Research Scientist, Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center
NC Public School Liaison

Ann Brewster's research interests cluster around preventative interventions targeting adolescents and incorporating their families that address one or a combination of the following issues: substance use/abuse, mental heath, juvenile justice, and educational attainment, i.e., school dropout prevention. She is interested in conducting theory-based research that informs such interventions and is also interested in developing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating effective preventative interventions. She is particularly interested in examining preventative interventions at the broader systems, services delivery, and policy levels, with a primary focus on community-level and school-based interventions. Brewster has an ecological systems, life course, developmental, and strengths-based perspective with a specific interest in longitudinal research methodologies.

Research Projects:

• High School Illicit Drug Use Onset and Early School Dropout: A Survival Analysis using Fast Track Data

Education:

• NIMH/NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - 2004
• Ph.D., Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - 2003
• M.S.W., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - 2001
• M.S., Educational Psychology, Cornell University - 1992
• B.S., School of Education, Boston University - 1985

Typical Courses Taught:

• PUBPOL 264S, ADV TOP IN PUBLIC POLICY--School Dropout and Education Policy Synopsis
  
• CCS 264S, ADVANCED CCS SEMINAR TOPICS Synopsis
  

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Brewster, A. B., & Bowen, G. L. (Submitted, 2007). The school success of high school youth: The impact of perceived parent and teacher academic social support. Family Relations.


2. Brewster, A. B., & Bowen, G. L. (2004). Teacher support and school engagement for Latino middle and high school students at risk of school failure.. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 21(1), 47-67.


3. Bowen, G. L., Richman, J. M., Brewster, A., & Bowen, N. (1998). Sense of school coherence, perceptions of danger at school, and teacher support among youth at risk of school failure. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 15(4), 273-286.


4. Brewster, A. B. "Setting the stage: Juvenile justice history, statistics, and practices."  Ed. Berlin, L. J., Owen, J. & Seaford, G. Family Impact Seminar Brief,Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, January, 2007 [pdf]


5. A.B. Brewster (December 20, 2006). OPED: Wiser ways to approach teen criminals. Raleigh News and Observer, December 20, 2006. [pdf]


6. A.B. Brewster & J. B. Kupersmidt "Wake County Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Process Evaluation.."  August, 2005 Submitted to the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. Innovation Research and Training, Inc., Durham, NC

1. Predicting high school illicit drug use and school dropout: A model of survival as mediation., Paper presented at the Fourteenth Annual Society for Prevention Research Conference, Washington, DC., June, 2007
2. Reasons for substance use: Associations with peer use., Paper presented at the Fourteenth Annual Society for Prevention Research Conference, San Antonio., June, 2006
3. Child and adolescent substance abuse prevention Programs with a parental component: A critical review., Paper presented at the Fourteenth Annual Society for Prevention Research Conference, San Antonio., May, 2006
4. The social contexts of adolescent substance use., Paper presented at the Thirteenth Annual Society for Prevention Research Conference. Washington, D.C., June, 2005
5. Are schools the de facto service system for children with autism?, Podium presentation at the Tenth Annual National Research Service Award (NRSA) Trainees Conference, San Diego, CA., June, 2004

Selected Grant Support

• Dropout Prevention Grant, NC Department of Public Instruction.