REU Site: Effects of political upheaval and ethnic discord on the mental health of a population

Dordt University, Incorporated, Sioux Center IA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate, with joint support and funding from the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE). As an REU Site with international activities, it has both scientific and societal benefits, and it integrates research and education at multiple levels. The research in this program involves mental health, from a social/behavioral science perspective. Long-term effects of deep-rooted tensions in any country and within any population can include political upheaval, socio-economic disadvantages, ethnic discord and rapid change from one economic system to another; all these factors can have an effect on the rates of mental illness in that population. This REU Site's research program directly impacts a group of 27 undergraduate students over a three year period by broadening students' global awareness and cross-cultural competence through a meaningful, interdisciplinary research experience focusing on a case study for elevated levels of mental illness in a country that has been going through multiple transitions. The case study is Ukraine in post-Soviet era. As part of this REU site, a diverse group of undergraduate students are involved in an ongoing research project exploring the mental health of Ukrainian citizens. In this REU site the PI-team recruits students with an emphasis on the participation of students participants from under-represented groups and institutions where research opportunities are limited. These students will further broaden the impact of their research experience by presenting to high school students and students at their home institutions. This REU site is focused on a topic of research that is of great interest in the fields of sociology and social psychology. The program incorporates an on-site collaborative research and cultural immersion experience for students in Ukraine, working directly with collaborators at the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (a national research firm in Ukraine). The project provides strong mentorship and development of undergraduate student researchers by an interdisciplinary team of four experienced faculty members, in conjunction with a team of worldwide experts on Ukraine mental health and, and it provides some of the only nationally representative information on mental health risk factors and impacts in Ukraine. The dataset students will be able to use in this project is innovative and unique in the fields of psychology and global health studies. Analyzing these types of global data as a means of training students for future work in psychology and/or health studies means that the work itself has intellectual merit, but that inasmuch as this affects future generations of scholars, it also has long-term impact on the fields. Making American students aware of the cultural biases they bring to the table when analyzing global data is crucial for producing good future science. This project is co-funded by the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering.