Her research attempts to identify individual, familial, and cultural processes that place youth at risk for maladaptive psychological and educational outcomes. Complementarily, it also seeks to understand the individual, familial, and cultural processes that serve to promote positive development and mitigate risk. She serves as the Chair of the Latino Caucus for the Society for Research in Child Development, and on the editorial boards of Developmental Psychology, Journal of Latina/o Psychology, and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Entering Class of 2000