Welcome to the Center for Research on Health Disparities (C-RHD)! As Founding Director of C-RHD and Professor of Public Health in the Department of Applied Health Sciences in the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington I invite you to contact our Center for information on health disparities research activities, events and student opportunities at the IU-Bloomington campus.   

The Center’s mission is to foster research and education on topics related to social disparities affecting well-being and longevity with the aim of deepening our understanding of how inequality subverts health.  Faculty and students in the School of Public Health study such issues using various frameworks. Some recent Center-supported studies have addressed the following questions:

  • What explains racial differences in infant mortality in Indiana?
  • What are the barriers to breastfeeding among African-American mothers
  • How does gender inequality translate to increased HIV rates among young women in South Africa?
  • How does domestic violence affect women’s reproductive health?

About the Founding Director:

Professor McCloskey holds her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and has held faculty positions at a number of institutions including the Harvard University School of Public Health and the University of Illinois College of Applied Health Science.  Her research program examines the long-term health consequences of gender-based abuse experienced by women and their children.  Professor McCloskey has collaborated on projects around the world including Mexico, Tanzania and most recently, South Africa.

Selected Papers

  • McCloskey, L.A. (2017) The intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment: Socio-ecological and psychological origins of maternal risk. In D. Teti (Ed) Parenting and Family Processes in Child Maltreatment and Intervention (Child Maltreatment Solutions Network) NY, NY: Springer Publishing.
  • McCloskey, L.A, Boonzaier, F., Steinbrenner, S. & Hunter, T. (2016) Prevention and intervention programs addressing intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa. Partner Abuse, 7, 277-315.
  • McCloskey, L.A., Doran, K., & Gerber, M. (2016) Intimate partner violence is associated with voluntary sterilization in women Journal of Women’s Health, V. 26 (1) DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2015.5595
  • McCloskey, L.A. (2013). The intergenerational transfer of mother-daughter risk for gender-based abuse. Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 41, 303-321.
  • Williams, C., Larsen, U., & McCloskey, L.A. (2010). The impact of childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence on sexually transmitted infections. Violence and Victims, 25 (6) 787-798.
  • Becker, K.B., Stuewig, J., & McCloskey L.A. (2009) Traumatic stress symptoms of women exposed to different forms of childhood victimization and Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Dec, 13: 111-128
  • McCloskey, L.A., Williams, C., & Larsen, U. (2005). Gender inequality and intimate partner violence in Tanzania. International Journal of Family Planning Perspectives, 31(3), 1-23.