People
Gail Ferguson
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Pronouns: she/her/hers
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Professor
Dr. Ferguson's interests reside at the interface of developmental psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and clinical psychology, with a focus on understanding the implications of 21st Century globalization for cultural socialization and…
Adolescents and youth, culture, cross-culture, families and parenting, prevention and intervention, resilience
Research
My interests reside at the interface of developmental psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and clinical psychology, with a particular focus on understanding the implications of 21st Century globalization (e.g., multiculturalism, media, migration) for cultural socialization and cultural transmission, youth identity, parenting, and health. My central line of research explores modern forms of acculturation and enculturation, including ethnic/racial socialization, among youth and families from varying racial, cultural, and national backgrounds. As a translational researcher, I am committed to taking science from the lab to the living room: theory-building informs my empirical research, which, in turn, informs interventions my team and I design and culturally adapt for use across multiple cultural groups. A major aim of my work is to identify and target risk and protective factors in prevention and intervention programs that decrease inequalities by promoting the resilience of children and adolescents in globalizing settings (e.g., JUS Media?) while equipping parents to meet modern parenting demands (e.g., CARPE DIEM).
- Fellow, American Psychological Association, Division 7 (Developmental), 2023
- Fellow, International Academy of Intercultural Relations, 2023
- American Psychological Association Division 1 (General Psychology) George A. Miller Award for an Outstanding Article for Ferguson et al.’s (2021) American Psychologist article “The Whiteness Pandemic behind the racism pandemic…”, 2022
- Excellence in Academic Advising Award, University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development, 2021
- Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018
- Outstanding Early Career Psychologist, American Psychological Association, Division 52--International Psychology, 2016
APA Taskforce on Immigration and Health (2024). Psychological Science and Immigration Today. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/psychological-science-immigration-today.pdf
Hodges, H. R., Gillespie, S., Da Silva, F., Ibrahim, S., Gibson, H., Ali Daad, Lycett Davis, S., Abdi, S. M, Senesathith, V., Food, Culture, and Health Study Data Collection Team, and Ferguson, G. M. (2024). Ethical applications of digital community-based research with Black immigrant and refugee youth and families. American Psychologist, 79(1), 9–23. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001191
Gillespie, S., Hodges, H. R., Abdi, K., Gibson, H., Harnack, L., & Ferguson, G. M. (2024). Remote enculturation among Black Immigrant adolescents in the United States. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2023.101627
Simenec, T. S., Ibrahim, S. A., Gillespie, S., Banegas, J., & Ferguson, G. M. (2024). Feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness pilot study of a culturally adapted and digitized food-focused media literacy intervention: JUS Media? Global Classroom–Somali American. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 1-12. https://doi-org.ezp3.lib.umn.edu/10.1007/s41347-024-00413-x.
Ferguson, G. M., Causadias, J., & Simenec, T. (2023). Acculturation and psychopathology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080921-080622
Ferguson, G. M., Eales, L., Gillespie, S., & Leneman, K. (2021). The Whiteness pandemic behind the racism pandemic: Familial Whiteness socialization in Minneapolis following #GeorgeFloyd’s killing. American Psychologist, 77, 344-361. doi: 10.1037/amp0000874 (Winnder of 2022 APA Div 1 George A. Miller Award for Outstanding Article)
Ferguson, G. M. (2022). A Whiteness pandemic is behind the racism pandemic. Society for Personality and Social Psychology Context and Character Blog.
Simenec, T., Gillespie, S., Hodges, H. R., Ibrahim, S., Eckerstorfer, S., JUS Media? Adaptation Team, & Ferguson, G. M. (2022). A novel blueprint storyboarding method for efficiently digitizing and culturally adapting prevention programs for diverse youth and communities. Prevention Science, 24(4), 688-700. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01460-7
Ferguson, G. M. (2021). The importance of talking to children about race and racism (including your own). MinnPost.
