Isha Metzger
Assistant Professor Psychology- Education
2015 Doctor of Philosophy, University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC
2011 Masters of Arts, University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC
2008 Bachelor of Arts, Georgia State University; Atlanta, GATraining
2021 Early Career Faculty Fellowship, City University of New York; New York City, NY
2016 – 2017 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Yale University; New Haven, CT
2015 – 2017 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center; Charleston, SC
2014 – 2015 Clinical Psychology Predoctoral Internship, Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston, SC
- Specializations
Community-Based Participatory Research; Health Disparities; Ethnicity and Culture; Treatment Modification; African American Youth Development; Racial Discrimination and Racial Socialization; Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; Interpersonal and Racial Trauma; Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD
- Biography
I am a first-generation American from Atlanta, Georgia by way of Sierra Leone, West Africa. I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Founder, and Director of The EMPOWER Lab, Owner of Cultural Concepts, LLC, a Certified Therapist in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), and I am the Mental Health expert for Salone Health, an organization dedicated to improving the health of Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad.
Research Interests
My research aims to improve evidence-based Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments through understanding risk factors (e.g., racial discrimination) and resilience factors (racial socialization) that affect Black youth. My research is also aimed at preventing engagement in risky behaviors (e.g., sexual activity, alcohol use, delinquency), emotional problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, PTSD, racial trauma) and problematic outcomes (e.g., STI/HIV exposure, unintended pregnancies) that result from stressful experiences. I am also engaged in translational research including the conceptualization, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of prevention programming aimed at reducing mental health and health disparities among African American youth.
- Publications
1. Gilmore, A. K., Moreland, A. D., Leone, R. M., Goodrum, N. M., Metzger, I. W., Are, F., & Lopez, C. (in press). Women-led research support groups to bolster success in academia during social and historic change. The Behavior Therapist.
2. Anderson, R., Jones, S. C. T., Metzger, I., Saleem, F., Anyiwo, N., Nisbeth, K., Bess, K., Resnicow, K., & Stevenson, H. (2021). Interrupting the pathway from discrimination to psychological outcomes: The contribution of racial worries and racial socialization competency. Child Development. http://doi.org/ 10.1111/cdev.13607
3. Anderson, R., Metzger, I., Applewhite, K., Sawyer, B., Jackson, W., Flores, S., McKenny, M., & Carter, R. (2020). Hands Up, Now What?: Black Families’ Reactions to Racial Socialization Interventions to Reduce Racial Stress for Black Youth. Journal of Youth Development. 93-109. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2020.755
4. Bountress, K. E., Gilmore, A.K., Metzger, I.W., Aggen, S.H., Tomko, R.L., Danielson, C.K., Williamson, V., Vladimirov, V., Ruggiero, K., & Amstadter, A.B. (2020). The impact of disaster exposure severity: Cascading effects across parental distress, adolescent PTSD symptoms, and parent-child conflict and communication. Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113293. PMCID: PMC7689632.
5. Ritchwood, T., Malo, V., Jones, C., Metzger, I., Atujuna, M., Marcus, R., Conserve, D., Handler, L., & Bekker, L. G. (2020). Healthcare retention and clinical outcomes among adolescents living with HIV after transition from pediatric to adult care: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09312-1. PMCID: PMC7398377.
6. Metzger, I., Anderson, R., Are, F., & Ritchwood, T. (2020). Healing interpersonal and racial trauma: Integrating Racial Socialization into TF-CBT for African American Youth. Child Maltreatment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559520921457. PMID: 32367729.
7. Metzger, I., Cooper, S., Griffin, C. B., Golden, A., Opara, I., & Ritchwood, T., (2020). Parenting Profiles of Academic and Racial Socialization: Associations with Academic Engagement and Perception of Academic Ability of African American Adolescents. Journal of School Psychology.82;36-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2020.07.001. PMID: 32988462.
8. Opara, I., Lardier Jr. D.T., Metzger, I., Herrera, A., Franklin, L., Garcia-Reid, & Reid R. J., (2020). “Bullets have no names”: A qualitative exploration of community trauma. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01764-8.
9. Jones, S. T., Anderson, R., & Metzger, I., (2020). “Standing in the Gap”: The continued importance of culturally competent therapeutic interventions for Black youth. Evidence-Based Practice in Child & Adolescent Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/23794925.2020.1796546.
10. Griffin, C. B., Gray, D., Hope, E., Metzger, I., & Henderson, D. X. (2020). Do Coping Responses and Racial Identity Promote School Engagement Among Black Youth? Using an Equity-Elaborated Social-Emotional Learning Lens. Urban Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920933346.
