The study of people of color in the U.S. is important as they tend to underutilize formal mental health services and their psychological needs often go unmet. Moreover, we know very little about the way culture and related social factors affect symptom expression, help-seeking behavior, and the developmental course of psychological distress among ethnically diverse communities. While it is clear that the examination of culture must be a key variable in all research, if it is to be informative we must better ensure that it is operationalized and measured appropriately. This issue is at the center of the research currently being done in my lab.

In the past, I focused on uncovering factors that predict and protect against substance use in African Americans. My research showed that (1) many of the factors that have been shown to be predictive of substance use for European American adolescents are not predictive in the same way for African American adolescents, and (2) reliance on cross-race comparisons prevents us from learning about other, more powerful predictive and protective factors for African Americans. Building on this foundation, my current research is aimed at understanding the role of culture in the psychological functioning of African Americans and disentangling extant methodological concerns in the study of African Americans. In particular, my current research, and that of my graduate students, focuses on understanding how cultural factors are related to African Americans' mental health functioning and their use of mental health services when appropriate. Specific questions we are currently exploring include:

1. What is the connection between African Americans' help-seeking attitudes and their help-seeking behavior?
2. What interventions can be developed to address stigma and other mental health barriers?
3. What are the mechanisms through which ethnic identity relates to mental health outcomes (e.g., substance use, psychological functioning, risk behaviors) among African Americans?
4. What is the mechanism whereby religiousness and spirituality promote health and protect against distress among African Americans, and are there conditions under which their effects are less salutary?
5. How can technology be used to increase the representation of ethnic minorities in psychological research?

Spirituality and Psychology Research Interest Group:
I also do research on spirituality and religiousness and its relationship to health among college students as part of the Spirituality and Psychology Research Interest Group (SPRIG). Please click here for information on SPRIG.