Rate My Professor Cheryl Somers

Cheryl Somers, Ph.D., is a Professor in Health Science at Wayne State University, affiliated with the College of Education's Community Health program area, the Division of Kinesiology, Health, and Sport Studies, and the Center for Health and Community Impact. She earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology with a specialization in Counseling Psychology from Ball State University in 1997, a Master of Arts in School Psychology from Ball State University in 1993, and a Bachelor of Science in Social Science/Psychology from Michigan State University in 1992. A fully licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist in Michigan, Somers joined Wayne State University in 1998 following a two-year appointment at Eastern Illinois University. She serves as Associate Director of the Community Health Worker Academy, which she co-developed, and contributes to the Academic Senate Research Committee.

Her research specializations encompass contextual predictors—such as family, peers, school, and media—of social-emotional development, academic achievement, physical health, and sexual health outcomes, with a focus on vulnerable youth from low-income and economically marginalized backgrounds. Somers investigates trauma exposure and trauma-informed teaching interventions, the integration of mental and physical health and wellness, school-based programs to mitigate risk behaviors, resilience and recovery from trauma, and the training and impact of Community Health Workers on social determinants of health inequities. Key publications include "Students' perceptions of parent–adolescent closeness and communication about sexuality: Relations with sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors" (Somers & Paulson, 2000), "Individual and social factors related to urban African American adolescents' school performance" (Somers, Owens, & Piliawsky, 2008), "A study of high school dropout prevention and at-risk ninth graders' role models and motivations for school completion" (Somers, Owens, & Piliawsky, 2009), "Student perspectives on how trauma experiences manifest in the classroom: Engaging court-involved youth in the development of a trauma-informed teaching curriculum" (West, Day, Somers, & Baroni, 2014), and "Parental social support, perceived competence and enjoyment in school physical activity" (Shen et al., 2018). Her scholarship, cited over 4,900 times, advances health and wellness equity and youth interventions in urban settings.