Malitta Engstrom, PhD, LCSW
Research Interests
Substance use and intersections with criminal legal system involvement, victimization, HIV, and mental health, particularly in relation to women across the life course and families
Informing, developing, and testing interventions to address co-occurring concerns
Enhancing the value of scientific findings for use in practice
Multigenerational social work practice with families
Malitta Engstrom is the Faculty Director of the MSW Program and an Associate Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on substance use and intersections with criminal legal system involvement, victimization, HIV, and mental health, particularly in relation to women across the life course and families; informing, developing, and testing interventions to address these intersecting concerns; and enhancing the value of scientific findings for use in practice. Dr. Engstrom’s research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the John A. Hartford Foundation, the Penn Center for AIDS Research, and other sources. Across her career, she has been recognized with research, career development, and teaching honors, including by the Society for Social Work and Research, the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program, the NIH Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program, Excellence in Teaching awards at Penn, and an invited Distinguished Fellow appointment at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Dr. Engstrom has held leadership positions at multiple institutions and is deeply engaged in national and international professional service. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, where she regularly reviews for the GSA Annual Conference, and has served on multiple National Institute on Drug Abuse Review Panels, including those connected to the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term Initiative (HEAL) Initiative. She contributed to the Council on Social Work Education’s Substance Use Curricular Guide and has held editorial and review roles with numerous journals, including Social Service Review, Social Work, and Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy.
Dr. Engstrom began teaching social work practice courses over 20 years ago and has taught courses that focus on foundation and advanced clinical practice, substance use practice, and practice with families experiencing physical and mental health concerns. Dr. Engstrom has mentored many doctoral students who have conducted innovative research related to substance use, criminal legal system involvement, trauma, mental health, and HIV. Her teaching and scholarship are informed by numerous years of practice experience with individuals, families, and groups and by her experience as a clinical supervisor and field instructor.
Before joining the SP2 faculty, Dr. Engstrom held appointments at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. She received her PhD in social work with distinction from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where, as a National Institute of Mental Health National Research Service Awardee, she focused on mental health services research. Dr. Engstrom also holds a master’s degree in social work from the Columbia University School of Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University with an AB in educational studies (with honors) and in women’s studies.
Contact
Phone
office: 215.573.6454
fax: 215.573.2099
Address
3701 Locust Walk, Caster Building
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214
About
Department(s)
Standing Faculty | MSW Program | Faculty | School Administration | Degree ProgramsProgram(s)
MSW | DSW | PhDResearch Areas(s)
Mass Incarceration, Homelessness, Substance UsePublications
Selected Publications
Lushin, V., Marcus, S., Tao, S., Engstrom, M., Roux, A., & Shea, L. (2025). Comparing the prevalence of substance use disorders between persons with and without autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 29(7), 1674–1687. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251325282
Corcoran, J., Engstrom M., Ledwith, K., Jefferies, G., & Cadet, T. (2024). The role play and simulations: Variations in the contemporary social work classroom. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 45(1), 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2024.2433790
Masin-Moyer, M., Kim, J. C., Engstrom, M., & Solomon, P. (2022). A scoping review of the Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model (TREM). Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 23(3), 699–715. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020967862
Rivera, R., Engstrom, M., Rees, J., Saldana, L., Beidas, R., Marcus, S., Rzewinski, J., & Lushin, V. (2021). Child health consequences of parental opioid use: A scoping review. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 21(4):333-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533256X.2021.1973829
Masin-Moyer, M., Engstrom, M., & Solomon, P. (2020). A comparative effectiveness study of a shortened Trauma Recovery Empowerment Model and an attachment-informed adaptation. Violence Against Women, 26(5), 482–504. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219836730
CSWE National Task Force. (2020). Specialized Practice Curricular Guide for Substance Use Social Work Practice. Alexandria, VA: Council on Social Work Education. Available from: https://www.cswe.org/getmedia/f6a823fa-a2cf-4f8c-b700-b094a52fecb3/2015-Substance-Use-Guide-Web-Version-(2)_Watermark.pdf.
