yDREAM Lab

      As a clinical-community psychologist, Dr. Abraczinskas uses applied developmental and ecological-systems frameworks to engage in community-partnered research to prevent health disparities of diverse children and families living in poverty. Her research has three aims: 1) increasing the engagement of under-served youth and families in settings that promote health, 2) understanding processes necessary to create equitable, health promoting systems in which youth and families thrive, and 3) determining the readiness of systems to uptake and sustain evidence based programming.  Across these aims, she uses participatory methods to involve community members as equal partners in research.  

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     Related to engagement, Dr. Abraczinskas seeks to understand predictors of program engagement, and develop engagement interventions to recruit and retain under-served youth and families in services/programs. Dr. Abraczinskas also uses participatory methods to adapt services/programs to align with youth and families’ values, needs, and cultures. Related to health promotion, Dr. Abraczinskas studies processes, especially those that are youth- and community-led, that can create equitable systems. To date, her work has involved collaborations with (a) middle/high school students and staff to increase school engagement and physical activity, (b) consumers of behavioral health services in service system evaluations, and (c) community coalitions building communities of health. 

 

     Dr. Abraczinskas specializes in youth participatory action research (YPAR). In YPAR, youth are trained as researchers to identify areas for improvement in their schools/communities and take action for change based on the findings. Dr. Abraczinskas conducts research to understand what is necessary at the policy and systems level to support and sustain youth-led initiatives, such as YPAR. She also examines individual and community outcomes that result from youth and community led initiatives. Dr. Abraczinskas is a Co-Investigator on a Use of Research Evidence grant funded by the W.T. Grant Foundation (PI: Emily Ozer). In six school districts across the United States, their team is working to understand what is necessary at the school and district level to use research evidence, and youth generated research evidence, in policy and programmatic decision making.