Andrea J. Romero Ph.D.

Division of Family Studies and Human Development
Mexican American Studies & Research Center

Scholarly Interests and Activities

Andrea Romero is an associate professor in Family Studies & Human Development. She also has appointments in Psychology and the Mexican American Studies & Research Center. Born in Visalia, California, she grew up in the Southwest United States, including Vallejo, California; Oxnard, California; El Paso, Texas; and Farmington, New Mexico. She has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology with emphasis in quantitative methodology, Latino/a psychology, and adolescent health. Her research interests include studying cultural factors that may prevent ethnic and racial health disparities. She has published several articles that focus on sources of resiliency found in ethnic identity, families, and low-income neighborhoods. One of her research projects is a hip-hop based curriculum to prevent substance use and increase physical activity by empowering youth through their ethnic identity and neighborhood resources. She is currently collaborating with the City of South Tucson Drug Free Community to prevent youth substance use. She teaches MAS 280: Social Perspectives in Mexican American Studies; MAS 365: Latinos/as: Emerging Social Issues; and MAS 587: Chicana Gender Perspectives.

Selected Publications

Romero, A.J. (in press). Orthogonal cultural identification theory. In F.T.L. Leong (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Counseling: Volume Four: Cross Cultural Counseling.  Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Romero, A.J. & Ruíz, M.G. (in press). Does familism lead to increased parental monitoring?:  Protective factors for coping with risky behaviors. Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Romero, A.J. & Carvajal, S.C.,Valle, F., Orduña, M. (in press). Adolescent bicultural stress and its impact on mental well-being among Latinos, Asian Americans, and European Americans. Journal of Community Psychology. 

Romero, A.J. (2005). Low-income neighborhood barriers and resources for adolescents’ physical activity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(3), 253-259.

Romero, A.J., Robinson, T., Haydel, F., Mendoza, F. & Killen, J.D. (2004). Associations among familism, language preference, and education in Mexican American mothers and their children. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 25(1), 34-40.

Romero, A.J., and Roberts, R.E.  (2003). The impact of multiple dimensions of ethnic identity on discrimination and adolescents’ self-esteem. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(11), 2288-2305.   

Romero, A.J. and Roberts, R.E. (2003). Stress within a bicultural context for adolescents of Mexican descent.  Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.  9(2). 171-184.

Carvajal, S.C., Hanson, C.E., Romero, A.J., & Coyle, K.C. (2002). Behavioural risk factors and protective factors in adolescents: A comparison of Latinos and non-Latino Whites. Ethnicity and Health. 7(3), 181-193.

Romero, A.J., Robinson, T., Kraemer, H.C., Erickson, S., Haydel, F., Mendoza, F. & Killen, J. (2001). Are perceived neighborhood hazards a barrier to physical activity in children? Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 155(10), 1143-1148. 

Romero, A.J., Cuéllar, I., & Roberts, R.E. (2000). Ethnocultural variables and attitudes toward cultural socialization of children. Journal of Community Psychology, 28(1), 79-89. 

Niemann, Y.F., Romero, A.J., & Arbona, C. (2000). Effects of cultural orientation on the perception of conflict between relationship and education goals for Mexican American college students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 22(1), 46-63. 

Romero, A.J. (2000). Assessing and treating Latinos: Overview of research).  In.  I. Cuéllar and F. Paniagua (Eds.) Handbook of Multicultural Mental Health: Assessment and treatment of diverse populations (pp. 209-223). San Diego: Academic Press.

Niemann, Y.F., Romero, A.J., Arredondo, J., Rodriguez, V. (1999). What does it mean to be “Mexican”?:  Social construction of an ethnic identity. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21(1), 47-60.

Roberts, R.E., Phinney, J.S., Masse, L.C., Chen, Y. R., Roberts, C.R., & Romero, A.J. (1999). The structure of ethnic identity of young   adolescents from diverse ethnocultural groups. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19(3), 301-322.

Romero, A.J., and Roberts, R.E. (1998). Perception of discrimination and ethnocultural variables in a diverse group of adolescents.  Journal of Adolescence, 21, 641-656.

Courses

Undergraduate Courses

MAS 280: Social Perspectives in Mexican American Studies

Description:  Introduction to Mexican American studies from a psychological perspective. Theory, research methods, interpretation and impact upon the Mexican American community.

MAS 365: Latinos/as: Emerging Contemporary Issues
Description:  Using a comparative and multi-disciplinary focus this course critically examines major issues in Latino/a scholarship. Major topics include: immigration, ethnic identity, class, public health issues, creation and maintenance of the construction of race, gender, and sexuality.

Graduate Courses

MAS 587: Chicana Gender Perspectives
Description: This courses focuses on the study of intersections of ethnicity/race, class and gender as studied by Chicana feminists.  An overview of the psychological study of gender is provided with a focus on theories of gender socialization, identity formation, and gender roles.