Noelle M. Hurd

Objective: Missing data are pervasive and pose a significant challenge in social, behavioral, and health research. Although Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE) is widely used because of its flexibility and practical usefulness, recent empirical studies have shown that different MICE algorithms and full information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation may produce inconsistent statistical conclusions. This study systematically compared the performance of FIML and commonly used MICE algorithms for handling missing data in linear regression models. Methods: Simulation studies were conducted to compare FIML with three commonly used MICE algorithms, including predictive mean matching (PMM), Bayesian linear regression (norm), and classification and regression trees (CART). Simulation conditions varied sample size, effect size, number of auxiliary variables, missing data mechanism, and missing data rate. Results: Results showed that although MICE is a powerful approach for handling missing data, some default settings of MICE algorithms produced biased model estimations under certain conditions. Performance also varied across the imputation algorithms and could depart from the FIML benchmark. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of carefully selecting and implementing MICE algorithms when handling missing data and provide practical guidance for choosing between MICE and FIML in applied research.

The current study examined natural mentoring experiences across the college years among underrepresented students attending a predominantly White institution (N = 340) and how various dimensions of these experiences (i.e., quantity of natural mentors, relationships with institutional natural mentors, natural mentor support, and the retention of natural mentors) may be associated with subsequent educational attainment. A latent class analysis revealed 5 distinct classes, with students who had a greater number of natural mentors more consistently across time showing greater educational attainment relative to students with consistently fewer mentors or those whose mentor quantity declined shortly after starting college. Regression analyses suggested that the total quantity of institutional natural mentors, natural mentor support, and quantity of natural mentors retained across two or more time points were positively associated with greater educational attainment. Findings suggest that more natural mentor presence, received support, and sustained connections may bode well for underrepresented students’ future educational attainment.

Black students attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs) may be at heightened risk of exposure to interpersonal expressions of anti-Black racism, which can be experienced in person and increasingly online. Yet emerging research suggests that some of the harms associated with exposure to online racism may be mitigated when White students confront racist posts. The current manuscript describes the development and evaluation of a video-based online interactive intervention designed to increase White students’ willingness to confront online racism. Study 1 included 522 White students attending one PWI in the Southeast. Study 1 was conducted to identify the relative effectiveness of the various components of the intervention. In Study 2, we tested our full intervention with 824 White students across four geographically diverse PWIs. We randomly assigned White students to receive the full intervention or an implicit bias control condition. Results of Study 1 suggested added value of the combined intervention components. In Study 2, we found that 46% of participants in the intervention condition confronted the racist post compared to only 22% of participants in the implicit bias control condition. Assignment to the intervention condition relative to the control was associated with greater attitudes, social norms, and self-efficacy toward challenging racist posts. In turn, attitudes, social norms, and self-efficacy toward challenging racist posts predicted whether participants challenged a racist post. The findings of this research have implications for efforts to counter racism and other forms of bigotry online as a means to make PWIs more inclusive.

The current study investigated how experiencing discrimination (e.g., based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation) during the college years among a sample of underrepresented students attending a predominantly White institution may be related to poor sleep in young adulthood via greater marginalization-related vigilance. The study sample (N = 340; 69% female) included students who identified as a member of a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group, economically disadvantaged (i.e., eligible for the full amount of the Pell Grant), and/or as a first-generation college student. Data were collected during students' 4 years in college (Spring 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017) and then again 6 years later as they transitioned into young adulthood (Spring 2023). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the associations between discrimination (aggregated across the college years) and marginalization-related vigilance and poor sleep during young adulthood. The final model accounted for maleness, whiteness, and economic disadvantage. We found that discrimination across the college years indirectly predicted poor sleep 6 years later through greater marginalization-related vigilance. There may be a long-lasting psychological burden of persistent experiences of discrimination during the college years that may undermine sleep quality in young adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Migrant youth from Latin America who arrive in the United States are faced with a social and political context that dehumanizes migrants of color. These anti‐immigrant sentiments become reflected in federal and state policies that deny migrants rights to freedom and safety. The present paper examined how the U.S. immigration context informed migrant young adults' structural analysis of immigration policies and rhetoric (critical reflection) and actions to challenge exclusionary immigration‐related policies and rhetoric (critical action). We further examined facilitators and barriers to action. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with migrant young adults from Latin America living in Virginia (N = 30; M = 20.93; SD = 2.03; 53% female). We employed constructivist grounded theory strategies to analyze the data. Findings showed that migrant young adults offered a range of structural and individual‐level attributions for unjust immigration policies. For some migrant young adults, their critical reflection informed decisions to engage in critical actions. Yet, many migrant young adults also noted constraints that impeded their engagement. By more thoroughly understanding migrant young adults' critical reflection and factors that may facilitate or impede action, researchers and practitioners may be better positioned to support migrant young adults who seek to dismantle systems of oppression.

