McNair Scholar 2022 Vanessa Guachichulca
Vanessa Guachichulca is a senior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, majoring in psychology with minors in family therapy and leadership. Her research interests revolve around mental health in marginalized communities and expanding mental health resources to enhance the well-being of marginalized communities. Vanessa plans on applying for Ph.D. programs in counseling psychology.
My dream is to receive a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and become a licensed psychologist. I want to open up my own counseling clinic to provide therapy for marginalized communities. I want make mental health resources more accessible.
Research project
Examining weight, appearance-based harassment and suicidality among Hispanic/Latino(a) adolescents: a Minnesota population-based study
Abstract: Suicide is the 3rd leading cause for 10-24 year olds and the second cause of death for 10-14 year olds. Prevalence, protective and risk factors differ by social demographic characteristics including age, race, and ethnicity. Hispanic/Latino(a) adolescents, especially girls, experience disproportionate rates of mental health problems. Risk factors such as weight-based victimization can increase vulnerability to suicide thoughts and behaviors (STB). Few studies focus on the prevalence of STB and correlates by sub-group even as the epidemic of suicide worsens among racial and ethnic minoritized adolescents. We used a logistic regression model to assess the likelihood of STB in the sample adjusting for covariate. Girls had more than 2.5 times higher odds of STB compared to boys, and victimization increased the odds for ideation 2.3 times and attempts 2.6 times. Hispanic/Latino(a) students who were victimized had an increased likelihood of suicide attempts and ideation.
Faculty mentor
Eunice Areba is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing department at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Areba received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Winona State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2014. She teaches introductory public health nursing courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. She conducts adolescent and young adult research. Her research of focus is healthy youth development. She is interested in how community and individual level factors influence the health of refugee and immigrant youth and their families. Dr. Areba has published multiple peer-reviewed journals and has presented her work at national and international conferences.