Faculty Investigator
Assessing Community Climate
This study will address a gap in the literature on how community context affects depression and anxiety among lesbians and gay men by developing a much-needed measure to assess residential community climate. Recent political changes have brought more attention to the issue of community climate variation, particularly as it relates to youth and families and struggles for same-sex unions, parental recognition and other civil rights. The community climate measure also will be used to help obtain major funding from the National Institutes of Health for a study examining links between community climate and mental health outcomes in sexual minorities.
Biography:
Dr. Ramona Faith Oswald is Associate Professor of Family Studies in the Department of Human and Community Development (HCD) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also serves as Director of Graduate Studies for HCD. Her research overall research program examines how lesbians and gay men construct their families within specific contexts, how family well-being is shaped by external factors (eg, community climate or legal status) and the ways in which family members take action to strengthen their families and improve their communtiies. Data collection from lesbian and gay parents and their children will be used to create educational materials for Extension educators and other providers. Dr. Oswald holds a PhD in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota.
Contact:
Phone: 217-333-2547
Fax: 217-244-7877
