Our Graduates
Leigh Willis, PhD, 2004
Dr. Leigh Willis, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Georgia. Leigh earned his PhD in Sociology from UAB in 2004 where he also earned a Masters in Public Health in 2003. Dr. Willis's most recent work examines African-American Health, specifically seeking to improve the health status of African-Americans by examining and reducing health disparities. Currently, he is working on three basic health-related issues: 1) research on differences in mental health service use among African-Americans and other ethnic groups, 2) research on sexual risk, examining paternal care giving and its relationship to sexual risk in sons, and 3) development of an intervention using media to prevent suicide among African-Americans.
Selected Publications
Crosby, Alexander E., David W. Coombs, and Leigh A. Willis. Forthcoming. "Applying Behavioral Theory to Self-Directed Violence." in Injury Prevention and Violence: Behavioral Science Theories, Methods, and Applications, edited by A. C. Gielen, D. A. Sleet, and R. J. DiCliment. San Fransico: Jossey-Bass.
Davies, Susan L., Emily S. Dix, Scott D. Rhodes, Katherine F. Harrington, Sonja L. Frison, and Leigh A. Willis. 2004. "Perceptions toward Adolescent pregnancy among young African-American Fathers." American Journal of Health Behavior 28:418-425.
Willis, Leigh A., David W. Coombs, Patricia Drentea, and William C. Cockerham. 2003. "Uncovering the Mystery: Factors of African-American Suicide." Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 33:412-433.
Willis, Leigh A., David W. Coombs, William C. Cockerham, and Sonja L. Frison. 2002. "Ready to Die: A Postmodern Explanation of the Increase of African-American Adolescent Male Suicide." Social Science and Medicine 55:169-182.