Engstrom, M., Alford, S., Hampton, K., Longmire, M., Schwarz, M. K., & Eder, M. (2019). Evaluation of SISTA and Safety Counts in “real-world” settings with African American women in Chicago. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 18(3), 213-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/15381501.2018.1522287
Sharlein, J., & Engstrom, M. (2018). Neighborhood disproportion in juvenile justice contact. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 69(4), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12119
Wimberly, A. S., Engstrom, M., Layde, M., & McKay, J. R. (2018). A randomized trial of yoga for stress and substance use among people living with HIV in reentry. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 94, 97-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2018.08.001
Conner, L. R., Engstrom, M., Junious, E., & Edwards-Knight, K. (2018). Woman to Woman (W2W): Adapting an HIV risk reduction intervention for older women. Journal of Women & Aging, 30(5), 428-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2017.1313017
Engstrom, M., Winham, K. M., Golder, S., Higgins, G., Renn, T., & Logan, T. (2017). Correlates of HIV risks among women on probation and parole. AIDS Education and Prevention, 29(3), 256-273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/aeap.2017.29.3.256
Wimberly, A., & Engstrom, M. (2017). Stress, substance use, and yoga in the context of community reentry following incarceration. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 24(1), 96-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1078345817726536
Engstrom, M., Wimberly, A., & Franke, N. (2017). Mass incarceration: What’s at stake and what to do. In J. L. Jackson, Jr. (Ed.), Social policy and social justice(pp. 20-41). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Engstrom, M., Winham, K. M., & Gilbert, L. (2016). Types and characteristics of childhood sexual abuse: How do they matter in HIV sexual risk behaviors among women in methadone treatment in New York City? Substance Use & Misuse, 51(3), 277-294. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2015.1058823
Golder, S., Engstrom, M., Hall, M. T., Higgins, G., & Logan, T. (2015). Psychological distress among victimized women on probation and parole: A latent class analysis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 85(4), 382-391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000057
Winham, K. M., Engstrom, M., Golder, S., Renn, T., Higgins, G. E., & Logan, T. (2015). Childhood victimization, attachment, psychological distress and substance use among women on probation and parole. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 85(2), 145-158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000038
Golder, S., Hall, M. T., Engstrom, M., Higgins, G. E., & Logan, T. (2014). Correlates of recent drug use among victimized women on probation and parole. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(4), 1105-1116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0038351
Canada, K. E., Engstrom, M., & Jang, E. (2014). Psychosocial and re-incarceration risks among older adults in mental health courts. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(8), 845-849. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.07.002
Engstrom, M., El-Bassel, N., & Gilbert, L. (2012). Childhood sexual abuse characteristics, intimate partner violence exposure, and psychological distress among women in methadone treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 43(3), 366-376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2012.01.005
Engstrom, M.(2012). Family processes in kinship care. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes: Growing diversity and complexity (4th ed., pp. 196-221). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Engstrom, M.(2012). Physical and mental health: Interactions, assessment, and interventions. In S. Gehlert and T. Arthur Browne (Eds.), Handbook of health social work (2nd edition, pp. 164-218). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Engstrom, M., Mahoney, C. A., & Marsh, J. C. (2012). Substance use problems in health social work practice. In S. Gehlert and T. Arthur Browne (Eds.), Handbook of health social work (2nd edition, pp. 426-467). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Engstrom, M., Shibusawa, T., El-Bassel, N., & Gilbert, L. (2011). Age and HIV sexual risk among women in methadone treatment. AIDS and Behavior, 15(1),103-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9625-z
Lee, H. S., Engstrom, M., & Petersen, S. R. (2011). Harm reduction and 12 steps: Complementary, oppositional, or something in-between? Substance Use & Misuse, 46(9), 1151-1161. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2010.548435
Engstrom, M.(2008). Involving caregiving grandmothers in family interventions when mothers with substance use problems are incarcerated. Family Process, 47(3), 357-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2008.00258.x
Engstrom, M., El-Bassel, N., Go, H., & Gilbert, L. (2008). Childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence among women in methadone treatment: A direct or mediated relationship? Journal of Family Violence, 23(7), 605-617. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-008-9183-6
Schiff, M., El-Bassel, N., Engstrom, M., & Gilbert, L. (2002). Psychological distress and intimate physical and sexual abuse among women in methadone maintenance treatment programs. Social Service Review, 76(2), 302-320. https://doi.org/10.1086/339665