Ronald is currently involved in a gender-based violence study of women in Uganda, Africa. This study is led by an MSU faculty from the department of psychiatry together with a team of collaborators in Uganda. It is a quantitative pilot study where 100 teenage mothers between the ages of 13-19 in rural Eastern Uganda were interviewed about their experiences with physical and sexual violence, pregnancy-related stigma, and psychological distress. Findings from the analysis indicated that teenage mothers experience tremendous amount of physical and sexual violence, as well as, pregnancy-related stigma, especially from their family members and neighbors.
As an active couple and family therapist, Ronald is also interested in researching couple and family interventions that fit the nature of couple and family problems in Africa. He is currently lead author on a paper entitled, “Expanding our international reach; the development of systemic family therapy in Africa; past, future, and current trends.” Further, he is also interested in research on how trauma impacts parenting practices specifically, the attachment bonds between parents and their children as well, the couple relationships.
