CURRENT LAB STUDIES

  • RAÍCES

    Resiliencia, Apoyando, Identidad cultural, Crianza, Educación y Superación juvenil

    (Resilience Supporting Cultural Identity, Parenting, Education, and Youth Empowerment)

    Overview: The goal of this project is to refine and evaluate a culturally grounded parenting program designed for Latine families. The program supports parents in strengthening skills to help their children navigate racial and cultural stressors, foster a positive racial-ethnic identity, and enhance family relationships that promote youths’ social and emotional well-being.

    Funding Source: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

  • PROJECT SQUAD

    Overview: Project SQUAD is a longitudinal study examining how experiences of racial discrimination and other cultural stressors shape mental health and well-being among Black and Latine youth ages 12–17, using a traumatic stress framework.

PAST LAB STUDIES

  • ONE TALK AT A TIME - ANTI-RACISM

    Overview: Our lab is currently piloting an anti-racism parenting program for White parents of 10-14 year old youth. More to come!

  • PROJECT SUPPORT NET

    Racial discrimination disproportionately impacts Black youth, increasing risk for poor mental health. Racial socialization (RS) is protective against the negative impacts of racial discrimination, yet research primarily focuses on parents as agents of RS messages. Project Support Net uses an egocentric social network approach to define Black youths’ support systems and identify multiple simultaneous sources of RS messages within these networks. We will look at the structure and quality of Black youths’ RS networks, as well as how these networks impact Black youths’ mental health in the context of racial discrimination. 

    Funding: MADRES Center for Environmental Health Disparities, NIMHD grant #P50MD015705

  • PROJECT MORRENA

    Co-PIs: Dr. Lillian Polanco-Roman & Dr. Henry Willis

    Overview: Project Morrena (Measure Of Racial trauma in Racial-EthNic minoritized Adolescents): Scholars have highlighted the potential traumatizing effect of racism-related experiences in adults; yet, until recently, theoretical models of adverse childhood experiences have neglected stressors uniquely affecting racial and ethnic minoritized youth, such as experiences of racism. The goal of Project Morrena was to develop and validate the first measure of racism-based traumatic stress symptoms in racial and ethnic minoritized youth.

    Status: Between 2021-2023, we recruited a national sample of over 1,000 12-17-year -old youth from diverse geographic regions across the United States. This project concluded in December 2023, and preparation of manuscripts and future grant submissions to extend this work is underway.

    Funding: Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) Child Mental Health in Action Grant

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