Dr. Karina Shreffler is a sociologist and demographer with a strong record of research on the psychosocial consequences of social stressors such as trauma exposure and childhood adversity for perinatal and reproductive health, mental health, and health behaviors including substance use and medical help-seeking. She has extensive experience analyzing large, publicly-available datasets and with conducting community-based research with vulnerable populations including adolescents, firefighters and factory workers, and pregnant women from medically underserved communities and those with substance-exposed pregnancies. She is currently contact MPI of an NICHD-funded U54 Center of Excellence on Maternal Health Research, the Center for Indigenous Resilience, Culture, and Maternal Health Equity (CIRCLE). She also collaborates on maternal health studies funded by NIDA and NIGMS.
Education:
Dr. Shreffler received a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Oklahoma State University, a Masters of Arts in Sociology from the Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. in Sociology and Demography (dual-title) from the Pennsylvania State University.
Clinical/Research Interests:
- Social stressors (trauma, ACEs, food insecurity, etc.) and disparities (rural/urban, racial/ethnic, socioeconomic)
- Fertility/pregnancy intentions including ambivalence
- Fertility barriers (infertility, pregnancy loss, non-contraceptive sterilization, health problems)
- Perinatal health (pregnancy complications, health behaviors including prenatal substance use)
- Birth outcomes (birth complications, birth trauma, NICU, infant ACEs, postpartum depression)
- Mental health and well-being (depression, maternal-infant bonding, substance use behaviors, couple relationship quality, sexual satisfaction, mindfulness, and resilience)
Select Honors and Accomplishments:
- 2024 Regents’ Award for Superior Research, University of Oklahoma Board of Regents
- 2024 Program Conference Chair, National Council on Family Relations
- 2019 Regents Distinguished Research Award, OSU, Stillwater
- 2019 Faculty Teaching Fellow, OSU, Stillwater
- 2017 President's Fellows Research Award, OSU, Stillwater
- 2017 President's Outstanding Research Award, OSU, Tulsa
- 2012 President's Outstanding Teaching Award, OSU, Tulsa