I am Director of a research institute located at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center. My research generally centers around psychosocial aspects of disability at the individual and societal levels. I am particularly interested in structural aspects of the "disability identity" and in professionals' attitudes (implicit or explicit) that might impact on services or care provided to persons with disabilities.

Another one of my focuses has been on working with faculty from medical schools, nursing schools, and other healthcare training programs to explore options for including disability-related experiences in healthcare training curricula. Over the past couple years, I've been working with others to build a national consortium of health care faculty who share this interest. That group has formalized as the "Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education," and I am a member of the Board of Directors and past President of that organization. (The Alliance is now officially a 501c3 public charity, so donations are tax deductible!!!)

I have also been involved in research on behavior and cognition in persons with Lesch-Nyhan disease, a rare genetic disorder with a very unusual behavioral phenotype.

Prior to my current work, in the early 90's I worked in the mental health field as Vice-President for Research for a large provider of residential services for persons with serious and persistent mental illness.

Funding has included various small foundation grants, a Mary E. Switzer Rehabilitation Research Merit Fellowship from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR, U.S. Department of Education), a NIDRR field-initiated project grant to develop multimedia modules to train medical students in skills to work with patients who have developmental disabilities, a grant from the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, and currently a project evaluation component of a Matheny project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In addition to my role at Matheny, I'm on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School and I have taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Rutgers University, Centenary College, and Montclair State University on an adjunct basis.

Primary Interests:

Applied Social Psychology
Attitudes and Beliefs
Health Psychology
Self and Identity

Applied Social Psychology
Attitudes and Beliefs

Health Psychology
Self and Identity

Journal Articles:

Clarkson, A., & Robey, K. L. (2000). The use of identity structure modeling to examine the central role of musical experience within the identity of a young woman with severe physical disabilities. Music Therapy Perspectives, 18, 115-121.
Eddey, G.E. & Robey, K.L. (2005). Considering the culture of disability in cultural competence education. Academic Medicine, 80, 706-712.
Eddey, G. E., Robey, K. L., & McConnell, J. (1998). Increasing medical students' self-perceived skill and comfort in examining persons with severe disabilities: The use of standardized patients who are nonverbal due to cerebral palsy. Academic Medicine, 73 (October Supplement), 106-108.
Eddey, G. E., Robey, K. L., Zumoff, P. & Malik, Z. (1995). Multidisciplinary screening in an arena setting for developmental delay in children from birth to six years of age. Infant-Toddler Intervention, 5, 233-241.
Long-Bellil, L.M., O’Connor, D., Robey, K.L., Minihan, P.M., Graham, C.L. & Smeltzer, S. (2011). Disability in Health Care Education: Defining the Population. Academic Medicine, 86(9), 1066-1068.
Long-Bellil, L.M., Robey, K.L., Graham, C.L., Minihan, P.M., Smeltzer, S., and Kahn, P. (2011). Teaching medical students about disability: The use of standardized patients. Academic Medicine, 86(9), 1171-1178.
Matthews, W. S., Solan, A., Barabas, G., & Robey, K. (1999). Cognitive functioning in Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: a 4-year follow-up study. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 41, 260-262.
Migliore, L.E., Scoopo, F.J. & Robey, K. L. (1999). Fiberoptic examination of swallowing in persons with severe developmental disability: Managing the assessment situation. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 8, 303-308.
Minihan, P.M., Robey, K.L., Long-Bellil, L.M., Graham, C.L., Hahn, J.E., Woodard, L., and Eddey, G. (2011). Outcomes of disability-related training for the generalist physician: An exploration of the contributions of knowledge, attitudes and skills. Academic Medicine, 86(9), 1163-1170.
Muckenhoupt, M. & Robey, K. L. (1992). Use of formal assessments among providers of residential services for the seriously mentally ill. Psychological Reports, 71, 915-918.
Robey, K. L. (2008). Identity related to living situation in six individuals with congenital quadriplegia. Disability and Rehabilitation, 30, 107-113.
Robey, K. L. (1997). Structural examination of identity in an individual with severe physical disabilities. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 9, 91-100.
Robey, K. L. (1994). Group home residents' identities as patients and as community members. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 45, 58-62.
Robey, K.L., Beckley, L., & Kirschner, M. (2006). Implicit infantilizing attitudes about disability. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 18, 441-453.
Robey, K. L., Cohen, B. D., & Epstein, Y. M. (1988). Children's reactions to affection given to someone else: The effects of parental divorce, gender, and sibling position. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 17, 2-7.
Robey, K. L., Cohen, B. D., & Gara, M. (1989). Self-structure in schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 436-442.
Robey, K. L., Gwiazda, J. A., & Morse, J. S. (2001). Nursing students' self-attributions of skill, comfort, and approach when imagined caring for persons with severe developmental disabilities. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 13, 361-371.
Robey, K. L., Ramsland, S. E., & Castelbaum, K. (1991). Alignment of agency and personal missions: An evaluation. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 19, 39-45.
Robey, K. L., Reck, J. F., Giacomini, K. D., Barabas, G., & Eddey, G. E. (2003). Modes and patterns of self-mutilation in persons with Lesch-Nyhan disease. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 45, 167-171.

Other Publications:

Robey, K. L., & Ramsland, S. E. (1994). Will the quality of worklife in public human service organizations be significantly improved by using quality management techniques? ("Yes" argument). In M. J. Austin & J. I. Lowe (Eds.), Controversial Issues in Communities and Organizations. Boston: Allyn & Bacon

Courses Taught:

Dev. Disabilities for Med Students (clerkship rotation)
General Social Psychology (graduate)
Intro to Psychology
Psychology of Aggression
Research Methods for Social Work (graduate)

Dev. Disabilities for Med Students (clerkship rotation)
General Social Psychology (graduate)
Intro to Psychology

Psychology of Aggression
Research Methods for Social Work (graduate)

Kenneth Robey
Matheny Medical and Educational Center
P.O. Box 339
Peapack, NJ 07977
United States

Phone: (908) 234-0011, x716
Fax: (908) 234-0963
Email: research@matheny.org