Past Projects

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Birth equity workers (doulas, maternity support partners, birth assistants) provide informational, emotional and physical support to birthing persons and their families.

Undoubtedly, the degree to which improved birth outcomes and decreased stress of black mothers is achieved may be dependent on the stress and work quality of life of the birth equity workers that provide services for them; yet there is limited data on how birth equity workers’ stress plays a pivotal role in the effectiveness of birth outcomes in already health disparate populations and if that is related to their own wellbeing. We plan to address this gap, by determining the impact of burnout and wellbeing of birth equity workers (doulas) on stress (via self-report and saliva).

The results of this study will have a positive impact on doulas and indirectly on pregnant and postpartum persons that have a doula or desire to have a doula. Targeted research can support structural and policy sustainable changes in protecting and advocating for doulas and their mental and physical health as they care and support for birthing/postpartum families. Moreover, it will suggest social programs in counties and universities that highlight the need for doulas and how current systems may negatively impact doulas and the work they do with families.

Research Area:

• Health Disparities
• Maternal and Infant Health

Start Date:

• January 2021 - Present

Partners:

• Dr. Paul Estabrooks (University of Nebraska Medical Center)
• Ms. Wenonah Valentine (iDREAM for Racial Health Equity)

Knowledge from gained prior studies was leveraged to create a laboratory paradigm that elicits home-school cultural value mismatch and measures whether such mismatch disrupts focused attention (Vasquez-Salgado, Ramirez & Greenfield, 2018).

Latinx first-generation college students were randomly assigned to write down a list of either: 1) family obligations; 2) school obligations; 3.) instances when they had to choose between family and school obligations (home-school mismatch condition) or 4.) favorite restaurants (control). Following list construction, students engaged in an attentional control task so that we could capture the lack of concentration and focused attention associated with conflicts in our prior studies.

Based on the prior two studies (focus group and survey), we expected that writing about home-school mismatch experiences would be more disruptive to attention than the other three experimental conditions. These expectations were confirmed by the results. These results are important because they demonstrate causality on focused attention, a key element in mental health and academic achievement.

Research Area:

• Cultural, Developmental and Cognitive Psychology
• Education

Start Date:

• 2015 - 2018

Partners:

• Gerardo Ramirez
• Patricia M. Greenfield

Funders:

• Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Program
• American Psychological Association
• American Psychological Foundation
• UCLA Institute of American Cultures and Chicano/a Studies Research Center
• UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Program
• UCLA Monica Salinas Summer Fellowship

Historical, structural, and institutional forms of racism adversely impact U.S. higher education and continue to impose burdens upon students who have traditionally been marginalized. These burdens ruin the learning experience and threaten academic success. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated already-existing educational inequities.

Undergraduate research training programs (URTPs) like NIH BUILD PODER are in a position to label, challenge, and transform injustices that constrain the potential of most institutions of higher education. To better understand the value of URTPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, this project will adopt an autoethnographic approach and examine how CSUN students and faculty navigated through the uncertainty of the Spring 2020 semester. Emphasis will be placed on deconstructing how aspects of CSUN’s URTPs helped (or hindered) the academic success of students and professional success of faculty before, during, and after the semester.

Researchers:

• Jose H. Vargas

Start Date:

• 2020

Due to COVID-19 on March 11, 2020 the face-to-face operations and instruction at California State University Northridge ceased and required the swift adoption of safer protocols to continue all programming and services, including the delivery of programming that supports student health and wellbeing.

The case study aims to investigate the university’s response to COVID-19 as it relates to promoting health and wellbeing, and the students’ views about the university’s response to COVID-19 as it relates to promoting their health and wellbeing. One-one-one interviews will be conducted using convenience sampling to recruit participants. Publicly available data of website postings related to programming and services will also be collected. Data will be analyzed using descriptive analysis and content analysis.

Researchers:

• Nelida Duran

Start Date:

• 2020

Due to historically placed social structures, cultural attitudes, and lack of access to practical accommodations, breastfeeding rates are lowest among Blacks (vs. other race/ethnic groups).

