Researcher

  Christine is the author of Beyond Battering: The Long-Term Effects of Domestic Violence, a qualitative research study. This ambitious study investigated the lived experience of former victims of domestic violence in the first, second, and third decades after they had fled the abuse, and revealed long-lasting impacts from their victimization. 

Her seminary dissertation explored The Biblical Basis For Divorce in Abuse Cases, a research study on the sociocultural history of divorce in Israel and its surrounding cultures in ancient times. Beginning with Mosaic Law and the Code of Hammurabi, throughout the centuries as recorded in the Hebrew Bible, Christine analyzed the marital and divorce practices and the philosophies which influenced them. Underscoring Greek and Roman cultural influences, she examined the teachings of Jesus and the Church Fathers on this divisive and controversial issue in the contemporary Christian Church.

She conducted a Community Needs Assessment for Child Abuse Prevention (https://capc.sccgov.org/community-needs-assessment-report) for Santa Clara County’s Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC). Using a Community-Based Participatory Research paradigm, this five-pronged research study involved twenty-two members of the community in various capacities, including research design, marketing, translation, survey distribution and retrieval, data entry, and facilitation of a community forum. The research provided the basis of the funding priorities for the grant-making functions of the CAPC, and fulfilled the state mandate for public input on prevention programming.

 Christine conducted a rigorous program evaluation of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program for Support Network for Battered Women, using a mixed-methods research design. Over three hundred surveys were analyzed, comparing differences in knowledge and adolescent attitudes about dating violence both before and after the program to show immediate increase in understanding of the issues. The qualitative portion of the study consisted of six focus groups she facilitated 6 months after students attended the workshops. The robust research offered compelling proof of a successful program, with long-term impact clearly demonstrated in the follow-up period. 

Her dissertation research for Saybrook University is a grounded theory qualitative study on the healing journey of survivors. This research illuminates a five-stage Conceptual Map of the Healing Pathway for former victims of domestic violence. 

Among Christine’s current projects are an in-depth examination on integrating spirituality into psychotherapy, along with an autoethnographic account of a disabled graduate student in training to become a psychologist.