Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Maryland at College Park
About
Dr. Jioni A. Lewis is an associate professor in the department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Lewis is a leading expert on the impact of systemic racism and sexism on the mental and physical health of women of color. Her primary area of research applies intersectionality theory to investigate the influence of racism and sexism on Black women's health and wellbeing. She also examines protective factors that buffer individuals against the negative effects of gendered racism, such as collectivism, social support, resistance strategies, and radical healing. Dr. Lewis has received several national awards for her research, teaching, mentoring, and social justice advocacy. She is also the past President of the Psychology of Black Women, Section I of the Society for the Psychology of Women.
Current Work:
Dr. Lewis's research examines the impact of discrimination on the mental and physical health of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Her research explores two interrelated areas: (1) the intersection of racism and sexism experienced by women of color, and (2) the influence of subtle forms of racism experienced by BIPOC college students. Her primary area of research applies intersectionality theory to investigate the influence of racism and sexism on Black women's health. Within this line of research, Dr. Lewis developed the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale, which is a self-report measure to assess subtle gendered racism. She also examines resistance coping, radical healing, and protective factors that buffer individuals against the negative effects of gendered racism. Dr. Lewis's secondary line of research utilizes qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods to investigate the influence of racial microaggressions on the health and well-being of BIPOC students.
Research Area(s):
- racism; sexism; intersectionality; stress; Black women's health
