C. Watkins
Letha A. Chadiha Collegiate Professor of Social Work, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work
Daphne C. Watkins is a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan who studies: (1) behavioral interventions for historically underrepresented groups; (2) mixed methods approaches to research in context; and (3) social impact leadership and organizational development.
Centering the strategies for success among historically marginalized groups, Professor Watkins’ research aims to maximize human potential, elevate social experiences, and provide equitable impact in communities and organizations. She is a community-practitioner interested in developing efficient tools and systems that activate positive, strengths-based outcomes for those most in need. Ultimately, she is committed to conducting and mobilizing cutting-edge, use-inspired research to address important social concerns.
Professor Watkins is the founding director of the Gender and Health Research (GendHR) Lab, the Certificate Program in Mixed Methods Research, and the award-winning Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) Project, which leverages technology to provide mental health education and social support for young Black men. She teaches graduate-level courses on research methods, social equity and equality, and community-based interventions. She also serves on committees and advisory boards aimed at improving men’s health equity both domestically and globally.
Research Interests/Focus
Behavioral interventions; mixed methods; leadership development; social impact; social innovations; organizations; underrepresented groups
Continuing Education
Contact Information
| Phone | Room | Address | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (734) 647-4072 | [email protected] | University of Michigan School of Social Work 1080 S. University Ann Arbor, MI 48109 |
Education
| Year | Degree | School | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | PhD | Health Education | Texas A&M University, College Station, TX |
| 2002 | BA | Anthropology & French | University of North Carolina, Wilmington |
Websites
| The Curtis Center |
| The Gender and Health Research (GendHR) Lab |
| The YBMen Project |
News
- Opozda, M. J., Galdas, P. M., Watkins, D. C., & Smith, J. A. (2024). Intersecting identities, diverse masculinities, and collaborative development: Considerations in creating online mental health interventions that work for men. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 129, 152443.
- Ahmed, Y., van Bakel, P. A. J., Hou, H., Sukul, D., Likosky, D. S., van Herwaarden, J. A., Patel, H. J., Watkins, D. C., & Thompson, M. P. (2023). Racial and ethnic disparities in diagnosis, management and outcomes of aortic stenosis in the medicare population. PloS ONE, 18(4), e0281811.
- Williams, E. G., Casanova, A., & Watkins, D. C. (2023). Black boys perceptions of depression and mental health: Findings from the YBMen Project. Social Problems.
- Watkins, D. C., Brown, B. R., Abelson, J. M., & Ellis, J. (2023). First-Generation Black College Men and the Value of Cohort-Based Programs: Addressing Inequities Through the YBMen Project. Health promotion with adolescent boys and young men of colour: Global strategies for advancing research, policy, and practice in context. Springer: New York, NY.
- Watkins, D. C. & Johnson, N. C. (2023). Advancing education research through mixed methods with existing data. In Tierney, R.J., Rizvi, F., Erkican, K. International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 12.
- Gerlach, L. B., Turnwald, M., Geczi, K., O’Neil, T., Watkins, D. C., Bynum, J. P. W., & Maust, D. T. (2023). Factors associated with benzodiazepine and antipsychotic prescribing in hospice: A qualitative study of hospice prescribers. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, S1525-8610 (23), 00397-3.
- Watkins, D. C. & Johnson, N. C. (2023). Integrating Secondary Data from Ethically and Racially Minoritized Groups in Mixed Methods Research. In C. Poth and T. Guetterman SAGE Handbook of MMR Designs, Section 4.
- Spolum, M., Lopez, W., Watkins, D. C., & Fleming, P. J. (2023). Reducing the harms of policing through alternative unarmed response teams. American Journal of Public Health, 113(S1), S37-S42.
- Smith, J. A., Watkins, D. C., & Griffith, D. M. (2023). Health promotion with adolescent boys and young men of colour: Global strategies for advancing research, policy, and practice in context. Springer: New York, NY.
- Cascino, T. M., Colvin, M., Lanfearb, D., Richards, B., Khalatbari, S., Mann, D. L., Taddei-Peters, W. C., Jeffriese, N., Watkins, D. C., Stewart, G. C., & Aaronson, K. D. (2022). Racial inequities in access to VAD and transplant persist after consideration for preferences for care: A report from the Registry Evaluation for Vital Information for VADs in Ambulatory Life (REVIVAL). Circulation: Heart Failure, 16(1),
- Varma, D. S., Samuels, E., Piatt, G., Watkins, D. C., Spiroff, M., Cottler, L., Gaxiola, S. A., & Murphy, S. L. (2022). Community health workers and promotoras' perspectives of a research best practice course: A focus group study. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 6(1), e137.
