Eco-Developmental Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation Lab

SER Familia: A Family-Based Intervention Addressing Syndemic Conditions among Latino Immigrant Families. Randomized trial with 380 Latino immigrants to the US to test whether SER Familia (Salud, Estrés y Resilencia en Familias/ Health, Stress, and Resilience in Families), a family-based, six-session intervention co-developed and delivered by community health workers, can prevent syndemic health conditions by decreasing acculturative stress and promoting resilience. of 385 Hispanic/Latinx young adult immigrants to the U.S. to investigate the effects of acculturation stress and resilience on co-occurring substance abuse, intimate partner violence, HIV risk, and depression (i.e., syndemic conditions) and biological stress over a two-year period. NIH/NIMHD R01MD018920, Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda (PI; Duke University), 2014-2029.

Soy de Aquí y de Allá. A single-arm pilot study to test feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the Sentirme, an online belonging group for  for young adult (18-25 years) Latine college students. This workshop is a 2-hour, single-session psychoeducational group to improve well-being and reduce distress of college students. Julia Cantú, 2025-2027.

Fractured Foundations: Does Divorce Impact College Students’ Academic Performance, Mental Health, Financials, and Interpersonal Relationships? This mixed-methods study will recruit undergraduate AU students to examine the effects of parent divorce on undergraduate students. URF0‍732, Michaela Stanik, 2025-2026.

EMPOWER Black Mothers Workshop. A single-arm pilot study to test feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the EMPOWER Black Mothers Workshop in a sample of nursing students. This workshop is a brief, one-session psychoeducational group that integrates the Respectful Maternity Care and Multicultural Competence frameworks to train students to provide better maternal health care to Black women. Courtney Williams, 2024-2026.

Los Caminos de la Vida: Parents of Latine First-Generation College Students Voicing Their Experience: A Phenomenological Approach. This study is a phenomenological qualitative study examining perspectives of parents of Latine first-generation college students. Stephanie Gonzalez-Galvan, 2024-2026.

Tiger Talk: First Year College Student’s Experiences Talking with Parents about Alcohol and Drugs. A qualitative study using thematic analysis to understand undergraduate college student experiences talking with their parents about alcohol and drugs. Parents are believed to have continuing influence on young adult’s alcohol and during use through involvement, communication, and disapproval of use, particularly during the transition to college, but there are few effective parent-based interventions. 22-487 EP 2212, Brian McCabe (PI), 2022-2024.

Familia y Cultura Es Todo: A Latine First-Generation College Students’ Voicing Their Campus. A qualitative study to explore Latine (or Hispanic, Latino, Latina, Latinx) First-Generation College Students' college integration experiences with phenomenological analysis based on Relational Cultural Theory (Miller, 1977) and Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005). 22-531 EX 2302, Stephanie Gonzalez-Galvan, 2022-2024.

Integration Experience: A Phenomenological Perspective Caring for Black Mothers: Clinician Perceptions and Experiences in Maternal Health. A study using a phenomenological qualitative approach to gain insight and understanding of perinatal maternal health clinicians' perceptions and experiences providing care for African American and Black women. 22-544 EP 2212, Courtney Williams, 2022-2024.

Tridimensional Acculturation in Black Caribbean Immigrants. An online survey dissertation study to examine the acculturation patterns and the relationship between acculturation and psychological health of Black Caribbean (sometimes called West Indian) immigrants. Tridimensional acculturation is based on the idea that Black immigrants migrate to the U.S. and may adjust to Black American culture, and/or White majority culture, as well as maintaining their heritage culture. Shirnelle Wilks, 2024.

Transition Stressors, Coping Orientation, and Alcohol Use in Emerging Adult College Students. A quantitative dissertation study to test the relationships between transition stress, coping, and alcohol use of young adult college students. Transition stress is a particular type of stress associated with transitions such as getting new jobs, moving, starting and ending relationships, which emerging adults experience in higher volumes than other age groups. Candace Legg (McConaha), 2024.

Narratives of Bisexual College Students. A qualitative dissertation study of bisexual (i.e., Bisexual Umbrella, meaning participants may have any of a range of identifies around having attraction to two or more gender identities including bisexual, omnisexual, pansexual, queer, and those who do not choose to label themselves) college students using narrative inquiry to understand their identity development and experiences about their sexual identity during college. Harley Stenzel, 2024.

What’s Your BAC (Bystander Alcohol Competence)? A Pilot Intervention to Prevent Violence by Reducing Alcohol Consumption of Potential Bystanders. A novel, pilot intervention dissertation study which had undergraduates attend a group session that combined bystander intervention training (to prevent violence) and brief alcohol intervention (to reduce alcohol use). The group was acceptable to students, feasible to deliver; students had students had increased knowledge of sexual violence, alcohol knowledge, and bystander intentions, as well as reduced alcohol consumption, and perceived drinking norms. 21-530 MR 2201, Bridget Sova (Nelson), 2022-2023.

Minority Stress, Relationship Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress in Same-Gender Relationships. An online dissertation study of 248 LGBTQ+ adults in the US that tested relationships between sexual minority stress theory (Meyer 1995), Bodenmann’s (1995) stress-divorce-model, and Cohen’s social support/stress buffering hypotheses. 21-557 EX 2111, Edward Ballester, 2022-2023.

SER-Hispano: Salud/Health, Estres/Stress, and Resiliencia/Resilience Among Young Adult Hispanic Immigrants in the U.S. A longitudinal two-year study of 385 Hispanic/Latinx young adult immigrants to the U.S. to investigate the effects of acculturation stress and resilience on co-occurring substance abuse, intimate partner violence, HIV risk, and depression (i.e., syndemic conditions) and biological stress over a two-year period. NIH/NIMHD R01MD012249, Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda (PI; Duke University), 2017-2022.

Drug and Alcohol Norms of ‘Canes at Electronic music events (DANCE) Project. A mixed-methods study of 200 young adult undergraduates test whether existing event-specific models of college student substance use developed for events like Spring Break or 21st birthday may be applied to electronic music events (e.g., Ultra Music Festival, Winter Music Conference) and to understand students’ perceptions and beliefs about electronic music events. UM PRA 2019-402, Brian E. McCabe (PI), 2018-2019.