Lab Research Areas
Youth Identity Development
The question of "Who am I?" plays a critical role in youth development. Gaining a strong and clear sense of self has been found to be related to mental health, interpersonal relationships, and academic motivation. Research on identity development has explored the multiple sources of identity that young people draw from, including personal characteristics (physical features, hobbies, values), social categories (race/ethnicity, gender, age), and relationships (friend, romantic partner, parent). Drawing from holistic approaches to well-being, we are interested in exploring the role of multiple identities in promoting positive development.
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How does possessing multiple identities foster or challenge healthy adjustment among young people?
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How might these identities play out differently for diverse youth?
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What are the potential interventions and policies that can promote positive identity development?
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How do differences in interpersonal and structural experiences explain health disparities across social groups?
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How might these systemic inequities differentially impact unique groups' experiences?
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What are some cultural factors that may serve as potential protective factors that can help buffer against these systemic inequities?
Social Determinants of Health & Health Disparities
Health disparities refer to the differences in health outcomes across social groups that are systematically driven by social conditions. These are often linked with economic and environmental factors that limit accessibility and increase health risks, such as educational neighborhood disparities. In addition, these disparities often intersect with other demographic factors, such as race/ethnicity, gender, immigrant status, and cultural background. We are interested in exploring the unique experiences of diverse groups who have been systematically targeted and how public health efforts and policies can reduce these disparities.
Multicultural and Cross-Cultural Psychology
The United States continues to see an ever-growing diversity of social identities, cultural backgrounds, and lived experiences due to increased globalization. However, this historical growth in diversity has also led to growing anxiety and intergroup tensions. These intergroup tensions can manifest both as internal (biases, prejudice) or behavioral (bigotry/discrimination). In addition, a years of colonization has resulted in a psychological field that has historically centered the experiences of advantaged groups, namely individuals in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies (WEIRD) societies. We are invested in growing efforts towards decolonizing psychological science, primarily through a focus on multicultural and cross-cultural psychology.
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How can psychological research be applied to real-world challenges related to multiculturalism and intergroup relations?
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How might widely regarded theories differ when investigated under different cultural contexts?
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What ways can non-Western approaches to psychology and healing be integrated to adapt to unique experiences?