January 2025:
(1) Collaborating with colleagues across five institutions, Dr. Sladek published an article in the journal Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, which details the results of the first systematic review of its kind that summarizes the state of research using daily process approaches (e.g., daily diaries) to measure ethnic-racial discrimination, identity, and out-group contact. The review spans almost 100 studies published from 1998 through 2023, offering a unifying ecological perspective, elevating strengths of this work, and identifying future directions for research that attends to dynamics of ethnicity and race in the contexts of people’s everyday lives.
(2) In a collaborative effort led by Dr. Gladys Aguilar, Dr. Sladek contributed as a co-author to an article published in the journal Comparative Education Review. The study offers insights into ethnic-racial identity, discrimination, and academic experiences among Colombian adolescents, showing support for the promotive role of ethnic-racial identity development in varying Colombian education contexts.
December 2024:
We had much to celebrate at our end-of-semester lab dinner!
(1) The CHARMS Lab celebrates three graduates: Mia John, McKenna Nhem, and Heli Hooks. We are so proud of these three scholars and know they have very bright futures ahead!
(2) McKenna was featured in a Grad Spotlight by the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences!
(3) Presentations in the lab this semester included three honors research projects:
Mia John: “Unpacking the Association Between Sexual Orientation and Ethnic-Racial Identity Achievement with Psychological Wellness”
Wesley Russell: “Gender Identity Processes in Relation to Depressive Symptoms Among Gender Expansive Queer Young Adults”
Kian Abdi: “The Association Between Everyday Discrimination, Anxiety, and Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Among LGBTQIA+ Young Adults”
September 2024:
Research assistant Elena Price presented at the Heartland Conference on Health Equity & Patient-Centered Care in Kansas City, KS! Elena presented on her undergraduate mentored research experience working on the Resilience and Identity Study in the CHARMS Lab, as part of her work in the OU McNair Scholars Program.
August 2024:
The CHARMS Lab goes to Washington! Dr. Sladek was selected to participate in the 2024 Health Disparities Research Institute hosted by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities in Bethesda, MD. This was a weeklong training institute focused on supporting the career development of promising early-career minority health and health disparities research scientists.
June 2024:
*The CHARMS Lab proudly celebrates Pride Month and Juneteenth National Independence Day!*
(1) In a collaborative effort with colleagues across eight institutions, Dr. Sladek authored a paper in the journal Identity focused on learning from teachers about how they benefit from professional development to support their own ethnic-racial identity development, and thus – this important developmental process for their students.
(2) Dr. Sladek presented research from the My Life, My Identity Study at the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) biennial meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.
May 2024:
(1) Presentations in the lab this semester included two honors research projects. Congratulations on the great work!
Sawyer Paris: “The Association Between Minority Stress, Sleep Health, and Mental Well-Being Among Individuals with Minoritized Sexual and Gender Identities”
Kian Abdi: “The Interrelations Between Minority Stress, Anxiety, and Relationship Satisfaction Among LGBTQ+ Young Adults”
(2) This month the CHARMS Lab celebrated the end of a year of hard work! Much to be proud of, and much more to come. And special congratulations to graduating seniors Katrina Parker, Ximena Valle Valdez, and Sawyer Paris. We are so proud of you, and know you have very bright futures ahead!
(3) Dr. Sladek was awarded research funding to support data collection for the Resilience and Identity Study through the Junior Faculty Summer Fellowship supported by the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences at OU.
Dr. Sladek was also awarded a Presidential International Travel Fellowship from OU’s Office of Global Engagement to present results from the My Life, My Identity Study, in Lisbon, Portugal, this summer!
(4) With colleagues Megan Satterthwaite-Freiman, Dr. Kristia Wantchekon, Dr. Gladys Aguilar, Dr. Ashley Ison, Dr. Pamela Mason, Dr. Eric Soto-Shed, and Dr. Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Dr. Sladek co-authored a paper in the journal Identity about the challenges that U.S. teachers face in discussing issues of ethnicity, race, and identity in their classrooms.
April 2024:
Dr. Sladek, Mia John, Sebastian Puerta and McKenna Nhem presented research at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence in Chicago, IL.
Dr. Sladek presented a paper, with colleagues Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Sarah Collier Villaume, and Emma Adam: Ethnic-Racial Identity Intervention as a Buffer of the Impacts of Ethnic-Racial Discrimination on Adolescents’ Sleep
Mia John and Sebastian Puerta presented a poster: Associations of Sexual Orientation Identity and Ethnic-Racial Identity Achievement with Self-Esteem Among LGBTQ+ Young Adults
McKenna Nhem presented a poster: Minority Stress and Resilience Among LGBTQ+ Young Adults: Associations Between Everyday Discrimination, Social Support, and Health Risk Behaviors.
March 2024:
(1) RAs Mia John and McKenna Nhem both presented research posters at the 12th Annual Graduate and Undergraduate Research Conference at the National Weather Center in Norman, presented by Cigna Healthcare and the Professional and Graduate Students’ Association (PGSA). Congratulations to both on all the hard work, and upcoming presentations of this research at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence in Chicago!
(2) Congratulations to RAs Katrina Parker and Delaney Fulp, who were each awarded The Outstanding Psychology Student (TOPS) Award in the Department of Psychology, given each year to outstanding students who contribute significantly to research, service, and/or community engagement in the department. We are so proud of both of you!
