Faustine Williams, Ph.D., M.A., M.S.
Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator
Dr. Faustine Williams staff profile | Lab members
Scientific Expertise
Immigrant health, acculturative stress, anxiety, depression, psychological distress, mental health, mental well-being, health disparities
Research and Programmatic Interests
Interests focus on using transdisciplinary measures, such as community-based systems dynamics, to understand and disentangle the dynamic complexity underlying acculturative stress and mental well-being. Dr. Williams’ research goals are to conduct epidemiologic, behavioral, and clinical research to:
- Identify the individual, contextual, and structural factors influencing the mental health and mental well-being of immigrants.
- Disentangle the interplay of multiple factors and mechanisms that contribute to mental health disparities and support protective cultural practices among immigrant populations.
- Develop and implement culturally appropriate intervention(s) to improve mental health outcomes for immigrant populations in the United States.
Research Projects
Secondary Data Analyses: Trends in Mental Health Disparities Among U.S. Adults and the Intersections of Race and Sex
Using the National Health Interview Survey, the lab is investigating trends in anxiety, depression, and psychological distress among U.S.-born and foreign-born adults, considering the intersections of race and sex. Similarly, using the National Survey on Children’s Health, the lab is examining trends in mental health outcomes, such as adverse childhood experiences and behavioral disorders, among children based on nativity and generational status.
The goal of these analyses is to broaden our understanding of the burden of mental health outcomes and to identify subpopulations at risk, with the potential to identify targeted interventions aimed at reducing mental health disparities.
Acculturation and Social Determinants Influencing Immigrant Mental Health
Using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) the lab is assessing:
- The effect of discrimination and acculturative stress on immigrants living in the United States.
- How discrimination and acculturative stress impact the mental well-being of foreign-born individuals based on nativity or country of birth.
The central hypothesis is that higher acculturative stress would be associated with higher psychological distress, but this relationship can be mediated by higher social support and ethnic-related experiences.
Community-Based Data Gathering and Synthesizing on Mental Health
The lab is working with the immigrant community in New York to understand and reduce stress-related mental health issues among immigrants and to promote overall mental well-being. The objective of this multi-phase project is to gather data related to mental health and well-being within the Ghanaian immigrant community. This will be achieved through qualitative interviews conducted with key stakeholders and community members. The central aim is to gain a better understanding of their knowledge, attitudes, concerns, risk factors, and coping mechanisms. The project will utilize a mixed-method approach to ensure a comprehensive exploration of the topic.
In Phase I, this project is examining the meaning(s) and definition(s) of psychological distress (specifically, anxiety and depression) and coping mechanisms from a cultural perspective, using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a basis. This will involve conducting ~100 one-on-one in-depth interviews. Additionally, it is assessing protective factors and coping mechanisms that immigrants utilize as potential buffers against acculturative stress.
In Phase II, the goal is to develop a psychological distress survey and operationalize constructs and measures. Building upon the results obtained in Phase I, the project will develop and test 300 structured surveys, while also examining pathways and identifying components for a prototype behavioral intervention targeting psychological distress.
Finally, in Phase III, the project aims to design and test the prototype behavioral intervention for psychological distress, with the aim of improving mental well-being among immigrants in the United States.