Selena Carbajal

Graduate Student, Human Development and Family Science
Selena Carbajal
Minor
Mexican American Studies
Hometown
Fresno, CA

I am a Human Development and Family Science doctoral candidate and a Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) Fellow. I am a first-generation college graduate and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. As an undergraduate student at CSU Fresno (Fresno State), I was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar.

Research

I have studied identities among Latinx first-generation college students, familial experiences in Latinx immigrant families, and the links between bicultural competence and academic and psychosocial functioning. I am currently interested in ethnic-racial identity and bicultural competence in adolescence, and the configuration of bicultural competence among adolescents and college students. More broadly, I aim for my forthcoming scholarship to highlight the complex, intertwined roles of race, ethnicity, and culture among Latinx adolescents and young adults.

Teaching
  • FSHD 117: Lifespan Human Development 
  • FSHD 323: Infancy and Child Development 
  • FCSC 301: Applying Critical Thinking to Discourse in Family and Consumer Science Organizations

Degree(s)

  • M.S., Family Studies and Human Development – University of Arizona
  • B.A., Psychology and Women's Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies Minor – California State University, Fresno
Area of Expertise
  • Acculturation
  • Biculturalism
  • Adolescence
  • Emerging Adulthood
  • Methodology
  • Latinx Families
Select Publications

Carbajal, S., Zeiders, K. H., & Landor, A. M. (2022). Unpacking the benefits of bicultural competence: Latina/x/o college students’ academic and psychosocial adjustment. Emerging Adulthood, 10(4), 910–922https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968211034309

Carbajal, S., & Toro, R. I. (2021). Filial responsibility, bicultural competence, and socioemotional well-being among Latina college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(4), 758–768. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000467

Recent Accomplishments
  • Graduate Communities for Academic Fellowship and Efficacy (Grad CAFE) Community Leader, 2023 – 24 
  • Frances McClelland Institute (FMI) Lang Dissertation Fellowship, 2023 – 24  
  • Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) Spring 2023 Travel Grant ($1,500)