This cross-sectional study on Ghanaian adolescents examined the direct and indirect associations of food insecurity, parent–adolescent relationship, and adolescent future orientation. We used structural equation modeling to examine reliability and validity of our latent constructs and our hypothesized direct and indirect relationships. Results indicated adequate fit of our measurement and structural models with the data. Results also showed a significant direct and indirect effect of food insecurity. Food insecurity was directly associated with parental connection, orientation toward success, and uncertainty about the future. Food insecurity was also indirectly associated with orientation toward success and uncertainty about the future, via parental connection. Further, higher levels of parental connection were directly associated with higher levels of orientation toward success and with lower levels of uncertainty about the future. Understanding the direct and indirect effect of food insecurity is important for the design of appropriate interventions that promote holistic and positive adolescent development.

Food insecurity heightens risk for poor mental health and psychosocial functioning. Higher levels of future orientation influence numerous desirable behaviors. However, limited evidence exists on the association between food insecurity and future orientation, particularly in low-resource settings. The objective of this study was to examine the association between food insecurity and future orientation of Ghanaian youth and their parents. The study included a cross-sectional sample of 2656 youth...

Upon first moving to the Triangle Region of North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the surrounding counties), newly resettled refugees encounter significant obstacles to securing employment capable of meeting their needs and commensurate with their preexisting skills. Qualitative interview research with Triangle Area refugees, exploring factors increasing refugee emotional distress, found that financial distress and concern over lack of appropriate employment accounted for 40% of participant responses (Refugee Mental Health and Wellness Initiative, 2014). Moreover, while refugees are about as likely to be employed as their US-born counterparts (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Policy Development and Evaluation Service [UNHCR PDES], 2013), their average wages in the United States are $9.79, less than half the average wage of the overall U.S. population (United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Refugee Resettlement [USDHHS ORR], 2015a). The failure of refugees to secure sustainable jobs building on their past abilities warrants attention from the standpoints of both normative and perceived need.

I wrote this successfully-funded grant application and its assessment plan in collaboration with elementary school staff in a rural area with a primarily white population.

The title of this paper—a lyric from a traditional song used as part of this study’s song-based
intervention—expresses hope for a peaceful and interconnected world. In reality, however, increasing global transmigration seems to be stimulating raised political tension regarding how to relate across differences in national background, throughout the world and within the United States. Xenophobia and separatism—malignant outgrowths of competing for economic resources and cultural dominance—can negatively impact refugee and immigrant mental and physical health as well as economic potential and can subtract from overall societal security. Historical precedent and modern practice point toward music as a potential medium for connecting individuals from different identity groups or national backgrounds in developing the cooperation necessary to address societal issues. The study at hand investigates the feasibility and acceptability of an intercultural song circle intervention in engaging U.S.-born and non-U.S.-born residents in a process of connecting through simple song. English practice is also integrated into the six-session intervention model piloted by this study.

I collaborated to coauthor and codesign this communications document for a refugee-led humanitarian organization aiming to build partnerships and increase its impact.

This grant report summarizes the work and presents evaluation results for a one-year collaboration between a refugee mental health agency (RMHWI) and a refugee resettlement agency (USCRI Raleigh).

Coauthored and coedited with refugee staff of the grassroots, refugee-led nonprofit Community Technology Empowerment Network Uganda (CTEN-Uganda), this proposal successfully launched lasting, formal UNHCR partnership for CTEN-Uganda.

I cowrote and coedited this advertisement to recruit participants to a three-stage, 160-participant study examining the neurodevelopment of child anxiety disorders and trauma.