Violeta J. Rodriguez, PhD, MSEd
vjrp.bsky.social
Violeta J. Rodriguez, PhD, MSEd
@vjrp.bsky.social
Clin-Com Psychology Associate Prof @University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Health & parenting in minoritized groups

‘18 Pre @NASEMFordFellow & @universityofga PhD

she/her. views = mine
Excited to share my new @science.org Working Life essay, “Letting go of certainty,” reflecting on uncertainty, taking chances, and pursuing tenure three years early.

“Sometimes action comes first.”

#ScienceWorkingLife

urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
As an academic scientist in the U.S., I’m learning to live with uncertainty
“The greater danger is allowing uncertainty to convince us to stop building,” this professor writes
urldefense.com
September 10, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Wonderful to welcome Dr. Becky Miller, Program Leader for the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, to Illinois for my Early Independence Award visit and an SBSI seminar. Grateful for her time and insights! @psychillinois.bsky.social

#NIH #NIHCommonFund #HighRiskHighReward
September 2, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Violeta J. Rodriguez, PhD, MSEd
These conference prices are HOT! Almost $800 for SRP feels wild (registration plus membership)!
Nan Catherine
ALT: Nan Catherine
static.klipy.com
August 2, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by Violeta J. Rodriguez, PhD, MSEd
This paper shows that immigration enforcement can _increase_ crime.

Undocumented immigrants already have the lowest crime rate, but tough-on-immigration policy makes immigrants less likely to report crime.

So immigration enforcement worsens the problem it was ostensibly meant to solve
August 2, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Honored to officially receive notification of my promotion to Associate Professor with Indefinite Tenure at the @psychillinois.bsky.social!

So grateful to the NIH Director’s DP5 Early Independence Award, mentors, collaborators, students, colleagues, and the families who make this work possible!
August 2, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by Violeta J. Rodriguez, PhD, MSEd
Hi friends, we have a new publication in Adversity and Resilience Science doi.org/10.1007/s428... on parental childhood adversity, parenting-specific emotion regulation, and child mental health in SGM parents w/ @vjrp.bsky.social @mingcong.bsky.social @antoniayuxinhua.bsky.social and Kiyan Irani.
Differential Associations from Parental Childhood Adversity to Child Psychopathology: Evidence from Sexual and Gender Minority Families - Adversity and Resilience Science
Abstract Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to intergenerational transmission of psychopathology, yet limited work has examined how distinct dimensions of parental ACEs (i.e., threat and deprivation) interact with parenting-specific emotion regulation (ER) in relation to child outcomes in sexual and gender minority (SGM) families. We applied linear regression to examine how threat- and deprivation-based parental ACEs are differentially associated with child psychopathology, and how these associations vary by parenting-specific ER strategies among 568 SGM parents of children aged 3–17. Parental deprivation-based ACEs, suppression, and rumination predicted more child psychopathology symptoms whereas adaptive parenting-specific ER predicted fewer symptoms. Furthermore, low suppression amplified threat-based associations between ACEs and child outcomes whereas high suppression amplified deprivation-based associations between ACEs and child outcomes. Findings are consistent with differential patterns of association between parental ACE dimensions, parenting-specific emotion regulation, and child psychopathology. Parenting-specific ER may represent a potentially modifiable parenting-related process and a potential target for future intervention research. Key Findings Deprivation-based childhood adversity in parents was linked to higher child psychopathology. Parenting-specific emotion regulation showed independent effects, with adaptive strategies relating to lower child psychopathology and suppression and rumination relating to higher child psychopathology. Suppression moderated these associations, suggesting that parenting-specific emotion regulation may be an important target for future intervention research. Differential Associations from Parental Childhood Adversity to Child Psychopathology: Evidence from Sexual and Gender Minority Families.
doi.org
July 31, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Folks have started reaching out again, and yes! I will be reviewing PhD applications this fall!

📅 Deadline: Nov 15, 2026
🔗 Info: publish.illinois.edu/healthequity...
📨 Questions? [email protected]
🔵 @vjrp.bsky.social

#PhDChat #HealthEquity #ClinicalPsych
July 25, 2026 at 3:54 PM
From P.E.O. Scholar Award recipient (2022) to convention speaker (2026).

Honored to speak at the Illinois State Chapter P.E.O. Convention this weekend. Grateful to Meg Cline, Chapters BL and KD, Fran Becque, Amy Peterson, and the many P.E.O. women who make these opportunities possible.
May 31, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Proud mentor moment 💙

Congrats to Aadarsh Nair on graduating with honors and heading to Tufts for a research MA in Clinical Developmental Psychology, Antonia Yuxin Hua on the Graduate Award for Excellence in Psych Science, and Jess on the Frederick & Ruby Kanfer Community Action Award.

So proud!
May 15, 2026 at 9:37 PM
One of the most meaningful parts of grad school was helping found the UGA Racial Trauma Task Force during COVID-19 and anti-Black racism in 2020.

Big lesson: sometimes you just have to DO.

Grateful to Dr. Isha W. Metzger and everyone involved in this work.

doi.org/10.1002/ajcp...
<em>American Journal of Community Psychology</em> | Wiley Online Library
Due to an increase in media and news attention on anti-Black racism in 2020, the APA declared racism a pandemic as the CDC highlighted the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the work ...
doi.org
May 14, 2026 at 12:44 PM
New paper in Developmental Psychology:

Rethinking parenting: A function-based framework for understanding caregiving across contexts

We move from labeling parenting and focus on the goals behind behaviors (emotional connection, structure, cultural values).

w/ Sungha Kang & @qmmmmliu.bsky.social!
APA PsycNet
doi.org
April 28, 2026 at 1:16 PM
New scoping review with @dllabarrie.bsky.social, Isha Metzger, & Sawyer Adams on racial socialization interventions for Black youth showing that caregiver involvement & culturally grounded approaches are linked to better coping, racial identity, & communication about race.

