Clark University - Clark News fall 2005
Psychology for social justice (fall 2005)
Professor Esteban Cardemil shows his students the importance of research
By Anne Gibson
The work of psychology professor Esteban Cardemil and his research team incorporates many of the qualities that make Clark a special place to teach and learn. Through his course Research in the Community, undergraduates have an opportunity to be active learners, to make a d ifference and to experience diverse cultures—all hallmarks of the Clark experience.
Cardemil developed the course as a way to involve undergraduates in his two-year research project investigating the effects of race, ethnicity and culture on the development and expression of depressive symptoms in urban, middle-school children in Worcester and Pawtucket, R.I. The project is following the progress of approximately 250 fifth, sixth and seventh graders in Worcester and Pawtucket over a two-year period. Every six months, each child participant completed questionnaires about depressive symptoms, in addition to others that focused on areas such as self-esteem, cognitive or thinking style, life events and living environment. Responses will be analyzed in the context of racial, ethnic and cultural differences to understand how these factors influence the development and expression of depressive symptoms.
"Undergraduates in the course read background articles relevant to the theoretical foundation of the project, and engage in discussion about the dilemmas and thought process that goes into the project." Cardemil explains. "They're also involved in the hands-on part of the project. They help with the recruitment of participants from Worcester middle schools, data collection and entry—all the pieces that go into that project. To gain some experience with data interpretation and analysis, each student is required to design a specific question to test against the data."
Work that matters
Elaine Klein '06, Chris Chianese '05 and Melissa Holzbauer '05 are a few of the students who have had an opportunity to engage in original scholarship through Cardemil's course. Klein explored the data to gain a better understanding of the relationship between a child's social support system and tendency to experience depression. Chianese and H olzbauer focused on whether participation in extracurricular activities correlated with a child's sense of well-being. All three undergraduates presented their research results at the 2005 Eastern Psychological Association Conference.
This was Klein's first research experience. "I enjoy the research very much. Some of my friends that go to bigger schools don't have this kind of research experience," she says.
Chianese observes that "being able to get out there and do research allows you to see that people actually do this work and it actually matters. Sitting in a classroom, you hear about all these studies, but to actually be a part of one has given me a different perspective. It's made me more comfortable with my decision to pursue an occupation within psychology."
Alisha Pollastri is one of Cardemil's graduate students involved with this project and a mentor to the undergraduates. She's enthusiastic about the active learning experiences available t o psychology undergraduates at Clark.
"I'm amazed at the opportunities that are offered to undergraduates in psychology, things that I didn't do until I got to graduate school," Pollastri says. "Clark students are really lucky. This is a great school and a great program. I say this as one who did my undergrad program somewhere else—an excellent school also renowned for a great program. But Clark offers more to its undergraduates."
Knowledge and social justice
While Cardemil's course provides excellent research experience to undergraduate participants, Cardemil undertakes this and related projects in order to make a difference. The project studying culture and depression, funded by a grant from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, is one of two that grew out of his earlier study evaluating the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral depression prevention program with low-inco me Latino and African American fifth- and sixth-grade children. The second project, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is a five-year study evaluating the efficacy of the Family Coping Skills Program in preventing depression in low-income Latina mothers.
Cardemil's work on depression, a serious disorder that affects about 20 percent of Americans at some time in their lives, is particularly timely. While low-income individuals have been shown to suffer higher rates of depression than their wealthier counterparts, they are less likely to use formal mental-health services. Cardemil explains that studies of depression often focus on middle-income Caucasians; thus the conclusions reached in such studies may not be applicable to low-income and minority populations. These individuals are more likely to experience some types of stressful life events and circumstances, such as frequent moves (and thereby interrupted education), immigration, and the need to ada pt culturally and linguistically to the dominant white culture.
"I have a strong interest in doing work that has social relevance, that can improve the world," Cardemil explains. "I want to learn what prevents people who live in low-income environments from functioning well. I also want to learn what things for them are sources of strength and resilience. There's a social justice component to my focus of study, as well as filling a gap in our knowledge."
Read more about psychology professor Estaban Cardemil's research and his student researchers at www.clarku.edu/faculty/ecardemil/.
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