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Selected Publications

* denotes student author

2025

  • *McDonald. A., Glover, B. A., Goldstein, O., & Witherspoon, D. P., (accepted for publication). The Contextualized Impact of Ethnic-Racial Socialization on Black and Latino Youth’s Self-Esteem and Racial-Ethnic Identity. Behavioral Sciences.
  • *Goldstein, O. C., Witherspoon, D. P., & Bámaca, M. Y. (2025). Neighborhood Conditions in a New Destination Context and Latine Youth’s Ethnic–Racial Identity: What’s Gender Got to Do with It?. Behavioral Sciences, 15(9), 1148. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15091148
  • *Lytle, M. N., Zhou, A. M., Youatt, E., Thomas, C., Witherspoon, D. P., LoBue, V., … & Pérez‐Edgar, K. (2025). The influence of neighborhood on infant parasympathetic nervous system development. Developmental psychobiology, 67(5), e70074. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70074
  • Im, J., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2025). Social context and family relationships: Neighborhoods and parenting. In N. C. Overall, J. A. Simpson, & J. A. Lavner (Eds.), Research Handbook on Couple and Family Relationships (pp. 374–390). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035309269.00035
  • *Park, J., Witherspoon, D. P., & Bámaca, M. Y. (2025). Exploring the Links Between Neighborhood Characteristics, Parental Monitoring, and Deviance Among Black and Latinx Adolescents in a New Destination Context. Journal of Community Psychology, 53(6), e70031. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.70031.
  • Rivas-Drake, D., *Vezaldenos, V., Stein, G. L., Witherspoon, D. P., Jacobs, L.-A., Yip, T., Brown, C. S., & Neblett, E. (2025). What do parents want? Relevant content and formats for resources to address issues of racism, antiracism, and xenophobia with youth. Applied Developmental Science, 0(0), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2025.2456195.
 

2024

  • *Glover, B. A., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2024). Black American adolescent’s efficacy in the face of discrimination. Infant and Child Development, 33(5), e2529. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2529.
  • *Maereg, T. M., Glover, B. A., Im, J., Neal, A. J., McBride, M., Harris, A., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2024). Neighborhood effects. In W. Troop-Gordon & E. W. Neblett (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (Second Edition) (pp. 287–301). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-96023-6.00123-8
  • Smith, N. A., *McDonald, A., Ferrone, C. T., *Johnson, S., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2024). Parenting in African American families: Profiles of general and culturally specific dimensions of parent–adolescent relationships during late adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 34(3), 928–943. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12975.
 

2023

  • Soto, J. A., Mena, J. A., Borge, M., Stoyer, M. R., Witherspoon, D. P., & Dawson-Andoh, N. A. (2023). Multicultural Competence Building Blocks: Multicultural Psychology Courses Promote Multicultural Knowledge and Ethnic Identity. Teaching of Psychology, 50(4), 307–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283211031854.
  • Stein, G. L., Cheah, C. S. L., Oh, W., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2023). Developmental Science in the Twenty-First Century: Eschewing Segregated Science and Integrating Cultural and Racial Processes into Research. In D. P. Witherspoon & G. L. Stein (Eds.), Diversity and Developmental Science (pp. 1–18). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23163-6_1.
  • Wei, W., Witherspoon, D. P., & Kim, S. Y. (2023). Trajectories of discrimination among Chinese American youth: Variation, predictors, and outcomes. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 33(4), 1350–1367. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12882.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., McHale, S. M., & King, V. (Eds.). (2023). Family Socialization, Race, and Inequality in the United States (Vol. 14). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44115-8.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., & Stein, G. L. (Eds.). (2023). Diversity and Developmental Science: Bridging the Gaps Between Research, Practice, and Policy. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23163-6.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., & Stein, G. L. (2023). Developmental Science in the Twenty-First Century: Moving Forward to Integrate Cultural and Racial Processes into Research. In D. P. Witherspoon & G. L. Stein (Eds.), Diversity and Developmental Science: Bridging the Gaps Between Research, Practice, and Policy (pp. 335–342). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23163-6_15.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., *Wei, W., *Maereg, T., *Chancy, D., & Boggs, S. (2023). African American and Black adolescents and young adults in the United States: Development in context. In L. J. Crockett, G. Carlo, & J. E. Schulenberg (Eds.), APA handbook of adolescent and young adult development (pp. 343–357). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000298-021.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., White, R. M. B., Nair, R., *Maereg, T. M., & *Wei, W. (2023). Fertile Ground for Sociocultural Responsivity: Schools and Neighborhoods as Promotive and Inhibiting Environments. In D. P. Witherspoon & G. L. Stein (Eds.), Diversity and Developmental Science (pp. 167–195). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23163-6_8.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., White, R. M. B., Bámaca, M. Y., Browning, C. R., Leech, T. G. J., Leventhal, T., Matthews, S. A., Pinchak, N., Roy, A. L., Sugie, N., & Winkler, E. N. (2023). Place-Based Developmental Research: Conceptual and Methodological Advances in Studying Youth Development in Context. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 88(3), 7–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12472.
  • Witherspoon, D.P, White, R.M.B., & Place Developmental Working Group. (2023). A cultural-developmental framework for understanding place-based effects on children and youth. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 88(3). 7-130. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12472
 
