Research

As a follow-up to The 2020 Study, we are launching a two-part mixed methods study. 

First, during The 2020 Study (Karras et al., 2022), qualitative interviews were completed with 90 immigrant-origin youth aged 12-18 living in the U.S. from the November 2020 election through the January 2021 inauguration. As the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election was central to our research study, we plan to reach back out to the original 90 youth to conduct follow-up interviews between the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election in November and the January 2025 inauguration. The original participants will now be ages 16-22. The follow-up interviews will replicate and expand upon the original study domains regarding youth's: (1) sociopolitical development; (2) identity development; (3) mental health and wellbeing; (4) sense of community and belonging; (5) engagement with political content on social media; and (6) critical consciousness development. 

Second, to further investigate the themes identified through The 2020 Study, we plan to recruit a new sample of 250-500 youth to complete an online survey that will include a mixture of close-ended survey questions and plus a small number of open-ended written questions that will mirror the qualitative interview domains of interest. Our inclusion criteria will be: youth aged 16-22 years old, who identify as immigrant-origin, and live in the U.S. 

PI

Dr. Juliana Karras, Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University

& Partner of the Immigration Initiative at Harvard 

Co-PIs

Dr. Guadalupe López Hernández, Psychology, Loyola University Chicago

Dr. Elena Maker Castro, Psychology, Bates College