RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Understanding and preventing  child and adolescent unintentional injury. Specific risk factors of interest include temperament, overestimation of physical ability, and parent-child relationships. I am also interested in injury prevention, with specific foci in using virtual reality to train children in pedestrian safety and improving adult supervision of children at swimming pools and playgrounds. Secondary broad interest areas include temperamental and cognitive development, child clinical psychology, and pediatric psychology.

Pediatric Pedestrian Safety in Virtual Reality:

 Note: Please click on image to play video.

Director of the UAB Youth Safety Lab, which conducts laboratory-based studies of factors that lead to child and adolescent injury. Families interested in participating in research may contact the lab at (205) 934-4068 or uabsafetylab@yahoo.com.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS:

Schwebel, D. C., & Brezausek, C. M. (2008). Chronic maternal depression and children's injury risk. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 33, 1108-1116.

Schwebel, D. C., Gaines, J., & Severson, J. (2008). Validation of virtual reality as a tool to understand and prevent child pedestrian injury. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40, 1394-1400.

Schwebel, D. C., & Kendrick, D. (2009). Caregiver supervision and injury risk for young children: Time to re-examine the issue. Injury Prevention, 15, 217-219.

Schwebel, D. C., Stavrinos, D., & Kongable, E. K. (2009). Attentional control, high intensity pleasure, and risky pedestrian behavior in college students. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 41, 658-661.

Schwebel, D. C., Swart, D., Hui, S-K. A., Simpson, J., & Hobe, P. (2009). Paraffin-related injury in low-income South African communities: Knowledge, practice, and perceived risk among residents. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 87, 700-706.

Schwebel, D. C., Swart, D., Simpson, J., Hui, S-K. A., & Hobe, P. (2009). An intervention to reduce kerosene-related injury in low-income South African communities. Health Psychology, 28, 493-500.

Stavrinos, D., Byington, K. W., & Schwebel, D. C. (2009). The effect of cell phone distraction on pediatric pedestrian injury risk. Pediatrics, 123, e179-185.


TEACHING INTERESTS:

PY 214 Elementary Statistical Methods and Design
PY 325 Clinical Child Psychology
PY 723 Seminar in Abnormal Child Development