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Home / Cindy C. Sangalang
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  • Social Welfare

Cindy C. Sangalang

Assistant Professor of Social Welfare and Asian American Studies

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.

Read More

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
  • M.S.W., University of California, Los Angeles
  • B.A., University of California, Berkeley

Areas of Expertise

  • Migration and Immigrant Health, Race and Ethnicity

Latest News

Sangalang on Intergenerational and Collective Trauma
May 21, 2025

UCLA expert highlights need for historical and cultural contexts in trauma studies.

Sangalang on Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Care for Refugees
September 28, 2020

Those who fled conflicts in Southeast Asia may have suffered multiple traumas over the decades, she says.

Latest News

Sangalang on Intergenerational and Collective Trauma

May 21, 2025

UCLA expert highlights need for historical and cultural contexts in trauma studies.

Sangalang on Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Care for Refugees

September 28, 2020

Those who fled conflicts in Southeast Asia may have suffered multiple traumas over the decades, she says.

School Safety Expert Is Among 4 New Faculty Additions

January 6, 2020

Three in Social Welfare and one in Urban Planning are the latest of 19 new faculty hired during the tenure of Dean Gary Segura

||||

UCLA Luskin Welcomes 4 New Faculty for Fall 2019

October 1, 2019

New additions bring expertise in school violence and bullying, race, immigrant health and law, and the politics of development in Latin America

Contact Information

Phone

310-825-5198

Email

Cindy.Sangalang@luskin.ucla.edu

Office Location

5220, Public Affairs

Media Contact

For media inquiries, contact Kate Shirley at kshirley@luskin.ucla.edu (email preferred) or 310-206-5252.

Selected Publications:

Intergenerational trauma in refugee families: A systematic review
CC Sangalang, C Vang
Journal of immigrant and minority health 19 (3), 745-754

Trauma, post-migration stress, and mental health: A comparative analysis of refugees and immigrants in the United States

CC Sangalang, D Becerra, FM Mitchell, S Lechuga-Peña, K Lopez, I Kim

Journal of immigrant and minority health 21 (5), 909-919

Effects of acculturation and social network support on depression among elderly Korean immigrants

BJ Kim, CC Sangalang, T Kihl

Aging & Mental Health 16 (6), 787-794

Effects of maternal traumatic distress on family functioning and child mental health: An examination of Southeast Asian refugee families in the US

CC Sangalang, J Jager, TW Harachi

Social Science & Medicine 184, 178-186

Depression and anxiety among Asian Americans: The effects of social support and strain

CC Sangalang, GC Gee

Social work 57 (1), 49-60

Transition services for incarcerated youth: A mixed methods evaluation study

LS Abrams, SKS Shannon, C Sangalang

Children and Youth Services Review 30 (5), 522-535

Bullying among urban Mexican-heritage youth: Exploring risk for substance use by status as a bully, victim, and bully-victim

CC Sangalang, AGTT Tran, SL Ayers, FF Marsiglia

Children and youth services review 61, 216-221

Racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among Cambodian American adolescents: The role of gender

CC Sangalang, GC Gee

Journal of Community Psychology 43 (4), 447-465

Using community-based participatory research to identify health issues for Cambodian American youth

CC Sangalang, S Ngouy, AS Lau

Family & community health 38 (1), 55

Subsidized housing and low-income mother’s school-based parent involvement: Findings from the fragile families and child wellbeing study wave five

S Lechuga-Pena, D Becerra, FM Mitchell, K Lopez, CC Sangalang

Child & Youth Care Forum 48 (3), 323-338

 

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Graduate Programs
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
Undergraduate Programs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
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Program Specific Admissions
  • Public Policy
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  • Public Policy
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  • Undergraduate Program
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Leadership
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Research Centers
  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

    Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

    Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship that confronts threats to democracy in America and around the world.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship that confronts threats to democracy in America and around the world.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Studying housing affordability and transportation equity in the L.A. region.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

    Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Studying housing affordability and transportation equity in the L.A. region.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

    Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

All Research Centers
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