11. Salami, T., Lawson, E., & Metzger, I., (2020). The Impact of Microaggressions on African American College Students’ Worry about Their Future Employment: The Moderating Role of Campus Support and GPA. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000340. PMID: 32323997
12. Opara, I., Assan, M.A., Pierre, K., Gunn, J III., Metzger, I., Hamilton* J., & Arugu, E. (2020). Suicide among Black Children: An Integrated Model of the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide and Intersectionality Theory for Researchers & Clinicians. Journal of Black Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934720935641.
13. Griffin, C. B., Metzger, I., Halliday-Boykins, C., & Salazar, C. (2020). Racial Fairness, School Engagement, and Discipline Outcomes in African American High School Students: The Important Role of Gender. School Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1726810.
14. Henderson, D., Jones, J., McLeod, K., Jackson, K., Lunsford, A., & Metzger, I. (2020). A Phenomenological Study of Racial Harassment in School and Emotional Effects the Retrospective Accounts of Older Black Adolescents. The Urban Review. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00551-5.
15. Jones, S., Anderson, R., Gaskin-Wasson, A., Sawyer, B. Applewhite, K., & Metzger, I., (2020). From “Crib to Coffin”: Navigating Coping from Racism-Related Stress throughout the Lifespan of Black Americans. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 90(2), 267. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000430. PMID: 32105125
16. Cooper, S. M., Metzger, I., Georgeson, A., Golden, A. R., Burnett, M., & White, C. N. (2019). Communicative Support and Parental Knowledge among African American Residential Fathers: Longitudinal Associations with Adolescent Substance Use. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(12), 3433-3445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01525-2.
17. Stewart, R. W., Orengo-Aguayo, R., Wallace, M., Metzger, I. W., & Rheingold, A. A. (2019). Leveraging Technology and Cultural Adaptations to Increase Access and Engagement among Trauma-Exposed African American Youth: Exploratory Study of School-Based Telehealth Delivery of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519831380. PMID: 30827141.
18. Metzger, I., Salami, T., Carter, S., Halliday-Boykins, C. A., Anderson R. E., Jernigan, M. M., & Ritchwood, T. (2018). African American Emerging Adults’ Experiences with Racial Discrimination and Drinking Habits: The Moderating Roles of Perceived Stress. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000204. PMID: 29975077.
19. Williams, M. T., Metzger, I. W., Leins, C., & DeLapp, C. (2018). Assessing racial trauma within a DSM–5 framework: The Uconn Racial/Ethnic Stress & Trauma Survey. Practice Innovations, 3(4), 242-260. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000076.
20. Ritchwood, T., Metzger, I., Powell, T., Vander Schaff, E., Wynn, M., Zhou, W., Lin, F., Corbie-Smith, G., & Akers, A. (2018). How Does Pubertal Development Impact Caregiver-Adolescent Communication about Sex in Rural, African American Families? An Examination of Mediation Effects. Journal of Early Adolescence, 39(8), 1129-1153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431618806054.
21. Jaffe, A. E., Bountress, K. E., Metzger, I. W., Maples-Keller, J. L., Pinsky, H. T., George, W. H., & Gilmore, A. K. (2018). Student Engagement and Comfort During a Web-Based Personalized Feedback Intervention for Alcohol and Sexual Assault. Addictive Behaviors, 82, 23-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.02.020. PMID: 29477903.
22. Apatu, E., Hamadi, H., Abrams, J., Metzger, I., & Spaulding, A. (2018). Association between Hospital Community Services and County Population Health in the United States. Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy007. PMID: 29385498.
23. Walker, J. H., Bountress, K. E., Calhoun, C. D., Metzger, I. W., Adams, Z. W., Amstadter, A., Thomas, S. & Danielson, C. K. (2018). Impulsivity and Comorbid PTSD-Binge Drinking. Journal of Dual Diagnosis. https://doi.org/10.1080/15504263.2018.1439212. PMID: 29505396.
24. Golden, A. R., Griffin, C. B., Metzger, I., & Cooper, S. M. (2018). School Racial Climate and Academic Outcomes in African American Adolescents: The Protective Role of Peers. Journal of Black Psychology, 44, 47-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798417736685.
25. Neilson, E. C., Bird, E. R., Metzger, I., George, W. H., Norris, J., & Gilmore, A. K., (2018). Understanding Sexual Assault Risk Perception in College: Associations among Sexual Assault History, Drinking to Cope, and Alcohol Use. Addictive Behaviors, 78, 178-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.11.022. PMCID: PMC5783734.