- Goodwill, J. R., Mattis, J., & Watkins, D. C. (2022). "I didn't know who to talk to": Black college men's sources and descriptions of social support. Psychology of Men and Masculinities, 23(2), 197-208.
- Cascino, T. M., Somanchi, S., Colvin, M., Chung, G. S., Brescia, A. A., Pienta, M., Thompson, M. P., Stewart, J. W., Sukul, D., Watkins, D. C., Pagani, F. D., Likosky, D. S., Aaronson, K. D., & McCullough, J. S. (2022). Racial and sex inequities in the use of and outcomes after left ventricular assist device implantation among medicare beneficiaries. Cardiology, 5(7), e2223080.
- Ribeiro Brown, B., Williams, E.-D. G., Abelson, J. M., Chandrakapure, A., & Watkins, D. C. (2022). An exploratory case study of the types of resources black boys use to support their mental health. Healthcare 2022, 10, 1082.
- Watkins, D. C. (2022). Secondary Data in Mixed Methods Research. In V.L. Plano-Clark and N. Ivankova Mixed Methods Research Series. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
- Burns, J. C., Reeves, J., Calvert, W. J., Adams, M., Ozuna-Harrison, R., Smith, M. J., Baranwalt, S., Johnson, K., Rodgers, C. R. R., & Watkins, D. C. (2021). Engaging young black males in reproductive health care: A review of the literature. American Journal of Men's Health, 15(6), 15579883211062024.
- Goodwill, J. R., Taylor, R. J., & Watkins, D. C. (2021). Everyday discrimination, depressive symptoms, and suicide ideation among African American men. Archives of Suicide Research, 25(1), 74-93.
- Anyiwo, N. A., Rowley, S., & Watkins, D. C. (2021). "They can’t take away the light": Hip-hop culture and Black youth’s racial resistance. Youth and Society, 54(4), 611-634.
- Watkins, D. C., Goodwill, J. R., Johnson, N. C., Casanova, A., Wei, T., Allen, J. O., Williams, E. G., Anyiwo, N., Jackson, Z., Talley, L. M., & Abelson, J. M. (2020). An online behavioral health intervention promoting mental health, manhood, and social support for Black men: The YBMen project. American Journal of Men’s Health, 14(4), 1-17.
- Smith, J. A., Watkins, D. C., & Griffith, D. M. (2020). Reducing health inequities facing boys and young men of colour in the United States. Health Promotion International, 36(5), 1508-1515.
- Allen, J. O., Watkins, D. C., Mezuk, B., Chatters, L. & Johnson-Lawrence, V. D. (2020). Mechanisms of racial health disparities: Evidence on relationships between coping and psychological and physiological stress responses from MIDUS II. Ethnicity and Disease, 30(4), 563-574.
- Smith, J. A., Griffith, D. M., White, A., Baker, P., Watkins, D. C., Drummond, M., & Semlow, A. (2020). COVID-19, equity and men’s health: Using evidence to inform future public health policy, practice and research responses in pandemics. International Journal of Men’s Social and Community Health, 3(1), e48-e64.
- Mezuk, B., Needham, B., Joiner, K., Watkins, D. C., Stoddard, S., Burgard, S., & Link, B. (2020). What elephant? Pedagogical approaches to addressing stigma attitudes toward mental disorders in undergraduate public health education. Pedagogy in Health Promotion.
- Leggett, A. N., Bugajski, B., Webster, B., Broderick, B., Watkins, D., Gitlin, L., & Kales, H. C. (2019). Style and substance: A qualitative characterization of dementia caregiving management styles. Innovation in Aging, 3(Suppl 1), S594-S595.
- Watkins, D. C. (2019). A light on the path and promise of Black men's mental health. Men and Masculinities, 22(5), 917-920.
- Allen, J. O., Watkins, D. C., Johnson-Lawrence, V. D., & Chatters, L. (2019). Mechanisms of racial health disparities: Evidence on coping and cortisol from MIDUS II. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
- Watkins, D. C. & Goodwill, J. R. (2019). Men's trauma, depression, and suicide in adulthood. In D. R. Griffith, M. A. Bruce, & R. J. Thorpe (Eds.), Men's Health Equity. London, UK: Taylor & Francis Publishers.
- Watkins, D. C. (2019). Improving the living, learning, and thriving of Black men: A conceptual framework for projection and reflection. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(8), 1331.
- Goodwill, J. R., Anyiwo, N., Williams, E. G., Johnson, N. C., Mattis, J. S. & Watkins, D. C. (2019). Media representations of popular culture figures and the construction of Black masculinities. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 20(3), 288-298.