 

2022

  • Augustine, D., Smith, E., & Witherspoon, D. (2022). After-School Connectedness, Racial–Ethnic Identity, Affirmation, and Problem Behaviors. Journal of Youth Development, 17(4). https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2022.1137.
  • Bámaca, M. Y., *Martinez, G., Schroeder, K. M., *Lobo, F. M., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2022). Daily Discrimination and Affect in Latinx Adolescent-Parent Dyads Residing in Northeast United States. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 611–624. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12750.
  • Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., *Martinez, G., Kim, P. S. Y., *Aceves, L., Castillo, J. E., Witherspoon, D. P., & Gonzales-Backen, M. (2022). Longitudinal Linkages Between Ethnic-Racial Identity and Discrimination-Related Distress Among Mexican-Origin Girls. In Re/Formation and Identity (pp. 273–293). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86426-2_13.
  • *Chancy, D. F., Witherspoon, D. P., *Wei, W., *Glover, B., Hughes, D. L., & Way, N. (2022). The Associations between Contextual and Cultural Stressors, Internalizing Symptoms, and Social Support. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 650–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12761.
  • Chen, S., Wei, W., Witherspoon, D. P., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Invisibly Oppressed: Individual and Ecological Correlates of Chinese American Adolescents’ Perceived Discrimination. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 518–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12759.
  • Halgunseth, L. C., Witherspoon, D. P., & Wray-Lake, L. (2022). Dismantling Systems and Improving Contexts to Support the Development of BIPOC Youth. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 386–397. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12773.
  • *May, E. M., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2022). Reciprocal links between marijuana use and school adjustment in Black and White rural adolescents. Child Development, 93(6), 1819–1836. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13823.
  • Smith, N. A., McDonald, A., Wei, W., Johnson, S. A., Adeji, D., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2022). Embracing Race, Resisting Oppression: African American Parents as Experienced Guides for Navigating Racial Oppression. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(1), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12712.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., Smalls Glover, C., *Wei, W., & Hughes, D. L. (2022). Neighborhood-level predictors of African American and Latinx parents’ ethnic–racial socialization. American Journal of Community Psychology, 69(1–2), 183–200. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12555.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., Wray-Lake, L., & Halgunseth, L. C. (2022). Black Lives Matter! Adolescent Research Incrementally Dismantles Racism and Systems of Oppression. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12736.
  • Wray-Lake, L., Halgunseth, L., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2022). Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble: Expanding Thinking and Research on Youth of Color’s Resistance to Oppression. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(3), 949–958. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12789
  • Wray-Lake, L., Witherspoon, D. P., Halgunseth, L. C., & Morris, A. S. (2022). Dismantling systems of racism and oppression during adolescence: An agenda for anti-racist research. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(4), 1285–1297. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12814.

 

2021

  • Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., & Lei, P.-W. (2021). The “Haves, Have Some, and Have Nots:” a Latent Profile Analysis of Capacity, Quality, and Implementation in Community-Based Afterschool Programs. Prevention Science, 22(7), 971–985. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01258-z
  • Wei, W., Witherspoon, D. P., Hughes, D., & Way, N. (2021). Chinese American adolescents’ academic performance and psychological adjustment: The role of neighborhood and family. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 12(1), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000215.
  • White, R. M. B., Witherspoon, D. P., *Wei, W., *Zhao, C., *Pasco, M. C., *Maereg, T. M., & Group, P. D. W. (2021). Adolescent Development in Context: A Decade Review of Neighborhood and Activity Space Research. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(4), 944–965. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12623.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., *Wei, W., *May, E. M., Boggs, S., Chancy, D., Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., & Bhargava, S. (2021). Latinx youth’s ethnic-racial identity in context: Examining ethnic-racial socialization in a new destination area. Journal of Social Issues, 77(4), 1234–1256. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12492.
  • Zhao, C., May, E. M., Witherspoon, D. P., Boggs, S., & Bámaca-Colbert, M. (2021). A Contextual Exploration of Parental Monitoring in Latinx Parent-Adolescent Dyads. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(10), 2492–2503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02025-y.

 

2020

  • Witherspoon, D. P., Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., Stein, G. L., & Rivas-Drake, D. (2020). Hidden populations: Uncovering the developmental experiences of minoritized populations across contexts. Developmental Psychology, 56(8), 1425–1430. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001055.

 

2019

  • May, E. M., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2019). Maintaining and Attaining Educational Expectations: A Two-Cohort Longitudinal Study of Hispanic Youth. Developmental Psychology, 55(12), 2649–2664. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000820.
  • Rose, T., McDonald, A., Von Mach, T., Witherspoon, D. P., & Lambert, S. (2019). Patterns of Social Connectedness and Psychosocial Wellbeing among African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(11), 2271–2291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01135-7
  • Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., Bhargava, S., & Bermudez, J. M. (2019). Cultural Values and Behavior Among African American and European American Children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 1236–1249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01367-y.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., May, E. M., McDonald, A., Boggs, S., & Bámaca-Colbert, M. (2019). Chapter Eight – Parenting within residential neighborhoods: A pluralistic approach with African American and Latino families at the center. In D. A. Henry, E. Votruba-Drzal, & P. Miller (Eds.), Advances in Child Development and Behavior (Vol. 57, pp. 235–279). JAI. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2019.05.004.
     