Research examining marketing provides insight in understanding marketing influences for using infant formula instead of breastfeeding. Availability of infant formula and lactation support products in store is also understudied. Past nutrition environment studies have focused on infant formula nor included lactation support products. A 53 question observational audit tool was developed that included availability and marketing of those products. Two trained research assistants used this tool to independently rate products in stores among Black zip codes and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) zip codes.

Chi-square tests and frequencies were run on selected study variables. Inter-rater reliability was calculated immediately after doing store observations after training, after 10% of store sample observation completion, and after 30% of store sample observation completion. Preliminary findings demonstrate there is more availability of infant formula and lactation support products in Non-Hispanic White zip codes (vs. stores in Black zip codes). No advertising of any product type on exterior of stores in either community. Inter-rater reliability was good (0.91-1.00). Findings have been presented at state meetings and locally. Additionally, findings will be disseminated in scientific journal articles and brief reports/public access outlets for general audience.

Research Area:

• Maternal and Infant Health
• Breastfeeding Inequities

Start Date:

• April 2019 - August 2019

Partners:

• Kimberly Seals Allers (entrepreneur, author, editorial director of the Maternal and Child Health Communication Collective)

The incidence and prevalence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes in adolescents in the USA is increasing, and is disproportionately higher in Hispanics and African Americans.

Although the exact cause for this increase is not known, it is clear that it is related to the concomitant increase in obesity. However, why some obese subjects develop pre-diabetes and diabetes, while others do not, is yet to be established. In addition, the rise in the prevalence of obesity in children is associated with the emergence of fatty liver disease early in life, for which there is a clear ethnic disparity, with lower levels in African Americans and higher levels in Hispanics. Two predominant paradigms, both based on an abnormal accumulation of body fat, have been used to explain the reasons why some obese subjects develop pre-diabetes, diabetes and fatty liver disease, while others do not.

First, is the portal/visceral hypothesis, which suggests an abnormal accumulation of visceral adipose tissue; and, second, is the ectopic fat storage hypothesis, which suggests an abnormal accumulation of ectopic fat in liver, skeletal muscle and pancreas. In this protocol, we will measure intraabdominal, subcutaneous abdominal, hepatic and pancreatic fat accumulation in Hispanic and African American youth and adolescents who are either at risk for overweight or overweight (At or above the 85th CDC age and gender specific BMI percentile) with normal glucose tolerance, or obese with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Regional fat deposition and composition will be assessed using state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging. We will also employ high-resolution ultrasound to measure carotid intimamedial thickness as a surrogate for vascular fat deposition and for the risk of CVD in these populations.

Our hypotheses are: 1) Fat deposition (intraabdominal, hepatic, pancreatic and muscular fat) and measures of carotid wall thickness will increase with degree of disease progression (at risk for overweight to overweight to pre-diabetes); and, 2) Measures of fat deposition and composition at the various sites will allow the identification of unique fat phenotypes related to differences in disease risk between Hispanic and African American populations.

Research Area:

• Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes

Start Date:

• September 2010 - June 2014

Partners:

• University of Southern California (USC)
• Department of Preventive MedicineEisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center

There are many reasons for birthing inequities among Black families compared to counterparts, but in particular racial discrimination via individual and systemic that results in disrespectful care and lower quality of care.

Doula-assisted births is an evidence based strategy to prevent these inequities. Despite, this evidence, doulas have been deemed nonessential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and pregnant persons have often had limited access to their services in labor and delivery settings (e.g., hospital, birth center).The aim of the study is to describe the experiences and perspectives of full spectrum doulas that provided services to Black birthing families in birthing facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Area:

• Health Equity/Disparities
• Maternal and Infant Health

Start Date:

• May 2021 - Present

Partners:

• Dr. Urmeka Jefferson (Rush University)
• Dr. Dionne Bensonsmith (Claremont Graduate University)
• Reverend Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape

The End the Silence initiative was formed by a small coalition of CSUN faculty members in response to a surge in public criticism around police brutality sparked by the brutal murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Students, staff, faculty, administrators and community members are welcome to join us in learning, dialoging, and acting up against structural and interpersonal racism.

