General Internal Medicine

Keisha Leanne Bentley-Edwards, PhD

Associate Professor in Medicine
Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Email address keisha.bentley.edwards@duke.edu

I am a developmental psychologist who uses a cultural lens to understand social, emotional and academic outcomes. My work specifically examines how race, culture and racism stress influence how the world responds to Black Americans and how this influences health and social disparities. I develop culturally cognizant measures, specifically in the areas of racial/ethnic socialization, racial cohesion and dissonance and same-race violence. As an interdisciplinary researcher, I examine the racial and societal contexts that influence health, coping and well-being in schools, communities and within families. I am also the Associate Director of Research and the Director of the Health Equity Working Group for the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity.

Areas of research include:

  • Racial/Cultural Determinants of Health & Educational Outcomes
  • African American Psychology
  • Race, Religion & Health
  • Using Cultural Strengths to Promote Resilience
  • Racism, Sexism & Discrimination
  • Unarmed Shootings of Black People/Police Brutality
  • Navigating Race and Racial Tensions
  • Racial Socialization
  • Culturally Relevant Assessment
  • Race & Ethnicity in Schools & Communities
  • Effects of At-Risk Neighborhoods on Youth 
  • Bullying 
  • Black Racial Cohesion & Dissonance
  • Black Women's Psychology & Mental Health
  • (Pre)school to Prison Pipeline-Disparate Disciplinary Practices
  • Exposure to Violence
  • Health Equity
  • Black Families
  • Racial Identity
  • Black Children, Adolescents & College Students

Education and Training

  • Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 2009
  • M.A., Columbia University, 2000

Grants

Publications

Robbins, Paul A., Melissa J. Scott, Eugenia Conde, Yannet Daniel, William A. Darity, and Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards. “Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults.” J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 8, no. 5 (October 2021): 1332–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00895-4.

PMID
33067763
Full Text

Robbins, Paul A., Melissa J. Scott, Eugenia Conde, Yannet Daniel, William A. Darity, and Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards. “Correction to: Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults.” J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 8, no. 5 (October 2021): 1344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00919-z.

PMID
33159285
Full Text

Bentley-Edwards, K. L., P. A. Robbins, L. T. Blackman Carr, I. Z. Smith, E. Conde, and W. A. Darity. “Denominational Differences in Obesity Among Black Christian Adults: Why Gender and Life Stage Matter.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 60, no. 3 (September 1, 2021): 498–515. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12722.

Full Text

Coleman-King, C., V. Adams-Bass, K. Bentley-Edwards, D. Thomas, C. Thompson, A. Michael, G. Miller, B. Charity-Parker, and H. Stevenson. “Got skillz? Recasting and negotiating racial tension in teacher–student relationships amidst shifting demographics.” Social Sciences 10, no. 3 (March 1, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10030099.

Full Text

Bentley-Edwards, Keisha L., Loneke T. Blackman Carr, Paul A. Robbins, Eugenia Conde, Khaing Zaw, and William A. Darity. “Investigating Denominational and Church Attendance Differences in Obesity and Diabetes in Black Christian Men and Women.” J Relig Health 59, no. 6 (December 2020): 3055–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00888-6.

PMID
31359241
Full Text

Bentley-Edwards, K. L., H. C. Stevenson, D. E. Thomas, V. N. Adams-Bass, and C. Coleman-King. “Teaching scared: pre-service teacher appraisals of racial stress, socialization and classroom management self-efficacy.” Social Psychology of Education 23, no. 5 (October 1, 2020): 1233–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-020-09578-8.

Full Text

Bentley-Edwards, K. L., L. V. Smith, P. A. Robbins, and V. N. Adams-Bass. “Out of the Hood, But Not Out of the Woods: The School Engagement and Cohesion of Black Students Based on Exposure to Violence and Victimization.” Urban Review 51, no. 4 (November 1, 2019): 540–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-019-00517-2.

Full Text

Scardamalia, K., K. L. Bentley-Edwards, and K. Grasty. “Consistently inconsistent: An examination of the variability in the identification of emotional disturbance.” Psychology in the Schools 56, no. 4 (April 1, 2019): 569–81. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22213.

Full Text

Bentley-Edwards, K. L., M. C. Edwards, C. N. Spence, W. A. Darity, D. Hamilton, and J. Perez. “How does it feel to be a problem? The missing Kerner commission report.” Rsf 4, no. 6 (September 1, 2018): 20–40. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2018.4.6.02.

Full Text

Bentley-Edwards, K., and V. Adams-Bass. “The Whole Picture: Examining Black Women Through the Life Span.” In Afrikan American Women Living at the Crossroads of Race, Gender, Class, and Culture, 189–201. Cognella Academic Publishing, 2017.

Scholars@Duke

Pages