Stress and Coping in Ethnic Minority, Immigration-Affected Families

Economic, interpersonal, and traumatic stressors challenge all family relationships; immigration-affected ethnic minority young adults in the United States experience additional threats to mental health as a result of structural barriers to education and resources for health and well-being. Independent investigations at SFSU as well as collaborations with the UC Promise program based at University of California, Irvine are underway to examine the impact of different stressors (interpersonal, structural, political, historical) on mental health functioning in young adults and families. 

Relevant Publications:

• Hagan, M.J., Lara, J., & Montanes, M.C. (2021). Childhood adversity, socioemotional functioning and generalized anxiety in young adults from mixed immigration status families. Child Abuse & Neglect.
• Enriquez, L.E., Chavarria, K., Rodriguez, V.E., Ayón, C., Ellis, B.D., Hagan, M.J., Jefferies, J., Lara, J., Hernandez, M.M., Murillo, E.G., Nájera, J.R., Offidani-Bertrand, C., Fujimoto, M.O., Ro, A., Rosales, W.E., Sarabia, H., López, A.K.S., Valadez, M., Valdez, Z., Pierce, S.V. (2021). Toward a Nuanced and Contextualized Understanding of Undocumented College Students: Lessons from a California Survey. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1–17.

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Emotion Regulation and COVID-19

PIs: Dr. Hagan and Dr. Gaurav Suri. This cross-sectional study  focused on the quality and intensity of negative emotions and regulation of emotions in an ethnically diverse sample of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study measured common coping strategies for different vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. This data was collected during Fall of 2020 and Spring of 2021, when the pandemic was hitting its second wave in the United States.

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Coping and Racial Trauma During COVID-19

PI: Emily Wu (M.S. Clinical) and Dr. Hagan. Conducted in Fall 2021, this online cross-sectional study focused on the effects of coping with both race-based trauma during the pandemic and COVID-19-related social isolation. Information on race-based trauma, coping strategies, COVID-19 stressors, and mental health was collected along with data on social media exposure.