Dr. Begun is a scientist with CABHR and a professor of social work in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She holds a master of social work and a doctorate in social work and social sciences (developmental psychology), both from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Begun’s research interests include family development issues, especially those related to sibling relationships and families that include individuals with exceptional needs; the development and evaluation of preventive strategies, particularly for adolescent substance abuse and intimate partner violence; innovative approaches to helping women in jail address their substance abuse and child welfare problems; and innovative approaches to social work education. She helped develop the Safe At Home instrument to assess batterers’ readiness to change violent behaviors toward intimate partners, and a Lifecourse Timeline Followback assessment of alcohol dependence change attempts.

Dr. Begun worked with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to develop and edit the NIAAA Social Work Education Curriculum on Alcohol Use Disorders, and is currently working on its dissemination in a technology transfer study. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research on Social Work Practice and the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions. Dr. Begun is a member of the Society for Social Work Research and serves on the Council on Social Work Education Addictions Task Force.

Biographical sketch (includes publications)