Dr. Kristina Nikolova

Scholarly Interests/Areas of Expertise

• Policy
• Gender equality
• Intimate partner violence
• Child maltreatment
• Prevention/intervention of family violence
• Quantitative research & statistical analyses

Educational Background

• Postdoc, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
• PhD, University of Toronto
• MSW, University of Windsor
• BSc, Western University

Biography

Kristina Nikolova has been researching national and international gender-based violence for more than 10 years.  She is particularly interested in how national policies and organizational practices can exacerbate or ameliorate the risk of violence against women and children.  She has also worked in child protection and in developing training for child protection workers to better meet the needs of vulnerable families who are experiencing multiple risk factors, including intimate partner violence, poverty, and trauma.  Kristina is interested in helping the next generation of social work students learn more about international social work and how policy advocacy can be used to improve the outcomes of families involved with social service systems.

Funded Projects

Publications

O’Connor, J., Nikolova, K., Cardenas, I., & Snyder, S. (2022). The mediating effect of traditional gender beliefs on the relationship between gender disparities and intimate partner violence perpetration. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

Nikolova, K. & Bejan, R. (2022). The East versus the Western Welfare Democracies: First and Second Wave COVID-19 Responses. COMPSEES.

Bejan, R. & Nikolova, K. (2022). The first wave of COVID-19 amongst liberal countries: A welfare state analysis. Social Theory & Health.

Lee, J., Burlaka, V., Nikolova, K., & Hong, J. (2022). Witnessing violence between parents and children’s bullying behavior: The mediating influences of parental characteristics. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.

Nikolova, K., Fallon, B., Black, T., Passanha, N., & Isaak, K. (2021). Responding to intimate partner violence in Ontario, Canada: A closer look at police involvement. Children and Youth Services Review. 128, 106168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106168

Nikolova, K., Buttner, C., Cardenas, I., Khetarpal, R., Simmel, C., & Postmus, J. (2021). Caseworker’s attitudes about domestic violence: Does personal experience with DV matter? Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance. 95-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2020.1869130

Postmus, J., Nikolova, K., Lin, H., & Johnson, L. (2021). Women's economic abuse experiences: Results from the UN Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211003168

Johnson, L., Hoge, G., Nikolova, K., & Postmus, J. (2021). Escala de Abuso Economico: Validating the Scale of Economic Abuse-12 (SEA-12) in Spanish. Journal of Family Violence, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00251-y

Black, T., Fallon, B., Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., & Baird, S. (2020). Exploring subtypes of children’s exposure to intimate partner violence. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 1-7.

Johnson, L., Cusano, J., Nikolova, K., Steiner, J., & Postmus, J. (2020). Do you believe your partner is capable of killing you? An examination of female IPV survivors’ perceptions of fatality risk indicators. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1-26.

Nikolova, K., Steiner, J., Postmus, J., Hetling, A., & Johnson, L. (2020). Administering the US Family Violence Option: The role of stigma in waiver recommendations. Health and Social Care in the Community, 29, 66-77.

Nikolova, K., Postmus, J., Buttner, C., & Bosk, E. (2020). Working together to protect women and children from domestic violence: Factors influencing willingness to collaborate between organizations. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 1-10.

Stylianou, A., Nikolova, K., Ebright, E., & Rodriguez, A. (2020). Predictors of family engagement in child post-traumatic stress disorder screening following exposure to intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1-26.

Saini, M., Nikolova, K., & Black, T. (2019). An integrative model for taming the storm: Casework supervision in child protection services for working with families involved in high-conflict child custody disputes. Child Welfare, 97, 41-59.

Fang, L., Sirotich, F., & Nikolova, K. (2018). Culturally congruent intensive case management service for three refugee communities. Psychiatric Services, 69(10), 1116-1116.

Nikolova, K., Lwin, K., & Fluke, J. (2017). Attitudes on the responsibility for child safety: Key child protection worker characteristics. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 11, 318-338.

Cragg, S., Nikolova, K., & Carter, I. (2015). Sustaining Learning Initiatives through a Student-Led Accessibility Planning Committee. Professional Development: International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, 18(2), 24-31.

Nikolova, K., Baird, S., Tarshis, S., Black, T., & Fallon, B. (2015). Examining the Response to Different Types of Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Resilience, 3, 72-87.

Nikolova, K., Fallon, B., Black, T., & Allan, K. (2014).  Responding to intimate partner violence: Child welfare policies and practices. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Resilience, 2, 16-28.

Fallon, B., Black, T., Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., & Baird, S. (2014). Child welfare investigations involving exposure to intimate partner violence: Case and worker characteristics. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Resilience, 2, 71-76.

Nikolova, K., Wright, R., & Illango, P. (2013). Early childhood development programs: Considerations for India.  International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice, 1(2), 91-100.

Cragg, S., Nikolova, K., & Carter, I. (2013). Transforming barriers into bridges: The benefits of a student-driven accessibility planning committee.  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 26, 273-277.

Conference and Invited Presentations

Nikolova, K., Cardenas, I., & Saxon, S. (Nov 2021 conference postponed to Mar 2022). Understanding Unmet Need Among Low-Income Families during COVID-19: A Survey of Social Service Agencies. Poster presentation at the annual Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management.

Stylianou, A., Nikolova, K., Rodriguez, A., & Ebright, E. (January 2021). Predictors of family engagement in child PTSD screening following exposure to intimate partner violence. Paper presentation at the Annual SSWR Conference, Online.

