The Michael Sullivan Diversity Scholarship Fund committee has selected three winners for 2019. They are Alena Borgatti of the University of Alabama, Kyle Simon of the University of Kentucky and C. Nicole White of the University of South Carolina.
Alena Borgatti’s research investigates whether social networks are implicated in differential response to weight loss treatment among African American and Caucasian participants with obesity. Social Network Analysis (SNA) will be assessed across four predominantly African- Ameican weight loss groups at eight weeks, six months, and one year into treatment to assess whether group social ties can improve attendance and weight loss. This study is theoretically and clinically innovative in several ways, as it will be the first to a) compare networks of in-group social support between African American and Caucasian participants in regard to weight loss, b) examine social networks in a behavioral weight loss program for adults, and c) evaluate the impact of social networks on racial disparities in behavioral weight loss treatment outcomes. Borgatti is a first-year student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Kyle Simon’s project is to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis on the Conceptual Future Parent Grief (CFPG) for LGBTQ+ individuals scale, a measure designed to assess conceptual grief that LGBTQ+ individuals may experience based on loss of a future parent identity. The CFPG scale has been found to show relationships with LGBTQ+ identity authenticity, depression, and perceived as well as enacted stigma, important preliminary evidence of conceptual future parent grief as a construct for LGBTQ+ individuals. Additionally, Simon works on the “Stories and Experiences of LGBTQ+ Families from Youth” Project (SELFY) led by faculty adviser Rachel H. Farr, PhD, and has two ongoing collaborations: the first is with A.P. Bos PhD, (University of Amsterdam) and Samanth Tornello, PhD,(Penn State) as part of the Intended Parenthood Study, and the second with Stephen Russell, PhD, and Sara Mernitz, PhD, (University of Texas at Austin) investigates how LGB individuals conceptualize the meaning of kinship, family, and parenthood. Simon is a third-year student at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.
C. Nicole White’s prior research found that black female college students were less likely to seek help after experiencing a sexual assault than their white peers. She aims to discover whether black female college students’ self-endorsement of "Strong Black Woman" mediates the relationship between experiencing traumatic life events and help-seeking in response to those events. This study represents an important step in better understanding the mechanisms of the Strong Black Woman image and its outcomes for black women. This will be the first study to connect self endorsement of Strong Black Woman to actual help-seeking behavior in response to a wide range of traumatic life events. The results from this study will inform future research on Strong Black Woman and how the stereotype may contribute to both positive and negative outcomes for black women, in addition to further explaining the low rates of help-seeking for black women following traumatic events. White is a fourth-year student at the University of South Carolina.
About the Michael Sullivan Diversity Scholarship Fund
This scholarship supports research/training and community projects in the area of diversity/multiculturalism. Awards up to $500 per recipient are granted once a year, and the winner(s) are announced in March. Grants support or assist applicants in covering expenses related to their projects or research.
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