The Center for Advancing Racial-Ethnic Equity

Marlena Debreaux is a doctoral candidate in the CARE-E lab. She has been a mentee of Dr. Murry for 6 years.

Marlena Debreaux is an emerging critical race developmental scholar and current doctoral candidate in the Community Research and Action program at Vanderbilt University. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville and a master’s degree from American University, both in psychology. Before attending Vanderbilt University, Marlena served as youth director at the Youth Violence Prevention and Research Center at the University of Louisville. Throughout her career, she has co-authored papers about racial microaggressions, structural violence, Black family processes and interventions, and Black youth’s experiences of racism.

She is currently drafting her dissertation conceptualizing and examining how structural racism influences Black adolescent mental health and how dominant racial narratives influence strategies for coping with structural racism. In addition to her dissertation work, Marlena’s research centers on acknowledging the role of structural racism on mental health and accounting for within-group heterogeneity in Black adolescent racial socialization experiences.

Marlena draws upon developmental science, psychology, and sociology theories to inform her scholarship. She has also employed various methods, such as scoping review, thematic analysis, and multilevel modeling to advance her research agenda. A deeply analytical thinker, Marlena hopes to author critical conceptual frameworks to better understand the unique contextual demands of Black Gen Z and Alpha youth.