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The Equitable Housing Research Project is a community-partnered research collaboration between the HERE Center’s Critical Analytics for the Social Science of Inequitable Ecosystems (CASSIE) Labs, a critical social research laboratory, and Los Angeles Family Housing (LAFH), a non-profit organization that offers housing and other supportive services for people experiencing houselessness.

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With Community Transformational Model as the central framework, the HERE Center and Visión y Compromiso are partnering together to deliver an Ethics in Community-Partnered Research Training program in Spring 2022.

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COVID-19 has disrupted life as we know it in a short amount of time, and as we proceed with absorbing and adapting to our new circumstances, it is valuable to explore the array of COVID-19 perspectives using a diverse set of publicly available information.

Specifically, this project will examine visualizations through various types of maps primarily, and associated content (e.g. oral and written) with a focus on health disparities. This project investigates what people, key agencies, and other entities are publishing on the Internet sharing personal experiences and COVID-19 data, mapping data, creating and sharing resources to take action, educate, and more. This is a multidisciplinary project that focuses on the diversity of COVID-19 experiences and perspectives emerging in the San Fernando Valley.

Researchers:

• Lisa Chaudhari

Start Date:

• 2020

This project was the first to explore the phenomena of home-school – conflict between interdependent family obligations and independent academic obligations, and peer-peer cultural value mismatch – conflict between the interdependent ideologies and behaviors of one peer and independent ideologies and behaviors of another peer, among Latinx first-generation college students (Vasquez-Salgado, Greenfield & Burgos-Cienfuegos, 2015; Burgos-Cienfuegos, Vasquez-Salgado, Ruedas-Gracia & Greenfield, 2015).

Focus groups were conducted with Latinx students towards the end of their first year of college. It was discovered that both forms of mismatch were prevalent among this group and played a negative role in their subjective sense of health (i.e., mental, physical distress) and academic outcomes (i.e., inability to concentrate or study, poor grades).

Research Area:

• Cultural and Developmental Psychology
• Education

Start Date:

• 2012 - 2014

Partners:

• Patricia M. Greenfield

Funders:

• University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC-MEXUS)
• UCLA Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship Education
• UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Program

Latinos are the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States whose health is disproportionately affected by chronic disease. In California, Latinos have twice the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and are twice as likely to die as a result of uncontrolled diabetes when compared to non-Hispanic whites (Conroy, Lee, Pendleton, & Bates, 2014).

Genomic based health care provides an opportunity to address the health disparities experienced by Latinos but only when Latinos have an adequate understanding of and access to genomic based health care, including behavioral interventions. Underserved communities that include low-income Latinos are underrepresented in genomic research; in addition, there is limited research that integrates genomic information into empirically validated behavioral interventions that use established theoretical frameworks (Graves, Hay, and O'Neill, 2014).

The proposed project aims to leverage genomic information that is tailored and integrated into nutrition behavioral interventions utilizing the extended parallel process model to improve the health and nutritional well-being of Latinos living with pre-diabetes in the San Fernando Valley and reduce health disparities.

Research Team:

• Dr. Nelida Duran, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences – Nutrition
• Dr. Mirna Troncoso-Sawyer, Department of Health Sciences – Public Health

Given the striking health and environmental burdens that the Hispanic and other minority and low-income populations face in California, the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center focuses on understanding causes of childhood obesity, excessive gestational weight gain, and postpartum weight retention among these populations.

The MADRES Center examines how environmental exposures to air pollution, metals, water contaminants, and toxic releases, coupled with exposures to psychosocial and built environment stressors, lead to excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention. To carry out the Center projects, investigators are following a large, prospective pregnancy cohort of lower-income, predominantly Hispanic women in Los Angeles, California.

Research Area:

• Maternal and Child Health

Start Date:

• July 2015 - June 2020

Partners:

• University of Southern California (USC), Department of Preventive Medicine, Division of Environmental Health
• Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center
• Prenatal Clinic at LAC+USC Medical Center

Everyday life stressors and community level burdens have been shown to alter brain biology.

