CMS Colloquia Series Guest Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Kam — Feb. 24th @2-3:15pm

Dr. Jennifer Kam (Professor, UCSB)

Research Talk Title: Undocumented High School and College Students’ Resilience: Exploring the Complex Connections between Structural Barriers, Mental Health, and Interpersonal Communication

Dr. Kam (Professor, Department of Communication, UCSB) uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the ways in which stressors—stemming from racial/ethnic marginalization, immigration, and acculturation—relate to immigrant youth’s academic, mental, and physical well-being. Much of Dr. Kam’s work utilizes a stress-resilience-thriving framework to identify individual (e.g., psychological and individual actions), interpersonal (e.g., communication with family, teachers, counselors, friends), and institutional (e.g., schools and universities) level factors that can buffer against the stressors and/or directly promote academic, mental, and physical well-being. She hopes her research findings can inform the design of culturally-grounded programs, services, and other resources intended to enhance the health and well-being of immigrant youth from underserved backgrounds.