About

The Health, Intersectionality, Essentialism, & Stigma (HIES) Research Team examines how different dimensions of stigma become embodied at multiple levels to affect racial and sexual minority health. Namely, rather than approaching stigmas as fixed “traits” that individuals possess (c.f. Goffman)

Research topics

• Sociology
• Clinical psychology
• Gender studies
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Nursing
• Gerontology
• Psychiatry
• Anthropology
• Psychotherapist
• Medicine

Selected publications

• What is Internalized Racism

  OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · 2026-05-07

  other1st authorCorresponding

  Systematic review + Model development to answer the question: What is internalized racism?

  Publisher

• Internalized Racism as a Self-Regulatory System: The Internalized Racism Process Model

  2026-05-08

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Internalized racism, although widely studied, remains conceptually fragmented and theoretically underdeveloped. I advance the Internalized Racism Process Model (IRPM), a process framework that conceptualizes internalized racism as a recursive, motive-driven system of self-regulation through which structurally organized ethnoracial hierarchy becomes embedded in psychological functioning. The IRPM specifies how structural conditions, sociocultural socialization, and identity processes converge to organize internalized racism. The model identifies a functional–motivational architecture in which needs for self-integrity and belonging give rise to three regulatory functions—threat minimization, ideological acceptance, and identity translation—that structure diverse forms of internalized racism and their behavioral enactments. Through recursive feedback loops, these processes stabilize into enduring patterns of self-regulation. The IRPM integrates previously fragmented literatures by distinguishing forms from manifestations, linking motives to regulatory functions, and specifying cross-level dynamics between structural contexts and individual regulation. It explains variability in who internalizes (via vulnerability and resistance resources), when internalization is likely (under conditions of threat and belonging pressure), and why consequences differ (as a function of form and configuration). Finally, the model specifies how strategies that provide short-term regulatory relief can consolidate into entrenched patterns that undermine psychological functioning. Although designed to generalize across hierarchically organized systems, the IRPM centers on internalized racism among subordinated groups, where empirical foundations are most developed, while also providing a framework for examining internalized racial dominance among advantaged groups. The IRPM offers a unifying account that advances explanation, generates testable predictions, and establishes an agenda for future research on the psychological organization of inequality.

  PublisherDOI

• Perceived causes of Black–White racial economic inequality and racialized policy attitudes: Implications for policy support

  Political Psychology · 2026-02-11

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Attributing racial disparities to factors related to individuals (individual causes) or to societal factors (structural causes) is linked to attitudes toward racial equity policies. Membership in a dominant or subordinated racial group might shape these associations. Using the case of Black and White Americans' attributions for Black–White economic inequality, we investigated the association between distinct kinds of individual (i.e., innate factors, lack of motivation) and structural (i.e., discrimination, lack of educational opportunity) attributions and attitudes toward racialized policies. We used cross‐sectional samples of non‐Hispanic Black and White Americans from the 2016 ( N = 2361) and 2018 ( N = 1875) General Social Survey to examine these associations. Results show that Black Americans were more likely to make attributions to discrimination and individual factors than White Americans. Generally, structural attributions were associated with stronger support for policies aimed at addressing racial inequality, whereas individual attributions showed opposite associations. Effects varied by the kind of attribution and policy. Race moderated the effects of attribution on attitudes toward government spending and racist expression policies, but not affirmative action. These studies contribute to understanding how group position and attributions of racial inequality relate to policy preferences, which have implications for developing initiatives to improve policy support.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Social identity concordance and trust in healthcare providers: Insights across dental, medical, mental, and vision care

  Journal of Health Psychology · 2026-01-23

  article1st authorCorresponding

  This cross-sectional study examined the relationships among healthcare provider trust, social identity concordance (i.e. race, sex/gender, sexual orientation), internalized racism, everyday discrimination, and healthcare discrimination across four healthcare settings: dental, medical, mental, and vision. The study sample included Black American adults (Mean age = 37.68). Findings showed that, after accounting for demographic factors and identity concordance: (a) race concordance did not relate to provider trust, (b) sex/gender concordance was positively linked to trust in medical, mental, and vision healthcare providers, (c) sexual orientation concordance was associated with greater trust in dental and mental healthcare providers, (d) internalized racism and healthcare discrimination were associated with lower provider trust in all settings, and (e) everyday discrimination was negatively linked to trust in dental providers only. These results suggest identity concordance alone is insufficient in fostering trust in healthcare providers, highlighting the need for further research on addressing internalized and systemic racism.

  PublisherDOI

• Archive - Perceived Causes of Black-White Racial Economic Inequality and Racialized Policy Attitudes: Implications for Policy Support

  OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · 2026-02-03

  otherSenior author
  Publisher

• Internalized racism, stress, and health: A comprehensive meta-analytic structural equation model test of the internalized racism framework.

