Research Overview

My program of research is motivated by a commitment to achieve a more socially just world for the diverse youth that inhabit it. Drawing on critical race theories, cultural and ecological models of youth development, and theories of Multiracial development, I address three interrelated questions:

1) How do youth come to understand their racial group boundaries and identities?

2) What contexts support youth in developing a critical understanding of systemic issues? and

3) How can we leverage quantitative methods to accurately study Multiracial populations?

I leverage quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches to explore these issues among diverse groups of young people in the United States, with a special emphasis on Multiracial youth, families, and communities. Read more about each of these research areas below.

Research Awards Received

2025 Pat Gurin Distinguished Lecture Award

2025 Inductee into the Bouchet Honor Society, University of Michigan Chapter

2023 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar

2023 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Ford Predoctoral Fellowship Recipient

2023 Pat Gurin Distinguished Lecture Award

2022 University of Michigan, Rackham Merit Fellowship

2021 Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Diversity Scholarship

2020 University of Michigan, Rackham Master’s Award

Research Grants Recieved ($23,150)

2025 Anti-Racism Graduate Research Grant ($5,000), Critical Multiracial Ethnic-Racial Identity (CMERI) Project - Principal Investigator
2025 Jay and Kay Peters Graduate Psychology Student Award ($1,000) CMERI Project - Principal Investigator
2025 Department of Psychology Dissertation Grant ($1,000) CMERI Project - Principal Investigator
2025 Bouchet Honors Society Stipend and Research Funds ($2,000) CMERI Project - Principal Investigator
2021 - 2025 Rackham Conference Travel Grant ($3,600)
2023 & 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Research Grant ($2,300) CMERI Project - Principal Investigator
2024 CPEP Student Milestone Research Grant ($2,000) CMERI Project - Principal Investigator
2024 Student Academic Multicultural Initiatives Conference Grant ($1,000)
2024 Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant ($4,500) CMERI Project - Principal Investigator
2023 Summer Diversity Research Grant ($750) Predictors of Biracial Adolescent Ethnic-Racial Identity Choice - First Author

How do youth come to understand their racial group boundaries and identities?

What contexts support youth in developing a critical understanding of systemic issues?

How can we leverage quantitative methods to accurately study Multiracial populations?

Other Academic Works

Research Consulting Experience

How do youth come to understand their racial group boundaries and identities?

The CMERI Project

The Critical Multiracial Ethnic-Racial Identity (CMERI) Project seeks to better understand how Multiracial people think about their various ethnic-racial backgrounds and how this reflection might relate to taking an action-oriented stance towards combating racialized oppression.

Principal Investigator (PI): Victoria Vezaldenos

Collaborators: Drs. Deborah Rivas-Drake, Matthew Diemer, Annabelle Atkin, & Jennifer Randall

Funded by the Ford Predoctoral Fellowship and National Center for Institutional Diversity at UM

CMERI Website

CMERI Instagram

The Teen Identity Development and Education Survey

The Teen Identity Development and Education Study (TIDES) is a three-year study that seeks to elucidate how ethnic-racial identity and peer relations influence the academic and social adjustment of adolescents in ethnically diverse schools.

PIs: Drs. Deborah Rivas-Drake, Adriana Umaña-Taylor, & David Schaefer

Collaborator: Dr. Allison Ryan

Funded by the National Science Foundation

Publications

Vezaldenos, V. A., Rivas-Drake, D., Schaefer, D., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Villalta, S. I., & Pinetta, B., (2025) Predictors of Biracial Adolescent Racial Self-Categorization when Confronted with Monoracist Demographic Forms. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 35(1), e70012. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.70012

Schaefer, D., Villalta, S., Vezaldenos, V., & Umaña-Taylor, A. (2024). Some Birds Have Mixed Feathers: Bringing the Multiracial Population into the Study of Race Homophily. Sociological Science, 11, 1046–1083. https://doi.org/10.15195/v11.a38

Works in Progress

Vezaldenos, V., Rivas-Drake, D., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (In Prep) Predicting Longitudinal Changes to Self-Selected Ethnic-Racial Identity for Multiracial Adolescents

Invited Presentations

1. Vezaldenos, V. (2024, February) Pan Asian American Heritage Month Invited Speaker. Predictors of Biracial Adolescent Ethnic-Racial Identity Salience. Asian-ish in collaboration with Yale University Asian American Cultural Center. Virtual.

2. Vezaldenos, V. (2024, February) Multiracial Activism and Antiracism Panel. Mixed Student Union at the University of California, Davis. Virtual.

3. Vezaldenos, V. (2023, February) Predicting Changes to Self-Selected Ethnic-Racial Identity Over Time. Mixed Student Union at the University of California, Los Angeles. Virtual.

4. Vezaldenos, V. (2023, February) Expanding Mixed Communities Speaker Panel. Mixed Student Union at the University of California, Davis. Virtual.

5. Vezaldenos, V. (2023, January) Predictors of Ethnic-Racial Salience for Biracial-White Adolescents. Mixed Student Union at the University of California, San Diego. Virtual.

