Maciel M. Hernández Email & Phone Number

As a developmental scientist, I use strength-based approaches to study factors that enhance and predict children and adolescents’ socioemotional and academic development. Three themes encompass my research on the contributing role of sociocultural, family, and school contexts. First, I examine the academic development of primarily Latinx children and adolescents, focusing on cultural and resilience-promoting factors in school and family contexts. Second, I seek to understand how emotion-related self-regulation and emotions exhibited in school (i.e., how children express and manage their emotions) predict children’s adjustment. Third, I test models on how social relationships and school experiences predict children’s academic and socioemotional outcomes. To address these research areas, I apply methodologies that model development using observations, behavioral assessments, and reports from youth, parents, and teachers. My research has implications for developing culturally informed developmental approaches that promote academic and socioemotional well-being in childhood and adolescence.