Current projects

 Our current research focuses on the complex relationship between sociopolitical development and wellbeing for adolescents and emerging adults. 

 

1. RYSE WELL: Rural Youth’s Sociopolitical Engagement And Wellbeing (2023- Current)

Rural adolescents may uniquely navigate civic contexts and experiences to drive their sociopolitical engagement, and these experiences may have important ramifications for physiological (e.g., stress) and psychological (e.g., sense of empowerment) development. We are collaborating with Dr. Natasha Chaku and the  InterACT Lab at University of Indiana Bloomington to explore how rural youth in Maine and Indiana experience civic empowerment and stress through their sociopolitical engagement. 

 

2. Sociopolitical Development and Wellbeing among Emerging Adult College Students (2022- Current)

We use participatory interviews and an qualitative approach to examine emerging adults’ sociopolitical development (i.e., one’s thinking, efficacy, and action to transform societal oppressions) in relation to emerging adult college students’ emotional and mental wellbeing. We consider developmental trajectories, sociopolitical context, and social identities in this work. 

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3. Sociopolitical Development Socialization Processes among Immigrant-Origin Boys (2024- Current)
Intersecting systems of gender, racial/ethnic, and cultural socialization may inform distinct sociopolitical development patterns for immigrant-origin boys of different ethnic/racial backgrounds. As part of a larger study with Dr. Juliana Karras at San Francisco State University, we are qualitatively analyzing 19 semi-structured interviews with ethnically/racially diverse immigrant-origin boys' sociopolitical development experiences.