ÌÇÐÄvlog

Biography

• BSN, York College of Pennsylvania 
• MSN, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• PhD, The University of Kentucky

Resume/CV

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Research

Dr. Sarah Kelly, PhD, RN, is an associate professor in the School of Nursing at ÌÇÐÄvlog. Dr. Kelly’s program of scholarship focuses on improving the health, development, and well-being of adolescents and families, particularly those experiencing social, environmental, and community-level vulnerabilities. Her research examines how the multiple contexts in which young people live—including families, peer relationships, schools, neighborhoods, communities, and broader social environments—shape adolescent health behaviors, mental health, development, and resilience. A longstanding focus of her scholarship is adolescent exposure to community and gang violence and its implications for psychological well-being, including anxiety, depression, and other mental health outcomes. 

Building on this foundation, Dr. Kelly’s research has expanded to examine suicidal ideation, substance use, sexual health and risk behaviors, bullying and school safety, disaster experiences, and adolescents’ engagement with social media. Across these areas, she seeks to understand the interconnected individual, relational, and contextual factors that contribute to adolescent risk and resilience. Her scholarship emphasizes the importance of moving beyond an individual-level understanding of adolescent health to consider how family relationships, social environments, community conditions, and broader structural influences shape developmental trajectories and health outcomes across adolescence and into young adulthood.