- Mouzon, D. M., Watkins, D. C., Perry, R., Simpson, T. M., & Mitchell, J. A. (2019). Intergenerational mobility and goal-striving stress among black Americans: The roles of ethnicity and nativity status. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(2), 393-400.
- Allen, J. O., Watkins, D. C., Johnson-Lawrence, V. D., Geronimus, A. T., & Chatters, L. (2019). Mechanisms of racial health disparities: Evidence on coping and cortisol from MIDUS II. American Journal of Men's Health.
- Goodwill, J. R., Johnson, N. C., & Watkins, D. C. (2019). Adherence to masculine norms and depressive symptoms in young Black men. Social Work, 65(3), 235-244.
- Goodwill, J. R., Watkins, D. C., Johnson, N. C., & Allen, J. O. (2018). An exploratory study of coping among Black college men. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(5), 538-549.
- Watkins, D. C., & Goodwill, J. R. (2018). Men's health. In K. L. Nadal, S. L. Massula, & D. P. Rivera (Eds.), SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender (1156-1160). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Allen, J. O., Watkins, D. C., Chatters, L. M., & Johnson-Lawrence, V. D. (2018). Does coping matter? Coping and chronic physiological distress among aging U.S. Black and White men. Innovation in Aging, 2(1), 668-669.
- Hawkins, J., Watkins, D. C., Allen, J. O., & Mitchell, J. A. (2018). Identifying subgroups of Black, Hispanic and Asian men at increased risk for comorbid depression and overweight or obesity. Preventative Medicine Reports, 12, 268-270.
- Watkins, D. C. & Johnson, N. C. (2018). Age and gender differences in psychological distress among African Americans and Whites: Findings from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey. Healthcare, 6(1), 1-11.
- Anyiwo, N., Banales, J., Rowley, S., Watkins, D. C., & Richards-Schuster, K. (2018). Sociocultural influences on the sociopolitical development of African American youth. Child Development Perspectives, 12(3), 165-170.
- Anyiwo, N., Bañales, J., Rowley, S., Watkins, D. C., & Richards-Schuster, K. (2018). Sociocultural influences on the sociopolitical development of Black Youth. Child Developmental Perspectives, 12(3), 165-170.
- Wharton, T., Watkins, D. C., Mitchell, J. A., & Kales, H. C. (2018). Older, church-going African-Americans’ attitudes and expectations about formal depression care. Research on Aging, 40(1), 3-26.
- Werner, N. E., Stanislawski, B., Marx, K., Watkins, D. C., Kobayashi, M., Kales, H. C., & Gitlin, L. N. (2017). Getting what they need when they need it: Identifying barriers to information needs of family caregivers to manage dementia-related behavioral symptoms. Applied Clinical Informatics, 8, 191-205.
- Redmond, M. L., Watkins, D. C., Broman, C., Abelson, J. M., & Neighbors, H. W. (2017). Ethnic and gender differences in help seeking for substance disorders among Black Americans. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(2), 308-316.
- Watkins, D. C. (2017). Rapid and rigorous qualitative data analysis: The RADaR technique for applied research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1).
- Guetterman, T. C., Creswell, J. W., Wittink, M., Barg, F. K., Castro, F. G., Dahlberg, B., Watkins, D. C., Deutsch, C., & Gallo, J. J. (2017). Development of a self-rated mixed methods skills Assessment: The NIH mixed methods research training program for the Health Sciences. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Sciences, 37(2), 76-82.
- Kales, H. C., Gitlin, L. N., Stanislawski, B., Marx, K., Turnwald, M., Watkins, D. C., & Lyketsos, C. G. (2017). WeCareAdvisor™: The development of a caregiver-focused, web-based program to assess and manage behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders: An International Journal.
- Watkins, D. C., Allen, J. O., Goodwill, J. R., & Noel, B. (2017). Strengths and weaknesses of the young black men, masculinities, and mental health (YBMen) Facebook Project. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 87(4), 392-401.
- Akinyemi, E., Watkins, D. C., Kavanagh, J., Johnson-Lawrence, V. D., Lynn, S., & Kales, H. C. (2017). A qualitative comparison of DSM depression criteria to language used by older church-going African Americans. Aging and Mental Health, 14, 1-7.
- Gerlach, L., Kavanagh, J., Watkins, D., Chiang, C., Kim, H., & Kales, H. (2017). With a little help from my friends?: Racial and gender differences in the role of social support in later-life depression medication adherence. International Psychogeriatrics, 1-9.
