Prerna Arora
· Associate Professor of Psychology and EducationVerifiedColumbia University · Curriculum & Teaching
Active 2009–2025
About
Prerna Arora is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Educational Psychology from the same institution, and a B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University. Her professional training includes a predoctoral clinical psychology internship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and post-doctoral training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She is a licensed Psychologist in New York. Dr. Arora’s scholarly interests focus on issues of access and quality of care for historically marginalized youth and adolescents. Her research emphasizes identifying risk and protective factors in the development of depressive disorders among racial and ethnic minoritized and immigrant-origin youth, understanding barriers to help-seeking, and developing culturally-tailored school and community-based prevention and intervention programs for internalizing disorders. Her work is grounded in a participatory action research approach and incorporates mixed methodologies. Her research has been funded by notable institutions such as the National Institute of Mental Health and the Spencer Foundation. In addition to her research, Dr. Arora serves as the Consulting Editor of School Psychology Review and the Associate Editor of School Mental Health. She is actively involved in the academic community and will be accepting external PhD students for Fall 2025.
Research topics
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Social psychology
- Public relations
- Law
- Pedagogy
- Medical education
- Psychiatry
- Gender studies
- Applied psychology
- Nursing
- Medicine
- Criminology
Selected publications
UNC Libraries · 2025-04-11
articleOpen accessThe intentional and sustained actions to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in school psychology science and scholarship, will have reciprocal and dynamic influences on graduate preparation and practice. Herein, the School Psychology Review leadership team provides reflections on several of our intentional efforts, to date, to advocate for and advance DEI in school psychology scholarship, and the associated implications for graduate preparation and practice. Contemporary actions of the School Psychology Review leadership team have included; (a) establishing commitments to advocating for and advancing DEI as the foundation of our scholarship; (b) diversifying journal leadership and editorial board members to reflect the diverse student body school psychologists serve; (c) preparing future diverse journal leadership through mentored editorial fellowship programs, and a student editorial board with members from diverse backgrounds; (d) featuring special topics relevant to further understanding and supporting diverse and minoritized children, youth, families, and school communities; (e) providing professional-development opportunities and resources; (f) implementation of Open Science opportunities in the journal, (g) implementing triple anonymous peer review to reduce bias, and (h) implementing a journal action plan focused on advancing DEI. Collectively these efforts are aimed to influence positive change in advancing and sustaining DEI efforts in school psychology science, scholarship, graduate preparation and practice.
School Psychology International · 2025-10-31
article1st authorCorrespondingDespite high rates of mental health need, racial and ethnic minoritized (REM) youth are much more likely than their White peers to prematurely drop out of mental health treatment. Culturally tailored and flexible engagement models to improve mental health treatment retention among REM youth could begin to address longstanding treatment engagement disparities by race and ethnicity. Strategic Treatment Assessment for Youth (STAY) is a theoretically driven, culturally tailored measurement-based care (MBC) approach to treatment engagement for REM youth. A core aspect of this intervention is a cultural humility training for school and community clinicians who serve REM youth. This paper describes STAY, with a particular focus on its cultural humility component. Specifically, we discuss how the cultural humility approach was developed and highlight the role cultural humility plays within STAY. Finally, we discuss current refinement and piloting efforts to improve and examine the STAY intervention and cultural humility training, and future directions to use STAY in school and community settings.
