Skip to main content

News Home

TAPP project delivers strong results for Latinx students, parents

From left, Lorey Wheeler, MAP Academy director, and Sue Sheridan, CYFS director, led the TAPP para Familias Latinas project. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

Traditionally, minoritized ethnic-racial groups have been excluded or significantly underrepresented from participating in research. According to some estimates, 96% of psychological studies come from countries with only 12% of the world’s population, and tend to include mostly white participants. Full Article

‘Homegrown’ training program fills need for rural mental health professionals

Beth Doll and Matthew Gormley are leading a virtual training program that can be accessible to anyone interested in a career in school psychology, no matter where they reside. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

For small towns scattered throughout Nebraska, mental health professionals are hard to come by. Recruiting and retaining such professionals is crucial to ensuring these rural populations have access to quality mental health care.

Because mental health trainees are more likely to remain and work in the rural communities where they live, Beth Doll, professor of educational psychology, and Matthew Gormley, assistant professor of educational psychology are leading a virtual training program that can be accessible to anyone interested in a career in school psychology, no matter where they reside. Full Article

Michigan researcher outlines obstacles, potential solutions for racially marginalized youth

University of Michigan professor Deborah Rivas-Drake delivers a Distinguished Visiting Scholar Keynote, “Promoting Socioemotional Development in Racially Minoritized Youth,” May 3 at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. See gallery.

Many racially minoritized youth do not have equal access to the benefits of being young, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

Deborah Rivas-Drake, Stephanie J. Rowley Collegiate Professor of Education and Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, said during her May 3 keynote presentation at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center that youth of color are frequently dismissed or marginalized — often because of how they speak and express themselves. That generates an “unequal, social-emotional toll” on them from experiencing racial and immigration injustices. Full Article

Study explores bullying that targets students with disabilities — and how to fight it

Miriam Crinion, graduate research assistant at the Buros Center for Testing, is using funding from a Society for the Study of School Psychology dissertation grant to explore the unique social experiences of adolescent students with disabilities who have been involved in bullying. Learn more about this project in the CYFS Research Network.

Being bullied is not pleasant for anyone. But for students with disabilities, the effects can be more damaging — and the risk of bullying is disproportionately higher.

Bullying is a public health crisis linked to adverse educational and mental health outcomes such as poor grades, negative perceptions of school, depression and anxiety. Students with disabilities have a greater risk of being victimized, as well as more social difficulties than peers without disabilities, and may be less responsive to existing bullying intervention programming. Full Article

Study reveals many American atheists hide their non-belief

Research by Dena Abbott, assistant professor of counseling psychology, reveals that because American atheists continue to experience a variety of social challenges, many are uncomfortable about disclosing their non-belief. Learn more about this project in the CYFS Research Network.

The religiously unaffiliated, including atheists, are the fastest-growing (non)religious population in the United States. But the social stigma associated with atheism leaves this population vulnerable to isolation and poor mental health outcomes.

Dena Abbott, assistant professor of counseling psychology, recently completed a yearlong study to investigate the psychological well-being of two groups of atheists — rural-residing and woman-identified atheists — in the context of anti-atheist discrimination in the U.S. Full Article

Project affirms voices of Indigenous LGBTQ and two-spirit youth

A recent study found that although Indigenous LGBTQ2S youth experience a wide range of challenges, they also possess moderate to high levels of strength and resilience. Learn more about this project in the CYFS Research Network.

Indigenous youth with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S) identities experience high rates of violence, which may lead to harmful outcomes, such as mental health problems and substance abuse.

But despite the issues faced by Indigenous LGBTQ2S youth, a recent study suggests reasons for optimism. Full Article

Study explores pathways to atheism among communities of color, LGBTQ+

Dena Abbott, assistant professor of counseling psychology, is exploring pathways to atheism by examining commonly held notions of what causes unbelief among demographic groups that are underrepresented in atheism studies. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

Nonreligious people are a fast-growing demographic in the United States. For some atheists, the stigma of their unbelief is compounded by other factors.

Adopting an “unbelieving” worldview is a complex process for people of color, members of the lesbian, gay or bisexual community, and the gender-diverse, such as transgender or nonbinary individuals. Full Article

Online sexual assault resistance program trains first-year female college students

Nebraska researchers are part of an international pilot project to determine the effectiveness of an online sexual assault resistance program. Learn more about the project in the CYFS Research network.

Sexual assault remains a serious and growing problem at universities throughout the U.S. Studies show as many as one in four college women experience rape or attempted rape before graduation.

On top of its incalculable physical, mental and emotional cost to its victims — disproportionately, young women — sexual assault costs North Americans at least $265 million annually in health care and other expenses. Full Article