This qualitative study explores how direct and indirect messages about colorism within and outside the family context impact Black female college students in the United States. Additionally, we are exploring how specific experiences of colorism impact participants’ psychological and social well-being (i.e., self-concept, mood, relationships, and sense of belonging), and how participants cope with and resist colorism and racism.
This study is currently in the data analysis phase, and will be presented at the APA 2026 Conference in Washington D.C.
Most existing research on multiracial individuals emphasizes negative outcomes such as identity confusion, discrimination, and poor psychological adjustment. As a result, much less attention has been given to factors that support positive development, including pride in multiracial identity, bicultural socialization, and adaptive identity strategies (e.g., race or code-switching across contexts). We are exploring Multiracial Asian American college students' experiences of racial and ethnic messages they receive from their families, peers, and broader society and how these messages influence their self-perception and racial and cultural identity. We are also examining interpersonal supports that facilitate positive identity development and resilience.
This study is currently in the data analysis phase.
Despite extensive scholarship documenting colorism and its psychological and relational consequences, limited research has examined how second generation Indian American women experience and make meaning of colorist messages across familial, community, and sociocultural contexts. This qualitative study aims to deepen understandings of how colorism shapes second generation Indian American women’s sense of self, relationships, and well-being by exploring how participants interpret, internalize, and respond to colorism across familial, community, and sociocultural contexts.
This study is currently in the data analysis phase.
While there is growing attention to identity and psychological development of Asian Americans in the U.S., most research has focused on first- and second-generation people. The third generation remains critically underrepresented in psychological research, and therefore, relatively little is known about their experiences of family dynamics, discrimination, and racial/ethnic socialization processes, especially as these factors relate to cultural identity and mental health. This project examines the associations between family dynamics, discrimination, ethnic identity, discrimination-related stress, and mental health outcomes among third generation Asian Americans.
This study is currently enrolling participants, if interested please see here.
To date, there is little research examining how early career psychodynamically oriented psychologists conceptualize sociocultural issues in the therapeutic relationship. There is an even larger gap in research on how their professional and personal experiences of the current sociopolitical environment are implicated in their work with their psychotherapy clients. We are conducting a qualitative study to gain an in-depth understanding of racial/ethnic minoirty early career psychologists' experiences of providing psychodynamic psychotherapy in the contemporary U.S. context.
This study is currently in the data analysis phase, and will be presented at the APA 2026 Conference in Washington D.C.