Member Accolade

Daphne Watkins Jacobs, PhD

Daphne Watkins Jacobs, PhD
University of Michigan, School Social Work

Assistant Professor Daphne Watkins Jacobs has been elected to the American Men's Studies Association Board of Directors for the 2010-2012 term.

Professor Daphne Watkins Jacobs has devoted her professional career to health promotion and disease prevention among underserved individuals and communities. Broadly, her interests include gender disparities in mental health and mental illness, health education and behavior, and intervention/prevention research. Her work considers how gender role socialization influences mental health over the life course -- particularly among black men. She is interested in using quantitative and qualitative methodologies to increase what we know about mental illness and how it impacts the health and health behaviors of black men.

She recently received a grant to fund her as PI on the project titled “Women are from Venus, but what can they tell us about Mars? Black women’s perceptions of black men’s depression”. This study will convene focus groups with black women (separated by household income --- less than $19,999, between $20,000 and $59,999, and over $60,000) to discuss their experiences with black men’s depression; their knowledge and attitudes surrounding black male mental illness; and barriers and facilitators to seeking treatment for depression among black men. The perspectives of black women about black men’s depression will be essential in the development of mental health education messages that increase black men’s knowledge about depression, reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, and educate black men and members of their social support networks about the value of seeking treatment for depression.

ESIN congratulations Dr. Watkins!