Randi Cheatham-Johnson, Ph.D.
Randi Cheatham-Johnson, Ph.D. is a graduate of the Clinical Science Doctoral program at Florida International University. Born in Seattle, Washington, Randi received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Psychology from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. After receiving her B.A., Randi was accepted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at the University of Kansas where she worked as a research assistant under the direction of Dr. Paula Fite and Dr. Yo Jackson in the Clinical Child Psychology Program.
Randi’s broad research interests focus on the development and evaluation of community-based interventions for racial/ethnic minorities and other underserved populations. More specifically, Randi is interested in (1) parental role in the development of early learning and behavioral problems in community populations, (2) engagement in behavioral parent training programs for families living in urban poverty, and (3) increasing access to culturally-responsive, trauma-informed behavioral health services.
Randi’s dissertation evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and promise of a behavioral parent training program (i.e., the School Readiness Parenting Program [SRPP]) for economically and socially disadvantaged children and their families during the school year (Aim 1).
Her dissertation also explored patterns of treatment engagement among ethnic/racial minority families participating in SRPP, such as stress- and trauma-related factors, stigma-related concerns about mental health services, and logistical barriers and their associations with response to intervention (Aim 2).
As of Fall 2020, Randi is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, MS. Randi’s 2021 application to the American Psychological Association (APA) Postdoctoral Minority Fellowship Program Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) program via SAMHSA was selected for funding. As such, she will be funding herself for a second post-doctoral year to concentrate on increasing dissemination of PCIT and infant/early-childhood interventions around the state of Mississippi, as well as increasing integrated behavioral health clinical services provided at Batson Kid’s Clinic, UMMC NICU, and UMMC Center for Advancement of Youth (CAY)
Relevant Publications/Posters/Presentations:
Price, A. D., Cheatham-Johnson, R. J., & Walker, C. S. (in press). 10 things to know about perinatal mental health. Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association.
Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K. C., Maharaj, A., Cheatham-Johnson, R. J., & Waguespack, A. (2019). Latino parent involvement and associations with home literacy and oral reading fluency. School Psychology Quarterly. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000298
Hart, K. C., Poznanski, B., Cheatham-Johnson, R., Gregg, D., Zambrana, K., Villodas, F., & Villodas, M. (2019, November). Evaluating the Transportability of the STP-PreK to an Authentic Early Childhood Education Setting for Children Living in Urban Poverty. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Atlanta, GA.
Zambrana, K. A., Hart, K., Gregg, D., Cheatham-Johnson, R. J., Waguespack, A. M., Graziano, P. (2019). Examining Executive Functioning and Early Literacy Skills for Young Children At-Risk for Reading Failure. Society for Research in Child Development.
Black, K., Cheatham-Johnson, R. J., Poznanski, B., & Hart, K. C. (2019, April). The relationship between subdomains of externalizing behavior and social problem solving among preschoolers. Poster presented at the Conference for Undergraduate Research at Florida International University (CURFIU), Miami, FL.
Cheatham-Johnson, R.J. & Hart, K.C. (2017, November). Engaging Families Living in Urban Poverty in Behavioral Parent Training. Presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Cheatham-Johnson, R.J., Hart, K.C., Waguespack, A.M., & Nichols-Lopez, K. A. (2017, April). The Role of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Home Literacy Environments in the Development of Children’s School Readiness. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.
Bahrick, L., McNew, M., Todd, J., Martinez, J., Mira, S., Cheatham-Johnson, R.J., & Hart, K.C. (2017, April). Individual Differences in Intersensory Processing Predict Pre-Literacy Skills in Young Children. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.
Cheatham-Johnson, R.J., Hart, K.C., Nichols-Lopez, K. A., & Waguespack, A.M. (under review). Exploring Home Literacy Practices in Black and Hispanic/Latino Families: Implications for Children’s School Readiness.
Cheatham-Johnson, R. (2016, October). The last, the least, the lost, and the left out: Engaging parents of young children living in urban poverty. Presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Meeting, New York City, NY.
Cheatham-Johnson, R., Poznanski, B., Scaramutti, C., & Hart, K.C. (2016, September). Examination of Associations between Oral Reading Fluency and Inattention/Overactivity and Opposition/Defiant Symptoms in Young Children At-Risk for Learning and Behavior Disorders. Poster presented at the National Conference in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Biennial Meeting, Lawrence, KS.
Poznanski, B., Cheatham-Johnson, R.J., & Hart, K.C. (2016, September). Next Stop: Kindergarten! Preparing Students with Behavior and Learning Challenges for a Successful Transition. Presented at the Children’s First Literacy Conference, Miami, FL.
Cheatham-Johnson, R., Milfort, A., & Hart, K.C. (2016, May). Examination of Home Literacy Practices in Haitian Families. Poster presented at the Annual National Black Graduate Conference in Psychology, Miami, FL.
Cheatham-Johnson, R., & Hart, K.C. (2016, May). Examining Home Literacy Environments and Young Children’s School Readiness in a Population of Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Families. Presented at the South Florida Child Psychology Collaborative Research Conference, Miami, FL.
Fite, P. J., Becker, S. P., Rubens, S. L., & Cheatham-Johnson, R. (2015). Anxiety Symptoms Account for the Link between Reactive Aggression and Sleep Problems among Latino Adolescents. Child and Youth Care Forum, 44, 343-354.
Cheatham-Johnson, R., Poznanski, B., & Hart, K.C. (2015, September). Promoting Family Literacy and Positive Home Learning Environments. Presented at the Children’s First Literacy Conference, Miami, FL.
Hart, K. C., Graziano, P. A., Waguespack, A., & Cheatham-Johnson, R. (2015, March). Evaluation of a Summer School Readiness Parenting Program for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Cheatham-Johnson, R. & Fite, P. J. (2014, October). Potential Factors Contributing to Attrition in After‐school Care Programs. Poster presented at the National Conference in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Biennial Meeting, Lawrence, KS.