 

2018

  • Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D. P., & Bartz, D. (2018). Parental involvement in education during middle school: Perspectives of ethnically diverse parents, teachers, and students. The Journal of Educational Research, 111(1), 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2016.1190910.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., Rivas-Drake, D., & Banerjee, M. (2018). It’s More the Exception Rather Than the Rule: African American Families’ Neighborhoods and Youth’s Academic Performance During Middle School. Journal of Black Psychology, 44(6), 562–588. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798418806130.

 

2017

  • Bhargava, S., Bámaca-Colbert, M. Y., Witherspoon, D. P., Pomerantz, E. M., & Robins, R. W. (2017). Examining Socio-Cultural and Neighborhood Factors Associated with Trajectories of Mexican-Origin Mothers’ Education-Related Involvement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(8), 1789–1804. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0628-6.
  • Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., Hart, M., & Davidson, W. S. (2017). The dynamic and interactive role of theory in community psychology research, practice, and policy. In APA handbook of community psychology: Methods for community research and action for diverse groups and issues, Vol. 2 (pp. 3–20). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14954-001.
  • Smith, E. P., Witherspoon, D. P., & Wayne Osgood, D. (2017). Positive Youth Development Among Diverse Racial–Ethnic Children: Quality Afterschool Contexts as Developmental Assets. Child Development, 88(4), 1063–1078. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12870.

 

2016

  • Soto, J. A., Dawson-Andoh, N. A., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2016). An Ecological Approach to Racial Environments and Their Relationship to Mental Health. Race and Social Problems, 8(3), 209–221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-016-9175-8.
  • Tilghman-Osborne, E. M., Bámaca-Colbert, M., Witherspoon, D., Wadsworth, M. E., & Hecht, M. L. (2016). Longitudinal Associations of Language Brokering and Parent-Adolescent Closeness in Immigrant Latino Families. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 36(3), 319–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431614566944.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., Daniels, L. L., Mason, A. E., & Smith, E. P. (2016). Racial-ethnic Identity in Context: Examining Mediation of Neighborhood Factors on Children’s Academic Adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 57(1–2), 87–101. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12019.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., Seaton, E. K., & Rivas-Drake, D. (2016). Neighborhood Characteristics and Expectations of Racially Discriminatory Experiences Among African American Adolescents. Child Development, 87(5), 1367–1378. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12595.

 

2015

  • Bhargava, S., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2015). Parental Involvement Across Middle and High School: Exploring Contributions of Individual and Neighborhood Characteristics. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(9), 1702–1719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0334-9.
  • Murry, V. M., Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D. P., Berkel, C., & Bartz, D. (2015). Children in diverse social contexts. In M. H. Bornstein, T. Leventhal, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Ecological settings and processes (7th ed., pp. 416–454). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy411.

 

2014

  • Witherspoon, D. P., & Hughes, D. L. (2014). Early Adolescent Perceptions of Neighborhood: Strengths, Structural Disadvantage, and Relations to Outcomes. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 34(7), 866–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431613510404.

 

2013

  • Rivas-Drake, D., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2013). Racial Identity From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Does Prior Neighborhood Experience Matter? Child Development, 84(6), 1918–1932. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12095.

 

2011

  • Hill, N. E., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2011). Race, ethnicity, and social class. In M. K. Underwood & L. H. Rosen (Eds.), Social development: Relationships in infancy, childhood, and adolescence (pp. 316–346). The Guilford Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/detail.action?docID=759944.
  • Witherspoon, D. P., & Ennett, S. (2011). Stability and Change in Rural Youths’ Educational outcomes through the Middle and High School Years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(9), 1077–1090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9614-6.
  • Witherspoon, D., & Ennett, S. (2011). An Examination of Social Disorganization and Pluralistic Neighborhood Theories with Rural Mothers and Their Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(9), 1243–1253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9499-4.

 

2009

  • Hughes, D., Witherspoon, D., Rivas-Drake, D., & West-Bey, N. (2009). Received ethnic–racial socialization messages and youths’ academic and behavioral outcomes: Examining the mediating role of ethnic identity and self-esteem. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 112–124. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015509.
  • Witherspoon, D., Schotland, M., Way, N., & Hughes, D. (2009). Connecting the Dots: How Connectedness to Multiple Contexts Influences the Psychological and Academic Adjustment of Urban Youth. Applied Developmental Science, 13(4), 199–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888690903288755.

 

2005

  • Schotland, M., & Witherspoon, D. P. (2005). Social support systems of urban adolescents. In C. Fisher & R. Lerner (Eds). Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science (Vol. 2, pp. 1027-1029). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412950565.n389.