Julia Kobulsky

Julia Kobulsky

  • College of Public Health

    Social Work

    Assistant Professor

Office Location

1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave Ritter Annex #551

Phone

215-204-2843

Biography

Julia M. Kobulsky, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Temple University. The overarching goal of her scholarship is to improve the health and well-being of children and families through the prevention of child maltreatment and the amelioration of its effects. Through her scholarship, Dr. Kobulsky strives to inform interventions and improve the effectiveness and equity of child welfare services and systems in meeting the needs of children and families.

Dr. Kobulsky’s research contributes understanding to the pathways from child maltreatment to health, with a focus on adolescence as a critical period of development. The careful consideration of the complex dimensions of child maltreatment (e.g., type, severity, chronicity, developmental timing, perpetrator identity) is a predominant feature of her scholarship. This has led to research focusing on the conceptualization and measurement of child maltreatment, particularly child neglect. This work seeks to shape the future directions of child neglect science by improving its conceptualization and measurement. Dr. Kobulsky’s federally funded research has additionally examined fathers as sources of risk and resilience in the context of child maltreatment.

Dr. Kobulsky’s work includes advanced statistical modeling of longitudinal data, measurement development and psychometrics, qualitative methods such as grounded theory, and community-engaged research strategies. An ongoing collaborative research project with the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance and the Philadelphia Department of Human Services aims to prevent the recurrence of child sexual abuse. Dr. Kobulsky leads the Child Maltreatment Prevention Lab.

Prior to joining Temple University’s School of Social Work in 2018, Dr. Kobulsky was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (2016-2018) and a doctoral training fellow of the Administration of Children, Youth and Families (2014-2016). She received her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences in 2016. Her passion for advancing children’s rights through her scholarship is rooted in her background conducting research and evaluation for a Cleveland-area nonprofit serving vulnerable children and families.

Education

  • PhD, Case Western Reserve University
  • MA, Sociology, The University of Illinois at Chicago
  • BA, Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago

Curriculum Vitae 

Google Scholar: Julia Kobulsky's Google Scholar profile

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

SSWG 5003

Foundations in Social Work Research

Graduate

SSWU 4306

Child Welfare Policy

Undergraduate

Selected Publications

  • Kobulsky, J., Schroeder, K., Schuler, B., Patrick, E.L., Lang, Y., & Wu, J. (2024). Developmental timing of child maltreatment in relation to obesity and substance use disorder in late adolescence. Psychol Violence, 14(1), pp. 24-33. United States. doi: 10.1037/vio0000495

  • Yoon, S., Yoon, D., Latelle, A., & Kobulsky, J.M. (2022). The Interaction Effects Between Father-Child Relationship Quality and Parent-perpetrated Maltreatment on Adolescent Behavior Problems. J Interpers Violence, 37(17-18), pp. NP15944-NP15969. United States. doi: 10.1177/08862605211021977

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Yoon, S.H., Wildfeuer, R., Simonsson, P., & Shin, S.H. (2022). The Effects of Father-Perpetration of Maltreatment on Adolescent Health Risk. J Interpers Violence, 37(15-16), pp. NP13092-NP13114. United States. doi: 10.1177/08862605211001484

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Villodas, M., Yoon, D., Wildfeuer, R., Steinberg, L., & Dubowitz, H. (2022). Adolescent Neglect and Health Risk. Child Maltreat, 27(2), pp. 174-184. United States. doi: 10.1177/10775595211049795

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Yoon, D., Villodas, M.T., Schuler, B.R., Wildfeuer, R., & Reyes, J.N. (2022). Neglect, Abuse, and Adaptive Functioning: Food Security and Housing Stability as Protective Factors for Adolescents. Children (Basel), 9(3). Switzerland. doi: 10.3390/children9030390

  • Yoon, S., Kobulsky, J.M., Shin, S.H., & Coxe, K. (2021). The roles of child maltreatment and fathers in the development of substance use in an at-risk sample of youth: A longitudinal study. Child Abuse Negl, 118, p. 105130. England. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105130

  • Schroeder, K., Schuler, B.R., Kobulsky, J.M., & Sarwer, D.B. (2021). The association between adverse childhood experiences and childhood obesity: A systematic review. Obes Rev, 22(7), p. e13204. England. doi: 10.1111/obr.13204

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Wildfeuer, R., Yoon, S., & Cage, J. (2021). Distinguishing Characteristics and Disparities in Child Protective Services-Investigated Maltreatment by Fathers. Child Maltreat, 26(2), pp. 182-194. United States. doi: 10.1177/1077559520950828

  • Schuler, B.R., Vazquez, C., Kobulsky, J.M., Schroeder, K., Tripicchio, G.L., & Wildfeuer, R. (2021). The early effects of cumulative and individual adverse childhood experiences on child diet: Examining the role of socioeconomic status. Prev Med, 145, p. 106447. United States. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106447

  • Cage, J., Kobulsky, J.M., McKinney, S.J., Holmes, M.R., Berg, K.A., Bender, A.E., & Kemmerer, A. (2021). The Effect of Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence on Children’s Academic Functioning: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Family Violence. doi: 10.1007/s10896-021-00314-0

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Dubowitz, H., & Xu, Y. (2020). The global challenge of the neglect of children. Child Abuse Negl, 110(Pt 1), p. 104296. England. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104296

  • Shin, S.H., Jiskrova, G.K., Yoon, S.H., & Kobulsky, J.M. (2020). Childhood maltreatment, motives to drink and alcohol-related problems in young adulthood. Child Abuse Negl, 108, p. 104657. England. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104657

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Goering, E.S., Lee, B.R., Gray, C., Moon, C., Bright, C.L., & Goodwin, B. (2020). Virtual coaching for child welfare workers–a tool to promote learning. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 14(4), pp. 458-476. doi: 10.1080/15548732.2019.1628867

  • Shin, S.H., Jiskrova, G.K., Yoon, S.H., & Kobulsky, J.M. (2020). Childhood maltreatment and problematic alcohol use in young adulthood: the roles of cognitive vulnerability to depression and depressive symptoms. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 46(4), pp. 438-446. England. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2020.1722684

  • Kobulsky, J.M., Villodas, M.T., & Dubowitz, H. (2020). Psychometric Properties of a Self-Report Measure of Neglect during Mid-Adolescence. Child Indicators Research, 13(2), pp. 533-550. doi: 10.1007/s12187-019-09683-x

  • Yoon, S., Dillard, R., Kobulsky, J., Nemeth, J., Shi, Y., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. (2020). The Type and Timing of Child Maltreatment as Predictors of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Trajectories. Subst Use Misuse, 55(6), pp. 937-946. England. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2020.1713819

  • Shin, S.H., Wang, X., Yoon, S.H., Cage, J.L., Kobulsky, J.M., & Montemayor, B.N. (2019). Childhood maltreatment and alcohol-related problems in young adulthood: The protective role of parental warmth. Child Abuse Negl, 98, p. 104238. England. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104238

  • Kobulsky, J.M. (2019). The prevalence of substance use in child welfare and general population eighth graders in the United States. Subst Use Misuse, 54(10), pp. 1618-1626. England. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2019.1594907