Bridge Conference 2011

Associate Professor of Psychology - University of Illinois at Chicago

Dina Birman has conducted research and written extensively on the acculturation and adjustment of refugees and immigrants across generations, particularly populations from the former Soviet Union, Central America, Somalia, and Vietnam. She has particularly focused on the differences in acculturation between adolescents and their parents, and the implications of these differences on family adaptation. With a background in community psychology, she explores these issues from an ecological perspective, taking into account the characteristics of the receiving communities. Based on her research on refugee students in Chicago and New Jersey, Dr. Birman has published extensively on school-based interventions for refugee students, including mental health interventions, as well as the role of parental involvement on immigrant youth adaptation at school. As a consultant, she has evaluated programs serving refugee and immigrant children funded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, as well as an aspect of the International Children’s Center services in Chicago. She currently sits on the editorial board for the “American Journal of Community Psychology.” She received both her Master’s degree and Doctorate in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Maryland.