Eales, L., Ferguson, G. M., Gillespie, S., Smoyer, S., & Carlson, S. (2021). Family resilience and psychological distress in the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study. Developmental Psychology, 57, 1563-1581. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001221
Ferguson, G. M., Meeks Gardner, J. M., Nelson, M. R., Giray, C., Sundaram, H., Fiese, B. H., Koester, B. D., Tran, S. P., Powell, R., & JUS Media? Programme Study Team (2021). Food-focused media literacy for remotely acculturating adolescents and mothers: A randomized controlled trial of the ‘JUS Media? Programme’. Journal of Adolescent Health, advance online publication. doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.06.006
Eales, L., Gillespie, S., Eckerstorfer, S., Eltag, E., Global Educators Group, & Ferguson, G. M. (2020). Remote Acculturation 101: A primer on research, implications, and illustrations from classrooms around the world. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 8(1). doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1168
Ferguson, G. M., Fiese, B. H., Nelson, M. R., & Meeks Gardner, J. M. (2019). Transdisciplinary team science for global health: Case study of the JUS Media? Programme. American Psychologist, 74(6), 725-739.. doi: 10.1037/amp0000383. DOWNLOAD Open Access Manuscript Here.
Ferguson, G. M., Costigan, C. L., Clarke, C. V., & Ge, J. S. (2016). Introducing remote enculturation”: Learning your heritage culture from afar. Child Development Perspectives, 10, 166-171.doi: 10.1111/cdep.12181
Ferguson, G. M., Boer, D., Fischer, R., Hanke, K., Ferreira, M. C., Gouveia, V. V….Zenger, M. (2016). “Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!”: The Jamaicanization of youth across 11 countries through Reggae music? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 47, 581-604. doi: 10.1177/0022022116632910
Ferguson, G. M., Bornstein, M. H., & Pottinger, A. M. (2012). Tridimensional Acculturation and Adaptation Among Jamaican Adolescent-Mother Dyads in the United States. Child Development, 83 (5), 1486-1493. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01787.x
Ferguson, G. M., & Bornstein, M. H. (2012). Remote acculturation: The “Americanization” of Jamaican Islanders. International Journal Of Behavioral Development, 36(3), 167-177. doi:10.1177/0165025412437066 [Download a free copy compliments of IJBD by clicking on this link and then clicking on the word "here" in the sentence "For more details you can read the article here."]
Chapters in books
Lorenzo-Blanco, E. I., Stein, G., Lee, R., & Ferguson, G. M. (2023). Acculturation and enculturation: The intersection of representational ethics, measurement, and conceptualization. In D. Witherspoon & G. L. Stein (Eds), Diversity and developmental science (p. 93-118). New York: Springer.
Ferguson, G. M., Tran, S. P., Mendez, S. N., & van de Vijver, F. J. R. (2017). Remote acculturation: Conceptualization, measurement, and implications for health outcomes. In S. J. Schwartz, & J. B. Unger (Eds.), Oxford handbook of acculturation and health. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ferguson, G. M., & Birman, D. (2016). Acculturation in the United States of America. To appear in D. Sam, & J. Berry (Eds), pp. 396-416. Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ferguson, G. M. (2016). Remote acculturation and the birth of an Americanized Caribbean youth identity on the islands. In J. Roopnarine & D. Chadee (Eds.), pp. 97-117. Caribbean psychology: Indigenous contributions to a global discipline. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ferguson, G. M. (Keynote Speaker), Remote Acculturation: So far in so little time, even further to go. Invited Keynote [VIDEO], Biennial Meeting of the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology 2020+, Virtual, 2021.
Ferguson, G. M. (Chair), & Hodges, H. (Co-Chair). The art and science of online interventions for children and families globally. Professional Development Session [VIDEO] at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research In Child Development, Virtual, 2021.
Ferguson, G. M. (Chair). Skill-Building Session. Giving developmental science away: Creative dissemination strategies for diverse stakeholders. Professional Development Session [RESOURCES] at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington D.C., 2023.
Selected Press
Interview on the Whiteness Pandemic Project featured in Minneapolis Star Tribune (9/23/22). “The fallacy of colorblind kids: The damage of racial silence.”
Remote enculturation research featured in National Geographic Family (2/4/21): “Missing family during the pandemic? Celebrate your ancestry with recipes. Connecting kids to their heritage can provide them with lasting mental health benefits.”
Remote enculturation research featured in yes! Magazine article (1/26/21): “Immigrant Families Reconnect to Cultural Practices During the Pandemic: From making comfort food to speaking with ancestors, immigrant families across the U.S. are turning to cultural traditions to cope with the isolation and stress of quarantine.”
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Dr. Ferguson is open to taking on a new PhD student in fall 2026 as their primary advisor. Please email icdapply@umn.edu with all questions.