Lupe Bacio, associate professor of psychological science and Chicana/o Latina/o studies, has been awarded a Haynes Foundation Faculty Fellowship to further her research on the disproportionate consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latino adolescents and caregivers in Los Angeles County.
The $16,000 award is granted to faculty members at four-year colleges in Southern California to support social science research. Recent Pomona College recipients include Professors Fernando Lozano, Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, Joanna Dyl, Sharon Goto, David Menefee-Libey and Gilda Ochoa.
As a Latina and the first in her family to go to college, Bacio says her goal “has always been to try to use science and evidence-based practices to reduce inequality and inequities.”
“Unfortunately,” she adds, “the mental and physical health of Latine populations is still underrepresented in many ways, even though this incredibly diverse group is the largest ethnic minority in the country. I’m glad I’ll have the time to devote to this [research] and see how we can use the data to inform decisions.”
Since starting at Pomona in 2016, Bacio has fostered relationships with local community-based organizations that serve Los Angeles County’s Latino community. Her work has facilitated the creation of culturally responsive programming for parents and youth on such topics as adolescent development, mental health and the transition to college.
As Bacio set out to continue her research in spring 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdowns necessitated a pivot.
In collaboration with Claremont-based Uncommon Good and other local groups, Bacio spoke with more than 70 teens and one of each teen’s primary caregivers in 2021 and followed up with them approximately six months later, when schools were transitioning back to in-person instruction.
Data were collected virtually, in English and Spanish, and facilitated by a trained undergraduate research assistant from her CENTRO Research Lab at Pomona.
The study assessed participants’ academic experiences, mental health, sleep, alcohol and drug use, economic and social stresses, family relationships and myriad other touchpoints. Bacio says the CENTRO Lab, which consists of undergraduate students from The Claremont Colleges, was integral to establishing rapport and trust with the local Latino community.
“A few parents thanked me for the study because it made them think about their behaviors differently,” Bacio adds. “I was glad to hear that even just having these conversations was having a positive impact. At the time, we were so disconnected from each other, so having someone on the screen asking them questions about their lives seemed to derive some positive emotion.”
The Haynes Fellowship will provide Bacio financial support for her upcoming fall sabbatical so she can focus on analyzing the data. She intends to disseminate her findings in reports and peer-reviewed journals, as well as at conferences and city meetings.
Above all, Bacio hopes her work can help local groups plot next steps to assist low-income families and reduce inequity “in a world that is getting incredibly more complicated for this community,” she says.
“As a member of the community and as someone who came up very similar to a lot of the people that I work with, I want to find ways to open doors and keep those doors open for those walking behind me,” Bacio adds.
“The research we conduct is both to inform our science and academic circles, but also to improve the world, even if in a small way.”