(3) With colleagues Dr. Adriana Umaña-Taylor and Dr. Dalal Safa, Dr. Sladek co-authored a paper in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence about the role of high school teachers in supporting adolescents’ ethnic-racial identity exploration. Read here
(4) Receptions were warm and welcoming this month when Dr. Sladek presented work from the CHARMS Lab focused on the Resilience and Identity Study. Thanks to OUHSC Lumina Queer Student Alliance and the LGBTQ R&E Collective!
February 2024:
Congratulations to RA Elena Price, who has also been selected to participate in the prestigious OU McNair Scholars Program. Elena plans to learn more about health inequalities and will present at the McNair Conference in the upcoming fall. She will graduate the following spring and hopes to become a physician and use the knowledge she learns in the CHARMS lab to help marginalized communities.
January 2024:
Welcome to the new members of the CHARMS lab!
Congratulations to RA Katrina Parker, who has been selected to participate in the prestigious OU McNair Scholars Program! Katrina will present at the McNair Conference this spring, and she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a degree in counseling in the fall.
December 2023:
Ivan Ramirez (Lab RA 2022-2023) will be enrolling in the Cognitive Science Master’s program at Johns Hopkins University specializing in neuroscience. Ivan’s plans are to acquire a joint JD/PhD and pursue a career as a researcher in neurolaw.
The CHARMS Lab celebrated a successful fall and a lot of hard work at the end of semester party. There is much to come in 2024! Special congratulations to our graduating students: Tanner Hoffman, Anthony Nguyen, and Ivan Ramirez. So proud of you, and we’ll miss you!
November 2023:
With Dr. Wendy Mallette and Dr. Melinda Chen, Dr. Sladek helped to organize a series of events and workshops led by Dr. Matt Brim (11/2-11/3). Dr. Brim is Professor of Queer Studies at the College of Staten Island and Executive Director of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Workshops included “Engaging Queerness in the Classroom” for students and a “Queer Pedagogy Workshop” for instructors.
August 2023:
Welcome to the new members of The CHARMS Lab!
June 2023:
Happy Pride Month and Juneteenth National Independence Day from the CHARMS Lab! Dr. Sladek is proud to be featured in a Pride Month Member Spotlight as a member of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity & Expression (SOGIE) Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development.
Congratulations to CHARMS Lab graduate Nayely Rangel! We’re so proud of Nayely’s graduation and know she has a bright future ahead!
The CHARMS Lab celebrated 2022-2023 at the end of year party in OKC. Summer research continues, but we have much to celebrate from a fantastic year!
May 2023:
(1) With Harvard University colleagues Ashley Ison, Megan Satterthwaite-Freiman, and Dr. Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Dr. Sladek co-authored a paper on the roles of family ethnic socialization and immigration generational status in ethnic-racial identity development for White youth in the Journal of Adolescent Research. Read here.
(2) Research Assistants in the CHARMS Lab wrapped up an amazing round of final presentations on their yearlong literature review projects. Sample titles of these projects include:
“Understanding How Queer Adolescents Learn About and Explore Their Intersectional Identities During Crucial Developmental Years”
“Lasting Effects of Black Youth Identity Orientation and Familism”
“Social Media and Ethnic-Racial Socialization”
“Effects of Environmental Factors on Coming Out and Journeys of Self Identification Among LGBTQ+ Adolescents”
April 2023:
(1) Dr. Sladek presented two papers at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence in San Diego, CA:
“Ethnic-Racial Discrimination, Identity, and Outgroup Contact in Context: A Systematic Review of Experience Sampling Studies” with colleagues Stefanie Martinez-Fuentes, Dr. Kristia Wantchekon, Gladys Aguilar, and Dr. Adriana Umaña-Taylor
“Ethnic-Racial Identity Developmental Trajectories Across the Transition to College” with colleagues Michaela Gusman and Dr. Leah Doane
(2) Research Assistant Ivan Ramirez presented his poster at the Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conference hosted by the Psychology Graduate Student Association at OU, titled, “Links Between Moral Identity and Self-Preservation: Implications for Blame Allocation.”
March 2023: Dr. Sladek was awarded research funding to support data collection for the Resilience and Identity Study through the Junior Faculty Fellowship Program supported by the Vice President for Research and Partnerships at OU.
February 2023: Dr. Sladek was awarded the OU Ed Cline Faculty Development Award for two projects:
(1) Professional Development Collaborative for Interdisciplinary School-Based Research on Youth Ethnic-Racial Identity Development, which involves collaborating with Dr. Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Dr. Dalal Safa, and Dr. Kristia Wantchekon.
(2) Teaching Queer Studies at Public Universities: A Workshop on Queer Pedagogy and Socioeconomic Class, with Co-PIs Dr. Wendy Mallette and Dr. Melinda Chen at OU.
January 2023: With Arizona State University colleagues Michaela Gusman and Dr. Leah Doane, Dr. Sladek published a paper on ethnic-racial identity development among Latino adolescents transitioning to college in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Read here.
September 2022: The CHARMS Lab welcomed Kian Abdi, Lydia Bodi, Mariano Gonzalez, Tanner Hoffman, L’eric Houston, Mia John, Anthony Nguyen, Katrina Parker, Sebastian Puerta, Ivan Ramirez, Nayely Rangel, and Olivia Sorensen!