  Psychological Bulletin · 2025-08-01 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  = 5, r = -.06). After adjusting for covariates (gender, age, ethnoracial group, publication year, peer-review status, and form and evaluative focus of IR), only the associations between IR with psychological stress and with negative mental health remained significant. The association between IR and negative mental health was partially explained by health-compromising behaviors, but not by psychological stress. There was mixed evidence of publication bias, and study quality only moderated the association between IR and positive mental health. Findings support an expanded internalized racism framework, the IR-stress-vulnerability model, which highlights bidirectional relationships among IR, stress, health-compromising behaviors, and health, with implications for addressing IR among minoritized ethnoracial groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Ethnoracial disparities in breast cancer treatment time and survival: a systematic review with a DAG–based causal model

  Epidemiologic Reviews · 2025-01-01

  reviewOpen access

  For interventions aimed at redressing health disparities in breast cancer to be effective, a clear understanding of the nature and causes of these disparities is required. Our questions were: what is the current evidence for ethnoracial disparities in time-to-treatment initiation and survival in breast cancer, and how are the causal mechanisms of these disparities conceptualized in the literature? A comprehensive systematic search of studies on cohorts of female patients with breast cancer diagnosed with stage I-III was performed. Directed acyclic graphs were used to describe implicit causal relationships between racial/ethnic group membership and time-to-treatment initiation and survival outcomes. This review revealed strong evidence for ethnoracial disparities in both time to treatment and survival among patients with breast cancer. Unmeasured factors identified by the authors highlighted gaps in data sources and opportunities for causal reasoning. Although the existing literature describes ethnoracial disparities, there is very limited discussion of causal mechanisms and no discussion of system-level rather than individual-level effects. Addressing established ethnoracial disparities in breast cancer requires new research that explicitly considers the causal mechanisms of potential interventions, incorporating unmeasured factors contributing to these disparities. Trial registration: PROSPERO identifier: CRD42023391901.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Internalized Racism and Personal Self-Esteem among Ethnoracial Minoritized Groups: A Meta-analytic Review

  2025-04-07

  review1st authorCorresponding

  Internalized racism refers to the process by which individuals from marginalized ethnoracial groups internalize and accept beliefs, attitudes, and stereotypes that reinforce the superiority of the dominant ethnoracial group and the inferiority of their own. Using theory-driven conceptualizations of internalized racism, we conducted the first meta-analysis examining its relationship with personal self-esteem. The analysis included k = 117 correlation effect sizes from 54 independent cross-sectional samples, involving 15,548 ethnoracial minority participants from 51 records published between 1982–2024. Findings revealed a statistically significant small-to-moderate negative correlation between internalized racism and self-esteem (r = –.22, p < .001). Moderator analyses showed that this association was stronger when internalized racism was self-directed rather than group-directed and when internalized racism manifested as self-hatred rather than the endorsement of negative group stereotypes and narratives. Results also revealed that studies with lower risk of bias yielded stronger effects, as well as mixed evidence of publication bias. Critically, exclusive inclusion of cross-sectional studies in this meta-analysis limits causal interpretations, and it remains unclear whether low self-esteem leads individuals to internalize racism or vice versa. Additionally, since our meta-analysis included studies with only ethnoracial minorities, the extent to which these findings extend to ethnoracial dominant groups remains an open question. Collectively, these results offer a deeper understanding of self-esteem–internalized racism relationship, and emphasize the need for further research, particularly those involving non-U.S. populations and those using longitudinal designs.

  PublisherDOI

• Intersectional discrimination, internalized heterosexist racism, and health attitudes among gay and bisexual Black American men: A path analysis approach.

  Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity · 2025-09-29

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A Qualitative Exploration of Primary Care Clinicians’ Perceptions of Hypertensive Black Patients

  Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities · 2025-10-15

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Black Americans experience stereotyping when receiving care, harming the therapeutic relationship and likely contributing to inequities in hypertension management. Although patients have described these experiences, there is limited understanding from clinicians' perspectives. METHODS: We conducted an Interpretive Description study with 30 Minnesota family medicine physicians between July and September 2023 to explore the assumptions associated with hypertensive Black patients, as perceived by the clinicians. Transcripts were analyzed and themes developed using thematic analysis with inductive and deductive approaches. RESULTS: Participants observed that they, or their colleagues (1) viewed Black patients as having hypertension that was more challenging to manage due to factors outside the clinicians' control, and (2) changed their approach to Black patients' hypertension management in response to assumed difficulty. Participants viewed Black patients as less willing and able to manage their hypertension due to mistrust and biological, behavioral, and social factors. Perceived barriers to hypertension management overlapped with what participants described as stereotypes of Black patients, and a few participants acknowledged that clinicians may convey their lower expectations of Black patients through disinvestment in their care. CONCLUSIONS: Participants viewed Black patients as having greater challenges with hypertension control due to factors that were seen as being indiscriminately assumed of these patients, potentially resulting in reduced clinician engagement. As such, clinicians must balance their knowledge of population-level disparities with an individualized approach to patient care. To reduce stereotyping of Black patients, it is crucial to pay closer attention to how population-level differences are discussed and applied.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Susan Kennedy

  Denison University

  5 shared

• Andrea Lourie

  Denison University

  5 shared

• Erin J. Henshaw

  Denison University

  5 shared

• Patrick W. Corrigan

  Illinois Institute of Technology

  4 shared

• Nev Jones

  University of Pittsburgh

  4 shared

• Courtney M. Bonam

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  3 shared

• Asia T. McCleary-Gaddy

  Office of Diversity and Inclusion

  3 shared

• Blake Glatley

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  2 shared

Labs

• Health, Intersectionality, Essentialism, & Stigma research teamPI

Education

• Ph.D., Social and Personality Psychology

  University of Illinois at Chicago