Postmus, J., Lin, H., Nikolova, K., & Johnson, L. (January 2021). The Search for the Ideal Victim: Does Stigma of Residing with the Abuser Impact Receipt of Waivers Among IPV Survivors? Paper presentation at the Annual SSWR Conference, Online.

Nikolova, K., Steiner, J., Cardenas, I. & Khetarpal, R. (January 2020). Women’s Help-Seeking in Asia and the Pacific: Factors that Impact Survivors of IPV. Paper presentation at the Annual SSWR Conference, Washington, DC.

Steiner, J., Cardenas, I., Nikolova, K., & Khetarpal, R. (November 2019). Incubations for knowledge mobilization: Connecting research and practice for gender-based violence (GBV) and refugees. Workshop at the Annual CSWE, Denver, CO.

Steiner, J., Nikolova, K., Postmus, J., Hetling, A., & Johnson, L. (January 2019). The Search for the Ideal Victim: Does Stigma of Residing with the Abuser Impact Receipt of Waivers Among IPV Survivors? Paper presentation at the Annual SSWR Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Baird, S., Tarshis, S., & Nikolova, K. (November 2018). Trauma-focused supervision: A model for intimate partner violence (IPV) field placements. Paper presentation at the Annual CSWE Conference, Orlando, FL.

Nikolova, K. (January 2018). National and International Policy Processes: The Impact on Intimate Partner Violence Rates. Paper presentation at the Annual SSWR Conference, Washington, DC.

Nikolova, K. (January 2018).  Gender Equality and Intimate Partner Violence: A Multilevel Analysis.  Poster presentation at the Annual SSWR Conference, Washington, DC.

Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., & Baird, S. (October 2017). Impacts of policy processes on intimate partner violence (IPV): Implications for education.  Interactive workshop presented at the Annual CSWE Conference, Dallas, TX.

Lwin, K., Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., Baird, S., Fallon, B., & Black, T. (November 2016). Twenty Years of Child Maltreatment Investigations: Changing Maltreatment Types and Worker Characteristics.  Paper presentation at the Annual CSWE Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Fallon, B., Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., Black, T., Baird, S., Saini, M., & Deljavan, S. (July 2016). Twenty years of data: Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and custody dispute cases in child protection services.  Symposium presented at the 2016 International Family Violence and Child Victimization Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH.

Fallon, B., Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., Black, T., Baird, S., Saini, M., & Deljavan, S. (January 2016). A 20 Year Review: Understanding Exponential Increases in Child Protection Investigations for Exposure to IPV.  Symposium presented at the 2016 Society for Social Work and Research Conference, Washington, DC.

Baird, S., Nikolova, K., Tarshis, S., Black, T., & Fallon, B. (October 2015). The Impact of Education on Child Welfare Investigations of Intimate Partner Violence. Abstract accepted for presentation at the Council on Social Work Education 2015 Annual Program Meeting (APM). Sheraton Denver Downtown and Crowne Plaza, Denver, CO.

Tarshis, S., Baird, S., Nikolova, K., Fallon, B., & Black, T. (June 2015). Examining the child welfare response to different forms of exposure to intimate partner violence. Paper presented at the 2015 CASWE-ACFTS Conference. University of Ottawa/l’Université d’Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.

Nikolova, K., & Lwin, K. (June 2015). Responsibility for Child Safety: Examination of Child Welfare Worker Attitudes in the Colorado and Illinois Child Welfare Systems. Paper presented at the 2015 CASWE-ACFTS Conference. University of Ottawa/l’Université d’Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.

Nikolova, K. (April 2015). How do worker characteristics influence their attitude towards responsibility for child safety?  Webinar presented to the membership of Practice and Research Together (PART).  Toronto, Ontario.

Black, T., & Nikolova, K. (March 2015). Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence: Child maltreatment investigations in Ontario, Canada in 2008.  Webinar presented to the membership of Practice and Research Together (PART). Toronto, ON.

Nikolova, K., Baird, S., Tarshis, S., Fallon, B., & Black, T. (January 2015). Children's exposure to intimate partner violence: The response from child protective services. Paper presented at the 19th annual conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Fang, L., Nikolova, K., Kwong, C., & Sirotich, F. (May 2014).  It's just good case management: Findings from an intensive program for Tamil, Somali and Afghan communities in Toronto, Ontario. Paper presentation at the annual Society for Social Psychiatry and Culture conference, San Diego, CA.

Fang, L., Nikolova, K., & Sirotich, F. (January 2014).  Service Delivery and Outcomes of a Culturally Responsive Mental Health Intensive Case Management Program for Three Refugee Communities. Paper presentation at the annual Society for Social Work and Research conference, San Antonio, TX.

Fang, L., Nikolova, K., & Sirotich, F. (November 2013).  An intensive case management service for three refugee communities.  Paper presentation at the annual Council of Social Work Education conference, Dallas, TX.

Cragg, S., Nikolova, K., & Carter, I. (May 2013). The benefits and challenges of fostering applied student learning through a student-driven accessibility committee.  Poster presentation at the seventh annual Conference on Teaching and Learning, Windsor, ON.

Nikolova, K., Carter, I., & Cragg, S. (June 2013). Transforming Barriers into Bridges: A Social Work Student Initiative in Accessibility Planning.  Paper presentation at the annual Canadian Association for Social Work Education Conference, Victoria, B.C.

Carter, I., Nikolova, K., & Cragg, S. (June 2013). The Sustainability of Collaborative Learning through a Student-Driven Accessibility Planning Committee.  Paper presentation at the annual Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Conference, Cape Breton, N.S.