Tatiana Londoño

/in , , , /by

Dr. Tatiana Londoño is a first-generation Latina born in Colombia and raised in Miami, Florida. Dr. Londoño graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior and from The University of Texas at Austin with an M.S.S.W. and then her Ph.D. Throughout her career, she has received funding from various sources such as OLLI NOVA Diversity Scholarship, St. David’s Foundation, Integrated Behavioral Health Scholars Program, and QuestBridge.

Tatiana Londoño’s scholarship focuses on the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Latine/x immigrant youth and their families, with an emphasis on the experiences and impact of migration. Specifically, her work explores how Latine/x immigrant youth and families navigate and adapt to the psychosocial consequences of migration and resettlement. She is particularly interested in how these experiences contribute to various outcomes, such as distress and post-traumatic growth, and how family processes can mitigate some of these outcomes. Her long-term goal is to incorporate her research into brief preventative interventions accessible to Latine/x immigrant populations in the U.S. Her work is published in Family Process, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Health Psychology, Journal of Adolescent Research, Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, and Social Work in Mental Health. She has also published policy and research briefs with the Children’s Defense Fund and the Center on Immigration and Child Welfare.

Dr. Londoño is currently involved in several National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded studies concerning the mental health and psychosocial well-being of Latine/x youth and their families. She is using a mixed-method approach to explore the effects of migration and immigration detention on asylum-seeking children and families from Central America. Specifically, she is analyzing 1) migration trauma exposure and mental health outcomes among immigrant youth; 2) how migration shapes parent-child relationships; and 3) different trajectories of wellbeing among youth in the U.S. resettlement context and environmental contexts (e.g., neighborhood, school, immigration enforcement) that contribute to these trajectories. In addition to this project, she is currently investigating the cultural adaptation and implementation of a parenting intervention that integrates experiences of immigration-related challenges, discrimination, and biculturalism.

Dr. Londoño’s previous research projects include: (1) exploring why adolescent Latinas attempt suicide more than other females;  (2) examining the effects of immigration enforcement on U.S. citizen children of undocumented Mexican parents; (3) investigating service experiences of youth transitioning from child to adult mental health systems; (4) studying depression and suicidality among Mexican-American children and youth; and (5) assessing smoking dependence among Spanish-speaking Latine/x smokers.

Dr. Londoño also engages in needs assessment and evaluation research related to the communities she serves. She led the analysis of a campus-wide survey on assessing the needs of undocumented students at UT Austin and, with the Rooted Collective Task Force, drafted a proposal in support of a center for undocumented students. Dr. Londoño is also evaluating the Mental Health Collaborative at Girasol, a program that serves Texas immigrant children and families and educates service providers working with immigrant populations.

In the community, Dr. Londoño has worked in various settings such as schools, domestic violence agencies, and integrated behavioral health primary care clinics providing counseling, psychoeducation, and case management services to mostly Spanish-speaking families who experienced immigration-related trauma. Tatiana continues to volunteer her time to support immigrant families in detention with their credible fear interviews and orient asylum-seeking families at immigrant resource centers. She is currently the lead consultant on a project with New Mexico State University creating a trauma-informed training series for service providers working with Latine/x immigrant populations. This work is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Dr. Londoño has also created an asynchronous training on inclusive, trauma-informed practices with immigrants alongside the Center on Immigration and Child Welfare that can be found here. 

Professor Londoño teaches the following courses: 211A: Human Behavior in Social Environment.

You can follow Dr. Londoño on Twitter: @TatianaL924

Cindy C. Sangalang

/in , , /by

Cindy C. Sangalang, PhD, MSW, is an assistant professor of Social Welfare and Asian American Studies at UCLA. Drawing on theory and knowledge across disciplines, her research examines how race, migration, and culture intersect to shape health outcomes and inequities for migrant and refugee communities, especially for Asian Americans.

A primary concern driving Dr. Sangalang’s research is understanding how Asian migrant communities articulate and are affected by trauma and stress, over time and intergenerationally. Her work also explores how histories of oppression within migrant and other minoritized communities are relevant for identifying and disrupting mechanisms by which structural inequalities influence health. Dr. Sangalang uses quantitative and qualitative methods as well as community-based participatory research approaches to elucidate questions within these core areas of interest.

Currently, she is leading a study in partnership with Filipino American community organizers to study the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and violence on Filipino American essential workers and their families.

Dr. Sangalang has been a principal investigator on research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the State of California. She earned her Ph.D. and Masters in Social Welfare from UCLA and trained as a postdoctoral fellow in health disparities research at Arizona State University. Previously she was on the faculty in Social Work at Arizona State University and at California State University, Los Angeles.

 

Visit Google Scholar for a full list of her publications.

 

Selected Publications:

 

Sangalang, C. C., Vang, C., Kim, B. J., & Harachi, T. W. (2022). Effects of trauma and post-migration stress on refugee women’s health: A life course perspective. Social Work, 67(3).

 

Mitchell, F. M., Sangalang, C. C., Lechuga-Peña, S., Lopez, K. & Becerra, D. (2020). Health   inequities in historical context: A critical race theory analysis of diabetes among African Americans and American Indians. Race & Social Problems, 12(4), 289-299.

 

Sangalang, C. C., Becerra, D., Mitchell, F. M., Lechuga-Pena, S., Lopez, K., & Kim, I. (2019). Trauma, post-migration stress, and mental health: A comparative analysis of Asian and Latino refugees and immigrants in the United States. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health, 21(5), 909-919.

 

Sangalang, C. C., Jager, J., & Harachi, T. W. (2017). Effects of maternal traumatic stress on family functioning and child mental health: An examination of Southeast Asian refugee families in the U.S. Social Science & Medicine, 184, 178-186.

 

Sangalang, C. C. & Vang, C. (2017) Intergenerational trauma in refugee families: A systematic review. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health, 19(3), 745-754.

 

Sangalang, C. C. & Gee, G. C. (2015). Racial discrimination and depression among Cambodian American adolescents: The role of gender. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(4), 447-465.

 

Sangalang, C. C., Ngouy, S., & Lau, A. S. (2015). Using community-based participatory research to identify health and service needs of Cambodian American adolescents. Families & Community Health, 38(1), 55-65.

 

Sangalang, C. C. & Gee, G. C. (2012). Depression and anxiety among Asian Americans: The effects of social support and strain. Social Work, 57(1), 49-60.