myBama
Social Work

Tenesha Littleton

Little Hall, home of the UA School of Social Work
Tenesha Littleton

Assistant Professor

Contact Information

Email: tlittleton@ua.edu

Download Dr. Littleton’s CV

Areas of Interest and Expertise

  • Child & Family Social Policy
  • Child Maltreatment
  • Housing
  • Neighborhood Effects
  • Parenting
  • Poverty & Inequality

Departments

  • MSW Program

Education

  • PhD, University of Georgia
  • MSW, University of Georgia
  • BA, Tulane University

Bio

Dr. Tenesha Littleton’s research focuses on three primary areas: 1) the contextual factors that influence family functioning and well-being, particularly in resource-constrained communities; 2) geographic variation in rates of child maltreatment and the role of social policies in mitigating risk; and 3) the mental and physical health consequences of adverse childhood experiences over the life course. Dr. Littleton’s research is informed by a decade of direct practice experience providing social work services to children and families across educational, behavioral health, and child welfare settings. The goal of Dr. Littleton’s work is to generate strong empirical evidence to guide policy and practice interventions that create resilient communities for children and families.

Select Publications

Articles

  • Littleton, T. & Font, S.A. (2025). Racial residential segregation and disparities in child protective services: A study of large U.S. counties. International Journal of Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy, and Practice, 8(1), 7-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-024-00205-z
  • Littleton, T., Giorgio Cosenzo, L., Okine, J., & Newman, S. (2025). Perceived racial discrimination, childhood adversity, and self-reported high blood pressure among adults in rural Alabama. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1575793. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1575793
  • Littleton, T., Luo, Y., Abura-Meerdink, G., & Lee, H. Y. (2025). Associations between the social determinants of health and risk of interpersonal violence among Black Americans in rural Alabama. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241311616
  • Dellor, E., Wolf, J.P., Littleton, T., Benavides, J. L., Freisthler, B. (2025). The relationship between childhood emotional abuse and maladaptive parenting practices. Child Protection and Practice, 100187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2025.100187
  • Smith, B., Wang, K., Littleton, T., & Dinata, E. (2025). Are county-level child welfare vulnerability and protective factors associated with child welfare involvement? An investigation of geospatial child welfare equity. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2025.2462654
  • Littleton, T., Freisthler, B., Boyd, R., Smith, A., & Barboza, G. (2024). Historical redlining, neighborhood disadvantage, and reports of child maltreatment in a large urban county. Child Abuse & Neglect, 156, 107011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107011.
  • Littleton, T. & Freisthler, B. (2024). Affordable housing and neighborhood child maltreatment reports. Child Maltreatment, 29(4), 625-636. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595231218177
  • Palmer, L., Littleton, T., Font, S.A., & Ahn, E. (2024). Beyond child abuse: The array of family problems brought to the child welfare system. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2024.2421272
  • Font, S., Kennedy, R., & Littleton, T. (2023). Child welfare systems involvement and exclusionary school discipline. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13941   
  • LaBrenz, C., Littleton, T., Shipe, S., Bai, R., & Stargel, L. (2023). State policies on child maltreatment and racial disproportionality. Children and Youth Services Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107048   
  • LaBrenz, C., Kim, Y., Baiden, P., Shipe, S., Littleton, T., Cho, M. J., Bai, R., & Stargel, L. (2022). State child maltreatment policies and disparities in substantiation: A study of state-administered child welfare systems in the U.S. Child Maltreatment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595221143136   
  • Potter, M.H., Littleton, T., & Font, S.A. (2022). State support policies and children’s living arrangements. Child Abuse & Neglect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105873   
  • Lee, M., Jennings-McGarity, P., Littleton, T., & Caplan, M. (2022). The teaching of social work history and the inclusion of African American contributors: Implications for social work educators. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2022.2137717  
  • Saasa, S., Okech, D., Choi, Y.J., Nackerud, L.& Littleton, T. (2021). Social exclusion, mental health, and social well-being among African immigrants in the United States. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872820963425
  • Bae, J., Jennings, P.F., Hardeman, C., Kim, E., Lee, M., Littleton, T., & Saasa, S. (2019). Compassion satisfaction among social work practitioners: The role of work-life balance. Journal of Social Service Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2019.1566195
  • Campbell, R. D. & Littleton, T. (2018). Mental health counseling in the Black American church: Reflections and recommendations from counselors serving in a counseling ministry. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 21(4), 336-352. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2018.1494704.
  • Littleton, T., Choi, Y.J., & McGarity, S.V. (2020). Psychological and social correlates of HIV stigma among people living with HIV. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 19(1), 74-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15381501.2019.1699486
  • McPherson, J., Jennings, P.F., Arnold, B., Littleton, T., & Lee, M. (2020). Creating global scholars: Experiential learning and reflection transform an international conference into a short-term study abroad. Journal of Social Work Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2020.1770641
  • Mowbray, O., Jennings, P.F., Littleton, T., Grinnell-Davis, C., & O’Shields, J. (2018). Caregiver depression and trajectories of behavioral health among child welfare involved youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79, 445-453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.03.001.
  • Saasa, S., Okech, D., Choi, Y.J., Nackerud, L.& Littleton, T. (2021). Social exclusion, mental health, and social well-being among African immigrants in the United States. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872820963425

Book Chapters

  • Littleton, T., Lee, M., & Cornelius, L. J. (2018). Analyzing the problem: Disparities in behavioral and mental health for people of color and Latinos. In C. Moniz and S. Gorin (Eds.), Mental Health Care Policy and Practice. A Biopsychosocial Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.