Psychoendocrinology literature shows compelling evidence that stress-induced changes to the body may contribute to obesity and metabolic diseases. Specifically, psychosocial and environmental stressors can disrupt hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, which in turn will alter cortisol levels throughout the day.

Disrupted cortisol patterns have been shown to be associated with increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. The overarching research aim of the MeSA pilot study to understand the complex relationship between various stressors, HPA-axis activity, and body fat in young minority adults. In this effort, we will characterize perceived, community, and biological stress and assess their relationships with body fat measures. Work in this area of research has implications for public health and health care practitioners by raising awareness of health risks associated with stress and the need for stress-reduction programs and interventions.

Research Area:

• Obesity and Diabetes

Start Date:

• April 2019 - Present

Partners:

• Dr. Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado
• Dr. Kacie Blackman
• Dr. Thomas Chan

Quantitative measures were devised utilizing participant experiences from our prior qualitative study. These measures were distributed to students from diverse ethnic backgrounds towards the end of their first year of college. Our survey documented the quantitative relation between home-school and peer-peer cultural value mismatch and mental and physical health distress (e.g., feeling sad, on edge; feeling very tired, dizziness, headaches) as well as academics (i.e., inability to concentrate or study, poor grades).

In addition, our survey findings revealed that family socioeconomic factors (e.g., first-generation college status, low parent income) are a main reason why Latinx students experience both forms of mismatch. This finding enabled us to generalize the experience of home-school and peer-peer cultural value mismatch to students from diverse backgrounds.

Research Area:

• Cultural and Developmental Psychology
• Education

Start Date:

• 2014 - 2016

Partners:

• Patricia M. Greenfield

Funders:

• University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC-MEXUS)
• Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Program

The goal of this project is to replicate our prior survey findings that document predictors and consequences of cultural mismatch between family and academic obligations. This study will solidify the role that socioeconomic forces play in Latinx students’ experiences with this particular form of mismatch. At the same time, results will showcase that cultural mismatch works in a similar fashion in another context due to the interdependence of university institutions.

Start Date:

• 2019 – present

Partners:

• Camilo Garcia
• Patricia M. Greenfield
• Axel Manuel Navarro Hernandez

Research Area:

• Cultural and Developmental Psychology
• Education

Funders:

• University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC-MEXUS)

The diversity in socioeconomic, agro-climate and cultural conditions contribute to the complexity of Mexico’s food system. Thus the study of food security in Mexico requires an understanding of the specific cultural, socioeconomic and environmental context. The goal of this research project is to examine the cultural, socioeconomic and environmental factors (determinants) that contribute to household (HH) food security and explain differences between the neighboring Mexican states of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas.

Research Team:

• Dr. Nelida Duran, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences – Nutrition
• Dr. Edward Jackiewicz, Department of Geography

One of the limitations of our prior work on peer-peer cultural value mismatch was that we did not have sociodemographic information of students’ roommates. Thus, we conducted an additional, quasi-experimental design, with roommates from diverse backgrounds that matched or mismatched in first-generation college status. Emerging analyses suggest that predictors and consequences of peer-peer cultural mismatch are only significant in dormitory roommate settings where there was a mismatch in college generation status (i.e., one roommate was a first-generation college student and the other was a continuing generation college student). In situations where there was no mismatch (e.g., both were first-generation or continuing generation college students), there was no significance. This provides the first evidence of the importance of context within the larger university system.

Research Area:

• Sociology
• Cultural, Developmental and Cognitive Psychology
• Education

Start Date:

• 2018 – Present

Partners:

• Shu-Sha Angie Guan
• Patricia M. Greenfield

Funders:

• NIH BUILD PODER at CSUN

Picture your life flashing before you eyes--we use this experience to build life coherence or what Erik Erikson would call ego-integrity in his last stage of psychosocial development. The purpose of this project is to move the needle on mental health and well-being for aging adults.

Researchers:

• Thomas Chan
• Kacie Blackman