Cindy Sangalang

About

Cindy C. Sangalang, PhD, MSW, is an assistant professor of Asian American Studies and Social Welfare at UCLA, affiliated with the Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her research examines how race, migration, and culture intersect to influence health and well-being in immigrant and refugee communities, with a particular focus on Southeast Asian youth and their families. Her scholarly work addresses developmental and health-related effects of racism, war, and migration-related traumas, aiming to inform interventions that promote social justice and health equity. Professor Sangalang has served as a principal investigator on research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She earned her Ph.D. and Masters in Social Welfare from UCLA and completed postdoctoral training in health disparities research at Arizona State University. Her previous academic appointments include faculty positions in Social Work at Arizona State University and California State University, Los Angeles.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Medicine
• Social Science
• Gender studies
• Nursing
• Gerontology
• Political Science
• Criminology
• Economic growth
• Geography

Selected publications

• Mental health among the Hmong population in the U.S.: A systematic review of the influence of cultural and social factors

  Journal of Social Work · 2020-07-17 · 14 citations

  reviewSenior author

  Summary As refugees of the war in Southeast Asia, Hmong experienced various traumatic events. Evidence suggests the persistence of psychiatric disorders related to trauma in refugees even after prolonged resettlement in their host country. This systematic review aimed to summarize the mental health literature on the Hmong population with a focus on cultural and social factors. The databases PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Social Services Abstracts, Web of Science, and PubMed were reviewed for peer-revie…

  PublisherDOI

• Health Inequities in Historical Context: A Critical Race Theory Analysis of Diabetes among African Americans and American Indians

  Race and Social Problems · 2020 · 13 citations

  PublisherDOI

• “I'm sick of being called a hero – I want to get paid like one”: Filipino American frontline workers' health under conditions of COVID-19 and racial capitalism

  Frontiers in Public Health · 2022 · 9 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Although the era of COVID-19 has reaffirmed the vital role of frontline workers in maintaining a functional society, the ongoing pandemic has taken a devastating toll on their health and well-being. In the United States, Filipino American frontline workers in healthcare and service industries have endured threats to their health, safety, and economic livelihood throughout the pandemic and against the broader backdrop of racialized and xenophobic hate directed toward Asian Americans. Drawing on a…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Effects of Trauma and Postmigration Stress on Refugee Women’s Health: A Life Course Perspective

  Social Work · 2022 · 7 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Trauma exposure and postmigration stress are associated with adverse health outcomes among refugees, yet the relative effect of these factors for subgroups of refugees and those resettled long-term remains unclear. Drawing on life course theory, this study evaluated the associations between war trauma, postmigration stress, and health among Southeast Asian refugee women in the United States, and whether these patterns differ across the life span. A community sample of Vietnamese and Cambodian re…

  PublisherDOI

• The Movement for Ethnic Studies: A Tool of Resistance and Self-Determination for Social Work Education

  Journal of Social Work Education · 2021-09-30 · 6 citations

  article

  Social work is contending with an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse population and an academic field that is facing mounting pressure to diversify its curriculum to meet the needs of its students and the communities that social workers serve and inhabit. This article draws on the history of ethnic studies and the work that the field has produced to inform and challenge social work to recognize its shortcomings in addressing racial equity and advance the profession to commit to self-de…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Suely Ngouy

  National Institutes of Health

  36 shared

• Anna S. Lau

  Center for Asian American Media

  36 shared

• Justin Jager

  Arizona State University

  6 shared

• Stephanie Lechuga-Peña

  Arizona State University

  4 shared

• Gilbert C. Gee

  University of California, Los Angeles

  4 shared

• Tracy W. Harachi

  University of Washington

  4 shared

• Felicia M. Mitchell

  4 shared

• Bum Jung Kim

  Chung-Ang University

  3 shared

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