Robert Atkins, Assistant Professor of Nursing, College of Nursing (B.A., Brown; BSN, Penn; MSN, Rutgers; PhD, Temple) studies children and adolescents with a focus on how personality functioning affects health.
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Dr. Atkins teaches research methods and pediatric primary care courses in the College of Nursing, Rutgers, Newark.

Dr. Atkins' research addresses theory and practice for improving the life chances of children and youth living in high-poverty, urban neighborhoods. This interest grows from his experiences in Camden—one of America’s poorest cities--as a school nurse, the director of a public health initiative, and as the founder youth development program. Dr. Atkins’ research with nationally representative longitudinal survey data illuminates the effects of urban poverty on child and adolescent development. Dr. Atkins’ current work explores three questions about the development of youth living in high-poverty neighborhoods: 1) What social and institutional processes mediate the relationship of high-poverty neighborhoods to the health and well-being of youth living in those neighborhoods? 2) How does stress influence personality development in childhood? 3) How does childhood personality influence the emergence of risky and health-damaging behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood?

STARR (Sports Teaching Adolescents Responsibility and Resiliency) Program. With Dan Hart, Robert Atkins founded the STARR Program, now in its eleventh year, which combines year-round sports, community service, camping, and homework support in order to foster development among youth in one of the poorest cities in America. The Camden STARR Program is working with approx. 80-100 African American, Latino, and Southeastern Asian adolescents, to foster the development of responsibility and resiliency in young teenagers through sports, community service, fundraising activities, and education and computer training. (Read "Citizenship and Urban Youth" by Bob Atkins and Dan Hart)

Healthy Futures for Camden Youth (HFCY). With Dan Hart, Robert Atkins has developed the HFCY Program (now in its fourth year) to improve access to healthcare for youth in Camden, New Jersey. Central to the program is the door-to-door canvassing of neighborhoods throughout the city in order to enroll low income and immigrant families in the health insurance programs that are prerequisite to obtaining care. HFCY has targeted health concerns related to children and teens. With Nancy Southerland and Dan Hart, Robert Atkins interviewed parents who enrolled in NJ's Family Care Program. The researchers found that the health insurance program dramatically improves children's access to health care.
The report: "Does Health Insurance Improve Children's Lives? A Study of New Jersey's Family Care Program" is available in PDF:
http://camden-nt1.rutgers.edu/hart/hfcywebdocument.PDF

Atkins, R. & Matsuba, K. (in press). The association of childhood personality on risky sexual behaviors during adolescence. Journal of School Health.

Atkins, R. (in press). The association of personality and the likelihood of serious unintentional injury during childhood. Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

Hart, D., Atkins, R. & Mastuba, K. (in press). The association of neighborhood poverty with personality change in childhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Atkins, R. (in press). The Nursing Professor’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of Nursing School. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Atkins, R. (2007). The association of personality type in early childhood with violence in adolescence. Research in Nursing and Health. 30, 308-319.

Hart, D., Donnelly, T., Youniss, J. & Atkins, R. (2007). High School Community Service as a Predictor of Adult Voting and Volunteering. American Educational Research Journal, 44, 107-219.

Matsuba, K., Hart, D. & Atkins, R. (2007). Psychological and Social-Structural Influences on Commitment to Volunteering. Journal of Research in Personality. 41, 889-907.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Tursi, N.  (2006). Origins and developmental influences        on self-esteem.  In M. Kernis (Ed.) Self-esteem: Issues and answers (pp. 157-162).  London: Psychology Press.

Atkins, R., Hart, D., & Donnelly, T. (2005).  The association of childhood personality type with volunteering during adolescence.  Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 51, 145-162.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Youniss, J.  (2005). Knowledge, youth bulges, and rebellion.  Psychological Science, 16, 661-662.

Hart, D., Burock, D., London, B., Atkins, R & Bonilla-Santiago, G.  (2005). The Relation of Personality Type to Salivary Cortisol, Classroom Behavior, and Academic Achievement.  The European Journal of Personality, 19, 391-407.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Watson, N. C.  (2005). How to start your own youth development micro-program.  SRA Newsletter, Spring, 1. 

Donnelly, T., Matsuba, K., Atkins, R. & Hart, D. (2005).  The relationship between spiritual  development and civic development. P.L. Benson, E.C. Roehlkepartain, P. Ebstyne, & L.M. Wagener’s  (Eds.), Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence,: Sage Publications. 

Atkins, R. & Hart, D. (2004).  Moral identity development and school attachment. In D. Lapsley and D. Narvaez  (Eds.) (2004). Morality, Self and Identity: Essays in Honor of Augusto Blasi. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., Markey, P., & Youniss, J. (2004).  Youth bulges in communities: The effect of age structure on adolescent civic knowledge and civic participation.  Psychological Science, 15,  591-597.

Hart, D., Atkins, R. & Donnelly, T. (2004).  James Youniss’ contributions to applied developmental science.  In C. B. Fisher & R. M. Lerner (Eds.)  Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, And programs.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., Suarez, H., & Beckwith, K.  (2004). Religious participation and the development of moral identity in adolescence.  In T. Thorkildsen, J. Manning, & H. Walberg (Eds.) Nurturing Morality.  New York: Kluwer. 

Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Fegley, S.  (2003).  Personality and development in childhood: A person-centered approach.  Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 68(1, Serial No. 272). 

Atkins, R. & Hart, D. (2003).  Neighborhoods, adults, and the development of civic identity in urban youth.  Applied Developmental Science, 7, 156-165.

Hart, D., Burock, D., London, B., & Atkins, R. (2003). Prosocial tendencies, antisocial behavior, and moral development.  In A. Slater and G. Bremner (Eds.). An Introduction to Developmental Psychology.  Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Hart, D., Southerland, N., & Atkins, R.  (2003). Community service and adult development.  In J. Demick & C. Andreoletti (Eds.) Handbook of adult development (pp. 585-597).  New York, Plenum.

Hart, D. & Atkins, R. (2002).  Fostering citizenship in urban youth.  Applied Developmental Science, 6 227-237.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Ford, D.  (1999). Family influences on the formation of moral identity in adolescence: Longitudinal analyses. Journal of Moral Education, 28, 375-386.

 Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Ford, D.  (1998). Urban America as a context for the development of moral identity in adolescence.  Journal of Social Issues, 54, 513-530. 

Atkins, R. (Principal Investigator) Center for Children and Childhood Studies Associates Award, An Investigation of the Neighborhood Characteristics Associated with Assault and Criminal Violence in the City of Camden, NJ (October, 2005);

Atkins, R. (Principal Investigator) Busch Biomedical Award,  An Exploration of the Neighborhood Characteristics Associated with Violence in Camden, NJ (July, 2005);

Atkins, R. (Principal Investigator) Cornwall Center Research Award, An Investigation of the Association between Neighborhood Stress and the Development of Violent Behavior in Urban Youth (June, 2005);

Atkins, R. (Principal Investigator) College of Nursing Office of Research Faculty Award, An Exploratory Investigation of Urban Neighborhoods and Youth Violence (June, 2005);

Campbell Soup Foundation, "The Camden STARR Program" (2000-2006);

 Ameri*Corp, National Civilian Conservation Crop, Healthy Futures for Camden Youth (2000-2003);

 Ameri*Corp, National Civilian Conservation Crop, Healthy Futures for Camden Youth (2002);

Camden Empowerment Zone Corporation, The Camden STARR Program (1999).