Future projects will likely use quantitative and qualitative data collected from varied projects. Students can volunteer to help with cleaning and managing data.
Arab American Substance Use Survey
This project involved recruitment of 150 Arab American college students to complete a survey regarding ethnic identity, discrimination, family relationships, mental health, emotion, impulsivity, emotion regulation, and substance use. Rates of tobacco use tend to be higher among Arab and Middle Eastern or North African individuals, although these individuals are underrepresented in research. I conducted this study with funding from the Philip M. Kayal Arab American Research Fund to identify risk and protective factors for substance use, with a focus on internalizing and externalizing pathways.
As a follow-up study, we interviewed 12 Arab American college students about their identity, academic experiences, and substance use, and participants completed an additional brief survey regarding their substance use. Goals of this study are to code the interview for themes regarding ethnic and religious identity and cultural connection, as well as descriptively examine whether coded themes relate to reports of substance use.
LGBTQ+ Substance Use Survey
150 LGBTQ college students completed reports of substance use as well as identity, discrimination, emotion, mental health, family relationships, and sense of connection to the LGBTQ community and the general campus community. LGBTQ individuals tend to be at higher risk for substance use compared to individuals who are not part of the community. The goal of this study was to identify cultural risk and protective factors among LGBTQ individuals. Additionally, a comparison sample of 150 participants who were not part of the LGBTQ community were recruited in order to determine whether predictors of substance use differ by LGBTQ status.
Frustration Responses and Substance Use
150 college students completed a frustration task while having their heart rate continuously measured. Participants also reported their affect before and after the task and had the option of attempting the task multiple times, with the number of attempts used as a measure of persistence. Participants reported emotion, grit, mental health, and substance use. Individuals are often motivated to use substances as a means of regulating affect, including to cope with discomfort and frustration. College students tend to experience academic and interpersonal stressors. Therefore, the goal of this project was to determine whether frustration discomfort responses to discomfort relate to substance use risk.
Acute Stress Responses and Social Status
60 college students were recruited to complete an acute stress test within the lab. Participants were assigned to either feel of relatively high or relatively low status compared to other people in society before completing the task. This study served as a replication of observational studies that suggested that individuals who feel of lower status tend to have greater affective and HPA-axis reactivity to acute stress. The goal of this study was to assess whether cortisol, emotion, and physiological responses to the task differed by induced social standing using an experimental protocol.
Ethnic and Political Identity and Responses to the 2020 Election
Following the 2020 election, 300 racially diverse college students completed reports of political identity, racial identity, mental health, discrimination, and their feelings about the election results. Given the salience of racial equity in recent elections, recent studies have suggested that social identities can modulate how individuals respond to elections. Therefore, the goal of this study was to identify whether racial identity and discrimination were related to individuals’ mental health following the election.
Civic Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the Fall of 2021, when on-campus instruction resumed after the strict enforcement of lockdown procedures, 300 incoming first-year students completed measures regarding sociopolitical engagement and community involvement over previous year (i.e., during the strict enforcement of the safer-at-home order). Students also reported mental health, friendship quality, and connection to campus. The college transition can be challenging for many individuals, and prosocial activities such as volunteering and serving in one’s community can fulfil a sense of contribution as well as reinforce social relationships. The goal of the present study was to identify how engaged individuals were with their community as high school students, as well as whether youth from certain backgrounds had more opportunities for engagement, and whether greater engagement with the one’s community is related to better adjustment during the college transition.