- Barry, A. E., Jackson, Z., Watkins, D. C., Goodwill, J. R., & Hunte, H. E. (2016). Alcohol use and mental health conditions among black college males: Do those attending postsecondary minority institutions fare better than those at primarily white institutions? American Journal of Men’s Health, 11(4), 962-968.
- Jäggi, L. J., Mezuk, B., Watkins, D. C., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). The relationship between trauma, arrest and incarceration history among black Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life. Society and Mental Health, 6(3), 187-206.
- Watkins, D., Patton, D., & Miller, R. (2016). Introduction to the special issue on the intersections of race, gender, and class in the wake of a national crisis: The state of black boys and men Post-Ferguson. Journal of Men's Studies, 24(2), 119–129.
- Cook, S. H., Watkins, D. C., Calebs, B. J., & Wilson, P. A. (2016). Attachment orientation and sexual risk behavior among young gay and bisexual black men. Psychology and Sexuality, 7(3), 177-196.
- Hawkins, J., Watkins, D. C., Bonner, T., & Thompson, T. L. (2016). Racial/ethnic differences in predictors of mental health treatment in person with comorbid diabetes and depression. Social Work and Public Health, 31(6), 511-619.
- Jäggi, L. J., Mezuk, B., Watkins, D. C., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). The relationship between trauma, arrest and incarceration history among black Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life. Society and Mental Health, 6(3), 187-206.
- Jefferson, O., Watkins, D., & Mitchell, J. (2016). The retrospective roles of black women in the coddling of black boys. Journal of Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in Social Work, 25(3), 173-192.
- Thompson, T. L., Watkins, D. C., & Johnson-Lawrence, V. D. (2016). Masculinity, socioeconomic status, and self-rated health among African American men. Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men, 4(2), 61-81.
- Watkins, D. C. & Hawkins, J. (2015). Qualitative evidence in health promotion. In K. Olson, R. Young, & I. Z. Schultz (Eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Health Research for Evidence-Based Practice. New York, NY: Springer.
- Watkins, D. C., Hawkins, J., & Mitchell, J. A. (2015). The discipline's escalating whisper: Social work and black men's mental health. Research on Social Work Practice, 25(2), 240-250.
- Assari, S., Watkins, D. C., & Caldwell, C. H. (2015). Race attribution modifies the association between daily discrimination and major depressive disorder among blacks: The role of gender and ethnicity. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
- Assari, S., WAtkins, D. C., & Caldwell, C. H. (2015). Race attribution modifies the association between daily discrimination and major depressive disorder among blacks: The role of gender and ethnicity. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 5(2), 200-210.
- Hawkins, J., Watkins, D. C., Kieffer, E., Spencer, M., Espitia, N., Sinco, B., & Anderson, M. (2015). Structural and psychosocial factors that influence health care use and self-management for African American and Latino men with type 2 diabetes: An exploratory study. Journal of Men's Studies, 23(2), 161-176.
- Thompson, T., Mitchell, J., Johnson-Lawrence, V., Watkins, D. & Modlin, C. (2015). Self-rated health and health care access associated with African American men's health self-efficacy. American Journal of Men's Health.
- Watkins, D. C., & Gioia, D. (2015). Mixed methods research. Pocket Guides to Social Work Research Methods Series. Oxford University Press.
- Watkins, D. C., Wharton, T., Mitchell, J. A., Matusko, N., & Kales, H. (2015). Perceptions and receptivity of non-spousal family support: A mixed methods study of psychological distress among older, church-going African American men. Journal of Mixed Methods Research.
- Mitchell, J., Watkins, D. C., J. & Shires, D., Chapman, R., & Burnett, J. (2015). Clues to the blues: predictors of self-reported mental and emotional health among older African American men. American Journal of Men's Health.
- Piette, J. D., Valenstein, M., Eisenberg, D., Fetters, M. D., Sen, A., Saunders, D., Watkins, D., & Aikens, J. E. (2015). Rationale and methods of a trial to evaluate a depression telemonitoring program that includes a patient-selected support person. Journal of Clinical Trials, 5(1), 1-8.
- Hawkins, J., Watkins, D. C., Kieffer, E., Spencer, M., Espitia, N., & Anderson, M. (2015). Psychosocial factors that influence health care use and self-management for African American and Latino men with type 2 diabetes: An exploratory study. Journal of Men's Studies, 23(2), 161-176. Sage Publications.
- Watkins, D. C., Assari, S., & Johnson-Lawence V. D. (2015). Race and ethnic differences in comorbid psychiatric disorders with chronic medical conditions. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 2(3), 385-394.
- Watkins, D. C., & Gioia, D. (2015). Mixed Methods Research: Pocket Guides to Social Work Research Methods Series. New York: Oxford University Press.