Carolyn O’Connor
Honours BA Child & Youth Studies – Brock University
MSW – University of Toronto
Supervisor: Prof. Ramona Alaggia
Email: carolyn.oconnor@mail.utoronto.ca
Carolyn O’Connor, MSW, RSW, is a fifth-year doctoral candidate and course instructor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. She also works as a clinical social worker in private practice. Carolyn sits on the Ontario Association of Social Workers’ Board of Directors as the Student Director for the 2023-2025 term. She is currently involved in a qualitative project examining the nature and impact of the #MeToo movement on collective and micro-level sexual violence disclosures. In addition, she is a research assistant for a multi-province study of child welfare policies and practices that occur when children are exposed to intimate partner violence. Her research interests include the prevention of sexual violence and understanding complex sexual consent issues, particularly among adolescents.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Alaggia, R., O’Connor, C., West, K., & Fuller-Thomson, E. (2022). Troubled times: Canadian social workers’ early adversities, mental health and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Social Work.
O’Connor, C., & Begun, S. (2022). Understanding sexual consent among adolescents: Protocol for a scoping review. Social Science Protocols, 5(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.7565/ssp.v5.6738
Zhao, K., Lenz, T., & O’Connor, C., & Fang, L. (2022). Conceptualizing anti-Asian racism in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action to social workers. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 31(3-5), 302-312. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2022.2070892
Begun, S., Barman-Adhikari, A., O’Connor, C., & Rice, E. (2020). Social support and pregnancy attitudes among youth experiencing homelessness. Children and Youth Services Review, 113, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104959
King, B., Fallon, B., Goulden, A., O’Connor, C., & Filippelli, J. (2019). What constitutes risk for young mothers? An examination of child protection investigations involving adolescent and transition-age mothers. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 100(4), 409-421. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389419847319
King, B., Fallon, B., Black, T., Filippelli, J., & O’Connor, C. (2018). Troubled teens and challenged caregivers: Characteristics associated with the decision to provide child welfare services to adolescents in Ontario, Canada. Children and Youth Services Review, 87, 205-215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.037
King, B., Fallon, B. A., Boyd, R. K., Black, T., Antwi-Boasiako, K., & O’Connor, C. (2017). Factors associated with racial differences in child welfare investigative decision-making in Ontario, Canada. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73, 89-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.09.027
Selected Peer-Reviewed Conference Presentations:
Nixon, K., Alaggia, R., & O’Connor, C. (accepted). (2023, September 11-13). In search of promising approaches: Canadian child protection service (CPS) responses to cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) [Symposium]. European Conference on Domestic Violence, Reykjavík, Iceland.
O’Connor, C., & Begun, S. (2022). Understanding sexual consent among adolescents: A 30-year scoping review (1990-2020). Paper presented at the 27th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). Phoenix, AZ.
O’Connor, C., Pascoe, R., Brown, S., Rastin, A., & Alaggia, R (2022). Changes in sexual consent attitudes among middle school students: Evaluation of the pep talk program. Paper presented at the 27th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). Phoenix, AZ.
O’Kane, M., O’Connor, C., Beltrano, N., Thomson-Sweeny, J., & Seymour, A. (2022). On being a doctoral social work student today: What can the CSWDSN offer? [Panel]. 1st annual Canadian Social Work Doctoral Student Network (CSWDSN) Conference. Vancouver, BC.
O’Connor, C. (2022). Exploring dominant discourses of gender-based violence. Paper presented at the 1st annual Canadian Social Work Doctoral Student Network (CSWDSN) Conference. Vancouver, BC.
Zhao, K., Lenz, T., & O’Connor, C. (2021). Conceptualizing Chinese international students’ sense of belonging in Canadian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paper presented at the Canadian Association for Social Work Education/Association Canadienne pour la Formation en Travail Social (CASWE-ACFTS) Annual Conference, Online.
Nixon, K., Alaggia, R., & O’Connor, C. (2019). Child protection responses to cases of intimate partner violence: Preliminary findings from interviews with supervisors and managers. Paper presented at the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre (MMFC) Conference. Fredericton, NB.
King, B., Fallon, B., & O’Connor, C. (2019). What constitutes risk among young mothers? Examining the determination that very young children are at risk for future maltreatment during a child protection investigation. Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). San Francisco, CA.
King, B., Fallon, B., Black, T., Filippelli, J., & O’Connor, C. (2018). Troubled teens and challenged caregivers: Characteristics associated with the decision to provide child welfare services to adolescents in Ontario, Canada. Paper presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). Washington, DC.
Research Grants/Awards:
Richard B. Splane Social Policy and Social Innovation Scholarship – 2023 ($1,500.74)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship – 2022-2023 ($15,000)
Neysmith Feminist Social Policy Scholarship – 2022 ($1,375)
University of Toronto Fellowship Award – 2022 ($1,000)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship – 2021-2022 ($15,000)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship – 2020-2021 ($15,000)
Neysmith Feminist Social Policy Scholarship – 2020 ($2,020)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship – 2019-2020 ($15,000)
Insight Grant, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council – Collaborator, 2019 ($92,979)
Royal Bank of Canada Graduate Fellowship in Applied Social Work Research – 2018 ($10,000)
Carpenters and Allied Workers Local 27 Scholarship – 2018 ($1,925)
Phi Alpha Honour Society for Social Work, Chi Delta Chapter at the University of Toronto – 2017
University of Toronto Fellowship Award – 2015 ($1,000)