6. Vezaldenos, V. (2022, November) Predictors of Ethnic-Racial Salience for Biracial-White Adolescents. Mixed Student Union at the University of Washington. Virtual.

7. Vezaldenos, V. (2022, November) Predictors of Ethnic-Racial Salience for Biracial-White Adolescents. Boston University Mixed Student Union. Virtual.

8. Vezaldenos, V. (2022, October) Predictors of Ethnic-Racial Salience for Biracial-White Adolescents. Berkeley High School Multicultural Student Association. Virtual.

9. Vezaldenos, V. (2025, February) Envisioning a Measure of Critical Multiracial Ethnic-Racial Identity. Department of Psychology Pat Gurin Lecture Series. Ann Arbor, MI.

10. Vezaldenos, V. (2024, February) Predictors of Biracial Adolescent Ethnic-Racial Identity Salience. Combined Program in Education and Psychology Department Brownbag. Ann Arbor, MI.

11. Vezaldenos, V. (2024, February) Predictors of Biracial Adolescent Ethnic-Racial Identity Salience. Combined Program in Education and Psychology Department Brownbag. Ann Arbor, MI.

12. Vezaldenos, V. (2023, February) Predicting Changes to Self-Selected Ethnic-Racial Identity Over Time. Mixed@Michigan, Multiracial Student Organization at the University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI.

13. Vezaldenos, V. (2023, January) Predicting Changes to Self-Selected Ethnic-Racial Identity Over Time. Rackham Merit Fellows Featured Research in Progress. Ann Arbor, MI.

What contexts support youth in developing a critical understanding of systemic issues?

The Family Civics Project

This three year exploratory mixed-methods project will examine how a leadership training designed for racially and ethnically diverse parents/caregivers and their children fosters the civic engagement of families in their communities, targeting school- and district-level policies and practices.

PI: Dr. Matthew Diemer

Collaborators: Drs. Sara McAlister & Elise Harris

Funded by the Institute of Education Sciences & the William T Grant Foundation

Study on Latinx Youth Civic Engagement

The SLYCE project aims to better understand how Latinx youth take action to address social issues and how that action is supported or hindered through their relationships.

PI: Dr. Wendy de los Reyes

Collaborators: Dr. Bernadette Sanchez & the Mentor Organization

SLYCE Website

SPARX Project Website

The Stepping uP Against Racism and Xenophobia (SPARX) Project

The goal of the SPARX Project is to provide a hub of ideas, resources, strategies, tips, tools and a curriculum for caregivers and educators to address racial and immigration topics in supporting youths’ development of anti-racist and anti-xenophobic competencies.

PI: Dr. Deborah Rivas-Drake

Collaborators: Drs. Christia Spears-Brown, Enrique Neblett, Gabriela Livas-Stein, Dawn Witherspoon, Tiffany Yip, Laura-Ann Jacobs, & Jozet Channey

Funded by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at UM

Publications

Medina, M., Vezaldenos, V., Rivas-Drake, D. (in press) Peer Groups, Friendships, and Schools: Contexts of Multiracial Identity Development. The Cambridge Handbook of Multiracial Youth and Families.

Rivas-Drake, D.*, Vezaldenos, V.A.*, Livas-Stein, G.*, Witherspoon, D., Jacobs, L-A., Spears-Brown, C., Yip, T., & Neblett, E. (2025) What Parents Want: Insights into Relevant Content and Formats for Resources to Address Issues of Race, Racism, and Immigration with Children. Applied Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2025.2456195

Vezaldenos, V. A., Jacobs, L-A., & Rivas-Drake, D. (2023). Raising “Antiracist Disruptors”: Illuminating Socialization Practices that Support Antiracism in Multiracial Households. Race and Social Problems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-023-09389-4

Pinedo, A., Frisby, M., Kubi, G., Vezaldenos, V. A., Diemer, M. A., McAlister, S., and Harris, E. (2023) Charting the Longitudinal Development and Interplay of Critical Consciousness among Youth Activists. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13977

*Denotes shareed first-authorship

Works in Progress

Rivas-Drake, D., Vezaldenos, V., Jacobs, L-A., Channey, J., Witherspoon, D., Neblett, E., Spears-Brown, C., Livas-Stein, G., & Yip, T. (In Prep) Listening to Teachers: Facilitating Content and Conditions for Addressing Issues of Racism, Antiracism, and Xenophobia with Youth in Schools

de los Reyes, W., Vezaldenos, V., Barraza, R., & Draper, C. (In Prep) Navigating Family: Immigrant-Origin Latinx Youth Perspectives on Parental Roles in Sociopolitical Development

Rivas-Drake, D., Vezaldenos, V., Jacobs, L-A., & Channey, J. (In Prep) Learning to Take Action: Designing a Curriculum to Orient Adults Toward Antiracism

Invited Presentations

Vezaldenos, V. (2024, November) Identity and Socialization of Mixed Race Children. Exploring Mixed Race and Interracial Family Experiences hosted by the U-M Library

Vezaldenos, V. (2023, February) Raising “Antiracist Disruptors”: Illuminating Socialization Practices that Support Antiracism in Multiracial Households. Combined Program in Education and Psychology Department Brownbag. Ann Arbor, MI.

