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Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences

Kristi Guest

Kristi Guest.

Associate ProfessorThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CH19 118F; CH 202A
(205) 934-1096

Research Interests: Developmental psychology, social development, autism spectrum disorders, infant and child development

Office Hours: By appointment

Education:

  • B.S., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Psychology
  • M.A., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Psychology
  • Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Developmental Psychology

Dr. Kristi Carter Guest is the Disabilities Services Coordinator for the UAB Early Head Start Program, Research Coordinator for the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics and the UAB Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. She serves on the Executive Board for the Central Alabama Early Intervention Council and is on the planning committee for the statewide Alabama Early Intervention Conference.

Dr. Guest received clinical training at the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics performing hundreds of developmental assessments with children who were at-risk for developmental delay. Currently she participates in the interdisciplinary diagnostic observations of children suspected of having Autism Spectrum Disorders in the UAB Civitan-Sparks ASD Clinic. With the UAB Early Head Start Program, Dr. Guest provides clinical services for children with disabilities and their families to initiate and facilitate early intervention and school based services. With the UAB Early Head Start program, she coordinates all of the developmental screenings for children in the program.

Dr. Guest serves on numerous graduate student committees in the Developmental Psychology Program and the School of Public Health Department of Health Behavior. She mentors undergraduate students in the UAB Science and Technology Honors Program, the University Honors Program, and the Psychology Honors Program. She also clinically supervises Medical Psychology graduate students, Developmental Psychology graduate students, trainees, and interns at the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics.

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  • Research Interests

    Dr. Guest has directed and coordinated several large, multi-site, federally funded research projects focusing on multiple at-risk populations of children including children at-risk for abuse and neglect, children living in poverty, children at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders, and children of adolescent mothers. She co-directs the ASD Database Research team along with Dr. Sarah O’Kelley evaluating clinical data obtained for children referred for an ASD assessment at the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics/LEND program. She also engages in research exploring screening measures and diagnostic outcomes in young children evaluated for ASD. Additionally, Dr. Guest is part of the Centers of the Prevention of Child Neglect; the major focus of the center is clarification of neglect as a construct and the documentation of its influence on child development in multiple domains.

    Overall, the theme of her research within at-risk populations is to explore children’s social-emotional development and environmental factors such as parenting and social support that impact development as well as interventions targeting improvement in social-emotional growth.

  • Recent Courses
    • PY 212: Developmental Psychology
    • PY 213: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Child Development
    • PY 222: Honors Developmental Psychology
    • PY 412: Social Development
    • PY 712: Seminar in Social Development
  • Select Publications
    • Guest, K.C., & Biasini, F.J. (2001). Middle childhood, poverty, and adjustment: Does social support have an impact? Psychology in the Schools, 38(6), 549-60.
    • Lanzi, R.G., Ramey, S.L., Lefever, J.B., Guest, K.C., Atwater, J., & Hughes, K. (2007). Cell phone methodology for research and service with high risk mothers and children. NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Intervention Field, 10(1), 58-66.
    • Lefever, J.B., Howard, K.S., Lanzi, R.G., Borkowski, J.G., Atwater, J., Guest, K.C., Ramey, S.L., Hughes, K.P., & the Centers for Prevention of Child Neglect. (2008). Cell phones and the measurement of child neglect: The validity of the parent-child activities interview. Child Maltreatment 13(4), 320-33.
    • Guest, K.C., O’Kelley, S.E., & Biasini, F.J. (2012, May).Screening Measures and Diagnostic Outcomes in Young Children Evaluated for an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Poster presented at the 2012 International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), Toronto, Canada.
    • Bukelis, I., Harris, A.N., Patel, A.A., O'Kelley, S.E., Guest, K.C., Gower, M.W., & Biasini, F.J. (2013, April). Patterns of Psychotropic Medication Use among Children Referred for an Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluation. Poster presented at the UAB Department of Psychiatry Seventh Annual Research Symposium, Birmingham, AL. Poster won 2nd place resident student poster award.
    • Waselkov, P., Harris, A., O’Kelley, S.E., & Guest, K.C. (2014, May). Investigating the Correlation Between Parental Age at Birth and a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Poster presented at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), Atlanta, Ga.
    • O’Kelley, S.E., Guest, K.C., Patriquin, M., McCalla, M.K., Leger, S.E., & Waselkov, P. (2014, November). Exploration of Respondent and Child Characteristics on the Outcomes of Screening Tools. Poster presented at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) 2014 Conference, Washington, DC.
    • Burke, J., Guest, K.C., Lee, Y., & Lanzi, R. (2015, January). Cognitive readiness to parent among primiparous adolescent and adult mothers and its impact on child outcomes at 12 months. E-poster presented at the meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), New Orleans, La.
  • Academic Distinctions and Professional Societies
    • Alabama’s Early Intervention Preschool Conference Planning Committee, 2014 - Present
    • Central Alabama Early Intervention Executive Committee Member, 2012 - Present
    • Central Alabama Early Intervention Council Member, 2001 - Present
    • Central Alabama Early Intervention, Training Committee, 2002 - Present
    • Graduated Magna Cum Laude, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1994
    • Graduated with Honors in Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1994
    • Who’s Who Among Students of American Colleges and Universities, 1994
    • UAB Psi Chi President (National Honor Society in Psychology), 1993
    • UAB Psi Chi Charter Member, 1992