Department of Psychology

Psychology > Faculty > Valentina Nikulina

Valentina Nikulina

Valentina Nikulina, PhD

Basic Information

Title: Assistant Professor
Area: Childhood Adversity
PhD: St. John’s University, 2009
Email: Valentina.Nikulina@qc.cuny.edu
Office: SB A340
Office Phone: 718-997-3215
Lab: SB A311
Lab Phone: 718-997-3215
Website: https://www.nikulinalab.com/

Educational Background

Valentina Nikulina is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Queens College and the Graduate Center at CUNY and the Principal Investigator of the Stress, Trauma, Adjustment, and Resilience across Time (START) laboratory. She is a NYS-Licensed Psychologist who received her undergraduate degree from New York University and her doctoral degree from St. John’s University. She completed two post-doctoral fellowships, one at John Jay College focused on Child Maltreatment Research and the other at the National Development and Research Institutes focused on drug abuse research.

Research Interests

Valentina Nikulina’s laboratory at Queens College, examines the etiology, risk factors, and developmental consequences of growing up in adverse childhood environments from an ecological perspective. This approach takes into consideration: 1) the environment in which maltreatment is occurring, and 2) the individual factors (e.g., gender, race, and genes) that may influence outcomes for children exposed to adversity. To that aim, we investigate how developmental changes resulting from adverse environments contribute to antisocial behavior, intimate partner violence, mental illness, and substance abuse, among other outcomes. We apply longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches to the study of these research problems.

We are also interested in disclosure of sexual victimization. This line of inquiry serves as the second main area of investigation in the laboratory. We work to understand why survivors choose to talk to others about their experiences of sexual trauma or keep these to themselves. We want to know how to best help the disclosing and non-disclosing survivors. The overarching goal of our work is to contribute to the development of more effective interventions for trauma survivors. Our research is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, PSC-CUNY, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Recent Publications

  1. Carson, K. W., Babad, S., Brown, E. J., & Nikulina, V. (e-pub ahead of print, 2021). Why do women talk about it? Reasons for disclosure of sexual victimization and associated symptomology. Violence Against Women, doi: 1077801220978818.
  2. Nikulina, V., Gelin, M., & Zwilling, A.L. (2021; e-pub ahead of print 2017). Is there a cumulative association between adverse childhood experiences and intimate partner violence in emerging adulthood? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(3-4), 1205 – 1232. doi: 10.1177/0886260517741626.
  3. Carpi, A., Nikulina, V., Li, X., & Widom, C. S. (2020). Childhood maltreatment and lead levels in middle adulthood: A prospective examination of the roles of individual socio-economic and neighborhood characteristics. PloS one, 15(11), doi: e0240683.
  4. Babad, S., Zwilling, A., Carson, K. W., Fairchild, V., & Nikulina, V. (e-pub ahead of print, 2020). Childhood environmental instability and social-emotional outcomes in emerging adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi: 886260520948147.
  5. Carson, K.W., Babad, S., Brown, E.J., Brumbaugh, C.C., Castillo, B.K., & Nikulina, V. (2020; e-pub ahead of print 2019). Sexual victimization: Why women are not talking about it and how nondisclosure is associated with psychopathology. Violence against Women, 26(3-4), 27-295. doi: 10.1177/0361684310384104
  6. Babad, S., Zwilling, A., Carson, K.W., Fairchild, V., Razak, S., Robinson, G., & Nikulina, V. (e-pub ahead of print, 2019). Risk taking and sensation seeking in survivors of childhood adversity. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi: 10.1177/0886260519876035.
  7. Butt, M., Espinal, E., Aupperle, R., Nikulina, V., & Stewart, J.L. (2019). The electrical aftermath: brain signals of posttraumatic stress disorder filtered through a clinical lens. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10(10). doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00368
  8. Nikulina, V., & Widom, C.S. (2019; e-pub ahead of print 2018). Higher levels of intelligence and executive functioning protect maltreated children against adult arrests: A prospective study. Child Maltreatment, 24 (1), 3-16.
  9. Nikulina, V., *Bautista, A., & Brown, E. (2019; e-pub ahead of print 2016). Negative responses to disclosure of sexual victimization and victim’s symptoms of PTSD and depression: The protective role of ethnic identity. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(21-22), 4638-4660.