26. Metzger, I., Blevins, C., Calhoun, C., Ritchwood, T., Gilmore, A., Stewart, R., Bountress, K. (2017). An Examination of the Impact of Maladaptive Coping on the Association between Stressor Type and Alcohol Use in College. Journal of American College Health, 65, 534-541. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2017.1351445. PMCID: PMC6134834.
27. Ritchwood, T.D., Powell, T. W., Metzger, I. W., Dave, G., Corbie-Smith, G., Atujuna, M., Vander Schaaf, E., Wynn, M., Lin, F., Zhou, W., & Akers, A.Y. (2017). Understanding the Relationship between Religiosity and Caregiver-Adolescent Communication about Sex within African-American Families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26, 2979-2989. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0810-9. PMCID: PMC5673470.
28. Griffin, C. B., Cooper, S. M., Metzger, I., Golden, A., & White, C. N. (2017). School Racial Climate and the Academic Achievement of African American High School Students: The Mediating Role of School Engagement. Psychology in the Schools, 54, 673-688. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22026.
29. Bountress, K., Metzger, I., Maples-Keller, J., & Gilmore, A. (2017). Reducing Sexual Risk Behaviors: Secondary Analyses from a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Brief Web-Based Alcohol Intervention for Underage, Heavy Episodic Drinking College Women, Addiction Research & Theory, 25:4, 302-309. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2016.1271416. PMCID: PMC5395250.
30. Metzger, I., Cooper, S. M., Ritchwood, T. D., Onyeuku, C., & Griffin, C. B. (2017). Profiles of African American College Students’ Alcohol Use and Sexual Behaviors: Associations with Stress, Racial Discrimination, and Social Support. The Journal of Sex Research, 54(3), 374-385. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1179709. PMCID: PMC5373031.
31. Ritchwood, T.D., DeCoster, J, Metzger, I., Bolland, J., & Danielson, C.K. (2016). Does it Really Matter which Drug you Choose? An Examination of the Influence of Type of Drug on Type of Risky Sexual Behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 60, 97-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.03.022. PMCID: PMC4884511.
32. Stewart, R.W., Tuerk, P.W., Metzger, I., Davidson, T.M., & Young, J. (2016). A Decision Tree Approach to the Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Engineering Empirically Rigorous and Ecologically Valid Assessment Measures. Psychological Services, 13, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000069. PMCID: PMC5312769.
33. Andrews III, A. R., Jobe-Shields, L., López, C. M., Metzger, I. W., de Arellano, M. A., Saunders, B., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2015). Polyvictimization, Income, and Ethnic Differences in Trauma-Related Mental Health During Adolescence. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 50(8), 1223-1234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1077-3. PMCID: PMC4521986.
34. Cooper, S.M., Smalls-Glover, C., Metzger, I., & Brown, C. (2015). African American Fathers' Racial Socialization Patterns: Associations with and Racial Identity Beliefs and Discrimination Experiences. Family Relations, 64, 278-290. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12115.
35. Cooper, S.M., White-Johnson, R., Brown Griffin, C., Metzger, I., Avery, M., Eaddy, H., Shephard, C., & Guthrie, B. (2015). Community Involvement and Reduced Risk Behavior Engagement among African American Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Empowerment Beliefs. Journal of Black Psychology, 41, 415-437. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798414536225.
36. Cooper, S. M., Brown, C., Metzger, I., Clinton, Y., & Guthrie, B. (2013). Racial Discrimination and African American Adolescents’ Adjustment: Gender Variation in Family and Community Social Support, Promotive and Protective Factors. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9608-y.
37. Metzger, I., Cooper, S. M., Flory, K., & Zarrett, N. (2013). Culturally Sensitive Risk-Behavior Prevention Programs for African American Adolescents: A Systematic Analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16, 187-212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-013-0133-3. PMID: 23660972.
38. Guthrie, B. J., Cooper, S. M., Brown, C., & Metzger, I. (2012). Degrees of Difference among Minority Female Juvenile Offenders’ Psychological Functioning, Risk Behavior Engagement, and Health Status: A Latent Profile Investigation. The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23, 204-225. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2012.0016. PMID: 22643472.
39. Williams, R. S., Terry, N. P., & Metzger, I., (2012). Kid Categories: A Comparison of the Category Productions of LSES and MSES Elementary School Children. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 34, 71-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525740112460368.
40. Cooper, S.M., Guthrie, B.J., Brown, C.L., & Metzger, I. (2011). Daily Hassles and African American Adolescent Females’ Psychological Functioning: Direct and Interactive Associations with Gender Role Orientation. Sex Roles, 65, 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0019-0.