Deborah Rivas-Drake
Assistant Professor of Education and Human Development
Barus 203
(401) 863-2127 (phone)
(401) 863-1276 (fax)
Deborah_Rivas_Drake@brown.edu
My research seeks to illuminate the processes by which young people make sense of their place in society, especially in terms of race, ethnicity, and social class. Currently, my research focuses on two questions: (1) How do schools, families, peers, and communities shape the development of ethnic identity in adolescence? and (2) How do youths' beliefs about ethnicity and opportunity inform their academic and psychological well-being? I am particularly interested in the interplay between social identity development, perceptions of opportunity, and educational success as well as psychological health, and I examine these issues across the span of adolescence through young adulthood.
Currently I have two research projects through which I extensively mentor students. One project investigates the relationships between ethnic identity and school engagement and performance among high school students in a local school. The second examines the extent to and ways in which ethnic attitudes and academic engagement among Latino/Hispanic students in higher education change over time.
Office Hours
Tuesdays 3-5pm and by appointment
Degrees
University of Michigan Ph.D., 2005
Education and Psychology
Publications
-Rivas-Drake, D. & Mooney, M. (2008). Profiles of Latino Adaptation at Elite Colleges and Universities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 42(1/2), 1-16.
-Rivas-Drake, D., Hughes, D., & Way, N. (2009). A Preliminary Analysis of Associations among Ethnic- Racial Socialization, Ethnic Discrimination, and Ethnic Identity among Diverse Urban Sixth Graders. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 19(3), 558-584.
-Rivas-Drake, D., Hughes, D., & Way, N. (2008). A Closer Look at Peer Discrimination, Ethnic Identity, and Psychological Well-Being among Urban Chinese American Sixth Graders. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(1), 12-21.
-Chavous, T. M., Rivas-Drake, D., Smalls, C., Griffin, T., & Cogburn, C. (2008). Gender Matters, Too: The Influences of School Discrimination and Racial Identity on Academic Engagement among African American Adolescent Boys and Girls. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 637-654.
-Rivas-Drake, D., Hughes, D., & Way, N. (2009). Public Ethnic Regard and Perceived Socioeconomic Stratification: Associations with Well-being among Dominican and Black American Youth. Journal of Early Adolescence, 29(1), 122-141.
-Rivas-Drake, D. & Mooney, M. (2009). Neither Colorblind nor Oppositional: Perceived Minority Status and Trajectories of Academic Adjustment among Latinos in Elite Higher Education. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 642-651.
-Rivas-Drake, D. (2008). Perceptions of Opportunity, Ethnic Identity, and Motivation among Latino Students at a Selective University. Journal of Latinos and Education, 7(2), 113-128.
-Hughes, D., Witherspoon, D., Rivas-Drake, D., & West-Bey, N. (2009). Received Ethnic/Racial Socialization Messages And Youth’s Academic and Behavioral Outcomes: Examining the Mediating Role of Ethnic Identity and Self Esteem. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 112 - 124.
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Latino/Hispanic Ethnic and Academic Pathways Study (LEAPS)
This study examines identity processes and academic and social adaptations of students at one highly selective institution to gain insight into the following: 1) specific ways in which perceptions and use of academic and social resources inform Latino/Hispanic students' ethnic identity and acculturation and 2) the ways in which acculturative beliefs influence students' academic outcomes.
Adolescent Identity and Achievement Project
The formation of ethnic identity is an important process that begins to fully unfold during adolescence. This project examines the importance and meaning of ethnicity and race for diverse urban adolescents. Specifically, it examines how experiences with family members, adults at school, and peers relate to adolescents' ethnic identity, and how this, in turn, relates to academic and psychological outcomes.
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Areas of Expertise
click an area title to see other department faculty with expertise in the same area|
Adolescence Cultural Psychology Educational Psychology Equity and Diversity |
Ethnic Issues |
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Courses
EDUC0410E - Empowering Youth: Insights from Research on Urban Adolescents
EDUC1270 - Adolescent Psychology
EDUC1430 - The Psychology of Race, Class, and Gender
EDUC1450 - The Psychology of Teaching and Learning
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