School Psychology · 2025-02-13 · 3 citations
articleOpen access= .35) that were sustained at 3-month follow-up. The content and format of the virtual training was highly rated in its utility and acceptability. Qualitative themes related to virtual YMFHA's general utility and acceptability, perceptions of its cultural relevance, and recommendations to improve the cultural relevance of YMHFA were identified. Based on these results, several implications for implementation of YMHFA training in schools, improving the training's cultural relevance for helping IOY in schools, and future directions in research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
School Psychology · 2024-09-12 · 1 citations
article1st authorCorresponding= 10) to assess participant comprehension of the CACC. The final CACC was developed and consists of 36 CA types organized into eight groups. Implications for use of the CACC in research and practice are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
Untangling the Link between Self-Efficacy and Loneliness: An Exploratory Study among Youth
International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences · 2024-12-27
article1st authorCorrespondingSelf-efficacy is the capacity to develop and sustain a sense of personal competence to fulfil particular life objectives, such as lessening social and emotional isolation (Bandura, 1982). The complex tango between student self-efficacy and loneliness emerges in the dynamic landscape of university life as a compelling tale of personal empowerment and social connectedness. This study explored the relationship of self-efficacy with loneliness among youth. A total of 293 students calculated by Yamane’s formula completed the Perceived Loneliness Scale and Self-efficacy Scale from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttarakhand. The findings indicate that self-efficacy is significantly correlated to loneliness. Such studies are of paramount importance for fostering the holistic development of students. Examining this relationship improves our knowledge of the emotional and psychological health of this at-risk population while also offering insightful information for creating focused treatments and support systems, which will ultimately help to improve mental health and academic success.
Canadian Journal of School Psychology · 2024-08-13 · 4 citations
articleThe intentional and sustained actions to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in school psychology science and scholarship, will have reciprocal and dynamic influences on graduate preparation and practice. Herein, the School Psychology Review leadership team provides reflections on several of our intentional efforts, to date, to advocate for and advance DEI in school psychology scholarship, and the associated implications for graduate preparation and practice. Contemporary actions of the School Psychology Review leadership team have included; (a) establishing commitments to advocating for and advancing DEI as the foundation of our scholarship; (b) diversifying journal leadership and editorial board members to reflect the diverse student body school psychologists serve; (c) preparing future diverse journal leadership through mentored editorial fellowship programs, and a student editorial board with members from diverse backgrounds; (d) featuring special topics relevant to further understanding and supporting diverse and minoritized children, youth, families, and school communities; (e) providing professional-development opportunities and resources; (f) implementation of Open Science opportunities in the journal, (g) implementing triple anonymous peer review to reduce bias, and (h) implementing a journal action plan focused on advancing DEI. Collectively these efforts are aimed to influence positive change in advancing and sustaining DEI efforts in school psychology science, scholarship, graduate preparation and practice.
Evidence-Based Interventions: An International Perspective
2024-01-01
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingSchool Psychology Review · 2024-08-21 · 6 citations
article1st authorCorrespondingDespite various strengths, newcomer immigrant adolescents (NIA) are exposed to stressors that can negatively impact their adjustment to U.S. schools, resulting in social-emotional and academic concerns. School climate has been identified as a crucial system-level intervention for NIA. While there is consensus regarding supporting NIAs' adjustment to U.S. schools, specific recommendations within the school climate literature are lacking. This study used semi-structured interviews to explore NIAs' (N = 15) perceptions of school climate and recommendations for improving school climate. Interview data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Four themes emerged: (a) academic placement impacts learning, (b) the cultural and linguistic background of peers is relevant to NIA peer relationships, (c) supportive school staff consider unique NIA needs, and (d) recommendations offered to foster adjustment to U.S. schools. The results of this study can inform what aspects of school climate are most critical to improving academic and social emotional outcomes of NIA.
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research · 2024-11-14 · 6 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding2023-07-01 · 3 citations
book
Frequent coauthors
- 19 shared
Elizabeth H. Connors
Yale University
- 19 shared
Kevin D. Stark
The University of Texas at Austin
- 12 shared
Angela M. Blizzard
University of Miami
- 12 shared
Kelly Coble
University of Maryland, Baltimore
- 12 shared
David B. Pruitt
- 12 shared
Kristina Metz
- 11 shared
Yesenia Marroquin
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- 11 shared
Amanda Sullivan
Twin Cities Orthopedics
Education
Ph.D., School Psychology
University of Texas at Austin
M.A., Educational Psychology
University of Texas at Austin
B.S., Biology
Arizona State University
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