Racism and other forms of oppression threaten the well-being of racially and ethnically marginalized youth. Models of risk and resilience for marginalized youth have stressed the importance of addressing contextual and structural risk while emphasizing promotive factors such as cultural capital within their communities. Increasingly, research has focused on collective antiracist action as a form of coping with structural oppression. Importantly, supportive intergenerational relationships that develop within youths’ everyday contexts may play a key role in catalyzing and reinforcing youths’ engagement in antiracist action. This review advances a novel model for understanding how supportive nonparental adults from youths’ everyday lives (i.e., natural mentors) influence youths’ positive developmental outcomes and participation in antiracist action and how collective antiracist action, in turn, fosters liberation and racial justice. The creation of a more just and equitable society contributes to positive development among racially and ethnically marginalized youth.

The current study examined whether autonomy‐supportive parenting practices may be associated with Black adolescents' quantity of natural mentors (i.e., adults from youths' everyday lives who youth go to for support and guidance) via adolescents' confidence. This study employed survey data from 216 Black youth and qualitative interviews from a subsample of youth (n = 25), their primary caregivers (n = 25), and one nonparental adult relative with whom the youth reported feeling close (n = 25). Comparative analyses were then completed among a subset of 10 family triads corresponding to youth from the qualitative subsample who had the highest (n = 5) and the lowest (n = 5) scores on a survey measure of adolescents' confidence. Study findings suggest that Black adolescents' confidence may be an explanatory link in the association between autonomy‐supportive parenting practices among primary caregivers and Black adolescents' quantity of natural mentoring relationships. Moreover, we found that a range of autonomy‐supportive parenting practices may be associated with youth confidence, which may, in turn, inform how Black adolescents engage with adults in their social networks.

The current manuscript describes the iterative development of an afterschool intervention aimed at fostering supportive relationships between adolescents and adults from their everyday lives. Project DREAM (Developing Resourcefulness, Engagement, Acceptance, and Mentoring) is a novel afterschool preventive intervention aimed at promoting youths' improved academic outcomes via gains in social and emotional development and their connectedness with nonparental adults. The purpose of the iterative development process was to improve the intervention to make it maximally usable and acceptable to the intended users and participants. The iterative development process was informed by data collected from advisory boards, focus groups, interviews, and observations of program sessions. In the current article, we describe the methods implemented as part of this process and fully describe the resulting intervention revisions completed across the 2-year period. We also summarize lessons learned.

A systematic review was conducted to investigate scholarship from the last ten years regarding graduate training for the provision of culturally competent mental health care to individuals who hold marginalized identities (e.g., those marginalized based on their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation). This review furthered a conceptualization of cultural competence that views clients as individuals embedded within their own cultures and communities while also recognizing the interplay of systems of power and oppression within an individual’s life that create unique lived experiences. This was accomplished by conducting a systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines. Seven databases (i.e., PsycINFO [EBSCO], PubMed, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection [EBSCO], Academic Search Complete [EBSCO], SocIndex [EBSCO], Science Direct, ProQuest) were searched using a priori-defined search strings that encompass graduate training, cultural competence, and the various mental health care fields. Recommendations for improving cultural competence conceptualizations, engendering innovative training interventions, and increasing rigorous evaluation tools are provided.