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Deborah Rivas-Drake

Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Equity, Marsal Family School of Education; Stephanie J. Rowley Collegiate Professor; Professor of Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Contact

(734) 647-0614

Location

2260 East Hall
530 Church Street

1404 Marsal Family School of Education Building
610 E. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259

Deborah Rivas-Drake, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Together with the Contexts of Academic + Socioemotional Adjustment (CASA) Lab, she examines how school, peer, family, and community settings can support adolescents in navigating issues related to race and ethnicity, and how these experiences inform young people’s academic, socioemotional, and civic development.

The overarching goal of her work is to illuminate promising practices that disrupt racism and xenophobia and that help set diverse young people on trajectories of positive contribution to their schools and communities. Her research has been funded by NSF, the Spencer Foundation, and the W.T. Grant Foundation. Her co-authored book, Below the Surface: Talking with Teens about Race, Ethnicity, and Identity (Princeton University Press), received the Social Policy Book Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence and the Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology from the American Psychological Association.

She is an invited contributor to the SRCD State of the Science report on Improving Intergroup Attitudes and Interactions among Youth, Chair of the SRCD Publications Committee, member of the Inclusion, Equity, and Social Justice Committee of SRA, and former Associate Editor of Developmental Psychology and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

In addition to her academic publications, she has lent her expertise more broadly by collaborating with school leaders and district policymakers to develop translational activities for educators; in writings and webinars for parents and educators; and by consulting on race and ethnicity issues in youth for the Collaborative on Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Sesame Workshop, and Committee for Children.

Selected Publications

Discrimination, coping, and school belonging among Black, Latinx, and Asian American youth

Montoro, J., Kilday, J., Rivas-Drake, D., Ryan, A., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (in press). Discrimination, coping, and school belonging among Black, Latinx, and Asian American youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Inherently political? Associations of parent ethnic-racial socialization and sociopolitical discussions with Latinx youth's emergent civic engagement

Pinetta, B., Blanco Martinez, S., Cross, F. L., & Rivas-Drake, D. (2020). Inherently political? Associations of parent ethnic-racial socialization and sociopolitical discussions with Latinx youth's emergent civic engagement. American Journal of Community Psychology, 66(1-2), 94-105.

Bañales, J., Hoffman, A., Rivas-Drake, D., & Jagers, R. (2020). The development of ethnic-racial identity process and its relation to civic beliefs among Latinx and Black American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01254-6

Cross, F. L., Agi, A., Montoro, J., Medina, M., Pinetta, B., Miller, S., Tran, M., & Rivas-Drake, D. (2020). Illuminating ethnic-racial socialization among undocumented Latinx parents and its implications for adolescent psychosocial functioning. Developmental Psychology, 56(8), 1458-1474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000826

Hidden populations: Uncovering the developmental experiences of minoritized communities across contexts

Witherspoon, D. P., Bámaca-Colbert, M., Stein, G. L., & Rivas-Drake, D. (2020). Hidden populations: Uncovering the developmental experiences of minoritized communities across contexts. Developmental Psychology.

Below the Surface: Talking with Teens about Race, Ethnicity, and Identity

Rivas-Drake, D., & Umaña-Taylor, A. (2019). Below the Surface: Talking with Teens about Race, Ethnicity, and Identity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Transformative social and emotional learning (SEL): Toward SEL in the service of equity and excellence

Jagers, R., Rivas-Drake, D., & Williams, B. (2019). Transformative social and emotional learning (SEL): Toward SEL in the service of equity and excellence. Educational Psychologist. 54(3), 162-184.

Adolescent intergroup contact attitudes across peer networks in school: Selection, influence, and implications for cross-group friendships

Rivas-Drake, D., Schaefer, D., Saleem, M., Medina, M., & Jagers, R. (2019). Adolescent intergroup contact attitudes across peer networks in school: Selection, influence, and implications for cross-group friendships. Child Development.

School climate and ethnic-racial identity in school: A longitudinal examination of reciprocal associations

Camacho, T., Medina, M., Rivas-Drake, D., & Jagers, R. (2018). School climate and ethnic-racial identity in school: A longitudinal examination of reciprocal associations. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 28(1), 29-41.

Grants

Award Start Date
Jun 01, 2023
Award End Date
May 31, 2028
Award Start Date
Dec 01, 2021
Award End Date
Nov 30, 2022
Award Start Date
Oct 01, 2021
Award End Date
Aug 31, 2023