Radostina Borissova Antonova

Research Units

Affiliated Research areas

• Democratisation and social movements
• Inequalities, discrimination, prejudice
• Social integration, exclusion, prosocial behaviour
• Poverty and poverty alleviation
• Clinical and health psychology
• Cities; urban, regional and rural studies

Keywords

• Roma communities, ethnic minority
• Child and youth activism
• Action research, qualitative research methods
• Social work with families and communities
• Child human rights

Teaching areas

• Social work with Families and communities
• International Social Work

Summary

Radostina Antonova has a doctorate in sociology and a Master’s degree in psychology from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She is a researcher and project coordinator at the Know-how Center for Alternative Care for Children, New Bulgarian University and a part-time lecturer in the Master’s program “Psychosocial Interventions with Children and Families”, Health and Social Work Department at the NBU. She has more than 25 years of professional experience in developing, implementing and evaluating various methods of prevention and intervention and therapeutic work among vulnerable groups. She has over 20 scientific publications in Bulgarian and international scientific journals, including the British Medical Journal. Her research areas of interest are ethnic minorities, child and youth activism, child and human rights.

EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Sociology
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria (2018-2021)
Number and date of the diploma: N СУ 2021 - 175 / 10.12.2021г.
Master of Psychology
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria (1993-1998)
Diploma: series A-SU97; reg. № 00138812/16.04.1999
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in:
 Psychology of development, culture and education
 Clinic and consultative psychology
 Social psychology
General high school certificate with a major in foreign languages
91st German Language School "Konstantin Galabov", Sofia (1988-1993)
High school diploma: series A-93 № 0009373; reg. № 4611/24.06.1993г

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION
AMBIT Local Facilitator
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, UK (2020-2021)
Systemic family and couple consultant
Family Therapy Institute – Bulgaria, full member of EFTA-TIC (2014-2017)
Certificate N 28/2017
Protagonist centered psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy: Third training level – Psychodrama therapist
Institute for Psychodrama Dr. Ella Mae Shearon, Cologne, Germany and Bulgarian Society of Psychodrama and Group Therapy (1995-2008)
Trainer in group dynamic psycho-training and organizational behavior
Bulgarian-Danish College for Economics and Management (1997-1998)

EMPLOYMENT
2016-Present Project coordinator, researcher, trainer and supervisor at Know-how Centre for alternative care for children, New Bulgarian University
2018-Present Part-time lecturer at the Master's Program "Psychosocial Interventions with Children and Families" (in Bulgarian and in English language), Department of Health and Social Work, New Bulgarian University
2013-2016 Psychologist at Day care centre for people with intellectual disabilities, Maria’s World Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria
2004-2015 National short-term consultant at HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Program, funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Ministry of Health, Bulgaria, Component 5 (Prevention among Roma community) and Component 9 (Prevention in MSM (men who make sex with men) community)
1999-2013 Methodologist, coordinator, trainer and researcher at Health and Social Development Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria
Main projects:
2010 – 2013 - SRAP – Addiction Prevention within Roma and Sinti communities Project, funded by the Health program of EU 2008 – 2013. http://srap-project.eu/
2010 – 2012 - BORDERNETwork: Highly Active Prevention Project, funded by the Heath Program of EU and is co-funded by the German Ministry of Health (BMG).. http://www.bordernet.eu/BORDERNETwork_2010-2012/
2002 – 2012 - HIV prevention among high-risk social networks Research Project, funded by National Institute of Mental Health, USA
1998-1999 Pedagogical counsellor at 9th French Language High School “A. de Lamartine”, Sofia and at 81st High School “Victor Hugo”, Sofia

RESEARCH (selection)
Articles in scientific journals:
- Antonova, R. (2001). Specific characteristics of the self-image in representatives of minorities. Psychological research, 4(2), 97-102.
- Antonova, R. (2002). The laws of the ghetto. Psychological research, 5(2), 99-114.
- Kelly, J. A., Amirkhanian, Y. A., Kabakchieva, E., Vassileva, S., Vassilev, B., McAuliffe, T. L., Antonova, R., ... & Dimitrov, B. (2006). Prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in high risk social networks of young Roma (Gypsy) men in Bulgaria: randomised controlled trial. Bmj, 333(7578), 1098. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1661707/
- Antonova, R. (2011). Life perspectives of representatives of Roma origin. Clinical and counseling psychology, 3(9), 25-33.
- Papazova, E., & Antonova, R. (2012). Problem behavior in different social environments among adolescents of Bulgarian and Roma origin. Cognitie, Creier, Comportament/Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 16(1), 89-105.
- Papazova, E., & Antonova, R. (2013). Psychosocial maturity statuses and social environment in adolescence. Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 17(3), 201-214.
- Papazova, E., & Antonova, R. (2013). Subjective age in adolescence. Journal of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciencesе, book 5, 45-54.
- Antonova, R. B., Mineva, K., & Dimitrov, S. K. (2017). Level of Loneliness and Separation-Individuation Process Among People With Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Disorders. Psychological Thought, 10(1), 190-205. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v10i1.206
- Antonova, R. (2019). The impact of education on the experience of stigmatization and life perspectives of Roma youth. Sociological problems, 51(2), 609-633.
- Antonova, R. (2022). Traditional values, fatalism and experience of inter- and intra-group interactions among Bulgarian and Roma youth. In: Sociology as a civic commitment. (331-346). Sofia, UPH "St. Kliment Ohridski”. ISBN 978-954-07-5418-5
- Antonova, R. and Andonova, Zh. (2022). Multiple stigma experience of children in residential care whose biological mothers suffer mental disorder. In: Public Aspects of Mental Health and Mental Disorders. Ed.: Dimitrova, V., Martinova, M., Nakov, Vl. (52-72). Sofia, UI "St. Kliment Ohridski". ISBN 978-954-07-5522-9
- Nenova, G. and Antonova, R. (2023). Children’s rights in Bulgaria between theory and practice: The case of the deinstitutionalization reform. Intersections. EEJSP, 9(2): 54–71. https://intersections.tk.hu/index.php/intersections/article/view/1126
- Antonova, R. (2023). Environment, poverty and the future. Criticism and Humanism, 59(2), 109-128.
- Antonova, R. (2024). New teenage narratives about intimacy - results of a field study among adolescents in a Roma community. Criticism and Humanism, 60(1), 191-213.
- Mateeva, A. and Antonova, R. (2024). Application of the AMBIT approach as a system model for training specialists to work with children at risk and their families in Bulgaria. Collection “Social Work in a Changing World - Education, Research, Policy and Practice”. Sofia: Bulgarian Association for Social Work Education. ISBN 978-619-92882-1-4. (in press)
Books:
- Antonova, R. (2024). The changing Roma communities. University Publishing House "St. Kliment Ohridski", Sofia. ISBN 978-954-07-5900-5