Shardé Smith, Ph.D

Dr. Smith is finding ways to contribute to the reduction of mental health disparities for African Americans. She does this by examining racism, social support, and mental health in the family context. She also investigates the barriers to, and facilitators of, mental health treatment among African American youth and their families.
More Information: 
She earned her M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University-Calumet and Ph.D. in Family Relations from Florida State University. Her research focuses on the effects of social stress exposure on mental and behavioral health outcomes within the African American family context and the role of social support as a protective factor.  A primary area of her research focuses on the intra- and interpersonal effects of racial discrimination on mental health in the parent-child and the couple context. Overall, findings from her research demonstrate within-group variation in how stress exposure impacts the African American family’s mental and behavioral health and highlights the need to go beyond between-group differences.
Affiliations: 
Smith is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences and in the Department of African American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is also an affiliate faculty for the Center for Social and Behavioral Science.