Department of Sociology

Simons, Ronald

Distinguished Research Professor
116 Baldwin Hall
Athens, GA 30602-1611
706-542-3232 (office) • rsimons [at] uga [dot] edu
Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Ron Simons, Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology, has been at the University of Georgia since 2002. He received a Ph.D. in Sociology from Florida State University and completed his post doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin. His specialty areas include: a) the manner in which family processes, peer associations, community context and incarceration combine to influence risk for criminal behavior and emotional problems, b) the causes and consequences of domestic violence, c) the effect of discrimination and racial socialization on physical and mental health, d) social experiences and cognitive processes that influence the quality of romantic relationships, and e) the manner in which genes and the social environment interact to influence physical and emotional well- being..

 

Education

  • NIMH posdoctoral fellow in Departments of Sociology/Psychology, University of Wisconsin
  • Ph.D. Sociology, Florida State University
  • M.S.S.W. Social Work (minor in Psychology), University of Wisconsin
  • B.A. Sociology, University of Northern Iowa

Selected Honors, Awards, and Grants

  • 2007-2012. Principal Investigator, "Risk, Resilience, and Disorder: African Americans Transitioning to Adulthood." National Institute of mental Health, $3,275,160.
  • 2008-2012, Principal Investigator, "Community context and violence: African American youth transitioning to adulthood." Center for Disease Control, $1,050,000.
  • 2009-2012. Principal Investigator, "Factors Influencing the Health Behavior of Young African American Adults." National Institute of Drug Abuse, $525,402.
  • 2006-2011. Principal Investigator, "Vulnerability and Resilience among African American Parents." National Institute of Mental Health, $711,180.
  • 2007. MacNamara Award from the American Criminal Justice Society for best article (with Eric Stewart).
  • 2005. Appointed Distinguished Research Professor, University of Georgia.
  • 2003. Ruben Hill Research and Theory Award, National Council on Family Relations
  • 2002, Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research, Iowa State University

Selected Publications

  • Ashley Barr and Ronald L. Simons (in press). Marriage expectations among African American coules in early adulthood: A dyadic analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family.

  • Callie Burt, Ronald L. Simons, and Frederick X. Gibbons (in press). Racial discrimination and crime: Racial socialization matters. American Sociological Review.

  • Ronald L. Simons, Leslie G. Simons, Man Kit Lei, and Antoinette Landor (in press). Relational schemas, hostile romantic relatioinships, and beliefs about marriage: A developmental model. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

  • Ashley Barr, Ronald L. Simons, and Eric Stewart (in press). Code of the street and romantic relationships: A dyadic analysis. Personal Relations.

  • Ronald L. Simons, Man-Kit Lei, Steven Beach, Gene Brody, Robert Philibert, and Frederick Gibbons (2012).  Social adversity, genetic variation, street code, and aggression: A genetically informed model of violent behavior. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 10, 2-24.

  • Ronald L. Simons, Man-Kit Lei, Steven Beach, Gene Brody, Robert Philibert, and Frederick Gibbons (2011).  Social Environmental Variation, Plasticity Genes, and Aggression: Evidence for the Differential Susceptibility Hypothesis.  American Sociological Review. 76, 883-912.

  • Ronald L. Simons and Callie H. Burt. 2011. "Learning to be bad: Adverse conditions, social schemas, and crime." Criminology 49, 553-598.

  • Eric Stewart E and Ronald L. Simons. 2010. "Race, code of the street, and violent delinquency: A multilevel investigation of neighborhood street culture and individual norms of violence." Criminology 48:569-606.