A small evidence base!
Racial Identity and Racial Socialization: A Scoping Review of Clinical, School-Based, and Community Interventions and Trauma Among Black Youth Since COVID-19 - Violeta J. Rodriguez, Sawyer J. Adams, D...
The COVID-19 pandemic, alongside the heightened racialized sociopolitical unrest following the murder of George Floyd, intensified longstanding structural racis...
doi.org
April 27, 2026 at 2:54 AM
New paper led by Yasmin Butt on transgender and gender diverse families with @qmmmmliu.bsky.social.

We examine how stigma, parenting emotion regulation, and mental health are interconnected using network analysis.

Internalized stigma and anxiety were central.

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/2770...
Parenting Under Pressure: Network Analysis of Stigma, Emotion Regulation, and Mental Health in TGD Parents
Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) parents face distinct stigma-related challenges that may be associated with emotion regulation in the parenting context and with family mental health. This stud...
doi.org
April 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM
So proud of @antoniayuxinhua.bsky.social and this exciting work being presented at #ADAA2026.

If you are at the conference, be sure to stop by Poster S64 on Saturday afternoon. Great work on maternal depression, parenting, and youth mental health!
Excited to be attending #ADAA2026 in Chicago this weekend!

I’m presenting our poster “Maternal Depression, Parenting Aggravation, and Youth Depressive Symptoms: Insights from Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models”, co-authored with Ashley Yang, @qmmmmliu.bsky.social, and @vjrp.bsky.social
April 8, 2026 at 9:20 PM
So proud of @jpstand.bsky.social on his first first-author paper (!!) 🎉

Important findings on disparities in suicidal ideation and unmet mental health needs using national data with a team lead by @qmmmmliu.bsky.social.

Excited to see this work out in Archives of Suicide Research!
March 24, 2026 at 1:17 AM
My new career column in Nature is out.

After reviewing hundreds of PhD applications for my lab and admissions at the UIUC, I kept seeing the same mistakes.

I share 8 common application and interview mistakes and what applicants can do differently.

doi.org/10.1038/d415...
Eight common errors I see in PhD applications and interviews, and how to avoid them
Convince a supervisor that you’re a great fit for their laboratory by preparing questions, honing your personal statement and showcasing strong team-player instincts.
doi.org
March 9, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Shared a poster at the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Symposium on structural topic modeling and network analysis of parent interviews—early results from my DP5 project.

Shoutout to the Health Equity and Action Lab team for helping interview 151 parents in one semester.

#NIH #EarlyIndependenceAward
March 7, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Grateful to be in Bethesda for the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Symposium. Honored to be here through the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award and to meet fellow awardees, including others in psychology.

Inspiring science across fields!!

#NIH #HighRiskHighReward
March 4, 2026 at 11:57 PM
New paper w/ @qmmmmliu.bsky.social

Network analysis of LGBTQIA+ parents linking parenting, stigma, & mental health.

Supportiveness, reinforcement, & transphobia were central.

Child psychopathology & parent anxiety bridged domains.

Patterns varied by identity

doi.org/10.1037/fam0001459
APA PsycNet
doi.org
February 18, 2026 at 1:15 AM
We loved having you @gramos.bsky.social!! Thanks so much for generously sharing your amazing work with us!
Last week, I had the privilege to present some of my work at UIUC and its Clinical and Community Psychology Brown Bag seminar. There were fantastic questions, and I had a blast!

Thank you for thinking of me for this, @vjrp.bsky.social! Proud to be a FOP 🤓
February 17, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Wow! Honored that my essay was named one of Science’s Top Personal Essays of 2025 for the second year in a row!

It means a lot that honest stories about the real pressures + joys of research resonate. Grateful to all who read, shared, and reached out.

Read here ➝ www.science.org/content/arti...
Academic betrayal, tapping into silliness: Science’s top personal essays of 2025
Our Working Life essays highlight the people behind the research and lessons learned as they overcome personal and professional challenges
www.science.org
December 22, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I’m excited to be a panelist at APF’s second annual Springfield Town Hall on sustaining impact in LGBTQIA+ psychological research.

🗓 Feb 11, 2026 | 6 PM ET | Zoom
🔗 ampsychfdn.org/events/sprin...

Open to all. Please share.
December 15, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Thrilled to share my new study validating the Regulation of Emotions in Parenting Scale (REPS) in a large, racially diverse U.S. sample

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Measurement Invariance of the Regulation of Emotions in Parenting Scale (REPS): Psychometric Validation Across Ethnoracial Groups - Violeta J. Rodriguez, 2025
Parental emotion regulation is crucial for parent–child interactions and child psychological outcomes. However, limited research has examined whether the Regula...
journals.sagepub.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:20 PM
SO HONORED AND GRATEFUL to receive the Emerging Latino Leader Award at the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation Gala.

Thank you Senator Karina Villa and Rey Raigoza. Grateful to @psychillinois.bsky.social Head Diane Beck, Dean Venetria Patton, & @benhankin.bsky.social for nominating me.
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Violeta J. Rodriguez, PhD, MSEd
anyone have any insight on how NIH study section catchup is unfolding? Don't wanna bother POs since I imagine backlog is bananas, but seeing section rosters posted for mtgs listed as 'did not take place'; curious ab what kinds of timelines we might expect from here (also seems odd to post rosters?)
November 17, 2025 at 3:45 PM