How can we leverage quantitative methods to accurately study Multiracial populations?

Critical Quantitative Methods

Most quantitative techniques rely on race being organized into discrete categories. Because Multiracial realities challenge these assumptions, we see that Multiracial populations are collapsed, recoded, or removed in statistical models, which results in making this demographic group invisible in many analyses. My empirical work in this area has prompted me to think more deeply about how to employ rigorous quantitative models in novel ways in order to humanize and best represent the lived realities of Multiracial people.

Thought Partners: Dr. Andrew Grogan-Kaylor & Wendy Castillo

Publications

Vezaldenos, V. (in press) Quant(Multi)Crit: Situating the Multiracial Experience within Quantitative Critical Race Theory. Critical Thinking Across Disciplines.

Works in Progress

Vezaldenos, V., Atkin, A., & Rivas-Drake, D. (In Prep) A How-To Guide for the Study of Multiracial Adolescent Racialization

Vezaldenos, V., Rivas-Drake, D., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (In Prep) When Race is an Outcome: Novel Insights into Statistical Models that Explore Racial Self-Categorization as a Dependent Variable among Multiracial Adolescents

Other Academic Works

My program of research has also resulted in the development of novel curricula, measures, and engagement with popular media. See below for some examples of these other academic products.

Other Academic Products

Curricula Developed

Rivas-Drake, D., Channey, J., Martinez-Black, T., Jacobs, L., Vezaldenos, V., & Fuentes Delgado, M. (2025). Learning to Take Action (Professional Learning Community Version). https://sparxproject.org
Rivas-Drake, D., Jacobs, L., Vezaldenos, V., Channey, J., & Fuentes Delgado, M. (2024). Learning to Take Action (Self-Paced Version). https://sparxproject.org

Measures Developed

Vezaldenos, V., Rivas-Drake, D., & Diemer, M. (In Progress). The Critical Multiracial Identity Measure.

Media Appearances

Greater Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life—(September 2023) “One Way to Improve Teen Mental Health: Activism”
The University Record—(October 2024) “Coming Events: Identity and Socialization of Mixed Race Children”

Conference Proceedings

Vezaldenos, V. A. (2023). A Quantitative Analysis of College Access for Multiracial Students. Proceedings 6 th Biannual Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference. https://criticalmixedracestudies.com/2022-cmrs-conference-proceedings/

Presentations

Vezaldenos, V. (2025, April) Sí Se Pudo, Sí Se Puede y Sí Se Podrá!: An Intergenerational Pláctica with Dolores Huerta. Moderator and Interviewer Rackham Graduate School Cesar Chavez Day. Ann Arbor, MI.

Vezaldenos, V. (2024, March) A Conversation Addressing Student Activism with Christine Chavez, Granddaughter of Cesar Chavez. Panelist for Rackham Graduate School Cesar Chavez Day. Ann Arbor, MI.

Research Consulting Experience

I have also had the opportunity to leverage my research skills as a consultant for various organizations that conduct work uplifting marginalized communities. In these roles I have supported both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, project development, execution of research programming, and report writing.

Flourish

Managed yearly operations for Flourish, the network for pre-tenure scholars of color in social and personality psychology. Assisted with the coordination and execution of annual professional development retreats. Analyzed longitudinal quantitative data to assess the success of the Flourish program, our members in achieving tenure, and maintaining wellbeing among other outcomes.

PIs: Drs. Kelci Harris, Morgan Jerald, & Angela Bell

Collaborator: Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Funded by the National Science Foundation

Flourish Website

Leadership Academy

Worked collaboratively with school districts from across the nation to assist with an evaluation of the Equity Centered Pipeline Initiative that aims to provide a pipeline for equity-centered leaders. Wrote reports that highlighted action items for districts so that they can further advance their program and support a more diverse school leadership.

Collaborator: Dr. Marianna Fischer

Leadership Academy Website

National Urban League

Supported the Absent Youth Project by analyzing 17 hours of interview transcripts from students exploring why students felt disconnected from school during the pandemic and what resources or supports could be offered to make them feel reconnected. Guided the development of animated films and interview videos by delineating themes to the videography team to curate a film series that disseminated our findings to the public.

Collaborator: Dr. Wendy Castillo

NUL Website

Resulting Film Series

Publications

Vezaldenos, V. A., Castillo, W., Huggins, A., and Blackman, H. (2021). Emerging Voices from the Pandemic: Students Speak Out. National Urban League Unmasked Stories of Inequity. https://nul.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Unmasked%20Brief.pdf

Vezaldenos, V. A., Castillo, W., Huggins, A., and Blackman, H. (2021). Students’ Advice to Peers. National Urban League Unmasked Stories of Inequity. https://nul.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Unmasked_Sheeters_StudentPeer_FINA_102621.pdf

Vezaldenos, V. A., Castillo, W., Huggins, A., and Blackman, H. (2021). Students’ Advice to Teachers. National Urban League Unmasked Stories of Inequity. https://nul.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Unmasked_Sheeters_StudentTeacher_FINAL_102621.pdf

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