SSEA wants to spotlight your incredible work and achievements! We invite you to share with us any recent publications, presentations, milestones, or other work you would like to highlight. SSEA hopes to share your work with our community across our social media platforms and on this webpage.
Please include the following:
- Name, University
- Title of the work you are sharing
- Brief Description
- What is your current EA-focused research?
- What are you currently reading or watching that has stimulated your thinking about EA or related issues
Submissions for member spotlight can be sent via email to coordinator@ssea.org
Dr. Riham Al-Saadi, University of Windsor (CANADA)
A Journey Into a Researcher’s Positionality on Acculturation: Intersectional Identity and Immigration Milestones
Bio: Dr. Riham Al-Saadi is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of Windsor with teaching and research portfolio includes collaborations with faculty from both the School of Social Work and department of Psychology where she explores studies of immigrant and refugee populations, Arabs’ experiences in Canada and the United States, Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. She operates a private practice, Transparency Therapy, providing therapy support in English and Arabic.
Description: This autoethnography builds upon the positionality of a researcher who adopted intersectionality and Critical Race Theory to understand acculturation as a phenomenon experienced by Arab Immigrant Emerging Adults in Canada. A deconstruction of the lived acculturation experience with three primary milestones as an approach to begin with self-exploration. The Palestinian narrative and how it manifested itself in her journey as a life-long refugee was prime in this work. The article further elaborates to explore and understand the devotion of Arab immigrant emerging adults to construct their lived experience and acculturation in a Canadian context.
What is your current EA-focused research? I am looking into the intersection of immigrants and refugees in general, Arab in particular, with Emerging Adulthood as a developmental stage characterizing or resulting from industrialized societies as Canada.
What are you currently reading or watching that has stimulated your thinking about EA or related issues? All works especially intersecting the immigrant/refugee lens on emerging adulthood and how this intersects and is adopted as an element of adjustment and acculturation are readings that are of great interest and passion to me.
Ashley LeBaron-Black, Brigham Young University
Flourishing and Floundering Financially in Emerging Adulthood: A Handbook
Editors: Ashley LeBaron-Black, Heather Kelley, & Angela Sorgente
Published with Oxford University Press as part of the Emerging Adulthood book series
Bio: Dr. Ashley LeBaron-Black is an Assistant Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Her research focus is family finance, including finances in couple relationships, financial socialization, and finances in emerging adulthood.
Description: Presents a comprehensive set of research on finances in emerging adulthood; Includes practical tips and suggestions for emerging adults and practitioners on navigating financial life; Illuminates research-based pathways to help emerging adults avoid financial floundering and achieve financial flourishing
Hans Saint-Eloi Cadely, University of Rhode Island
Identity Styles Moderate the Role of Insecure Attachment Dimensions on Internalizing Behaviors
Bio: I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Rhode Island. My research focuses on the interplay between identity and intimacy development during adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Description: The interplay between identity and intimacy development during emerging adulthood has gained more attention during the past decade plus. The present study examined the influence of this intersection on internalizing behaviors (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms) among a sample of 456 emerging adult college students. Identity development was examined via identity exploration strategies (i.e., identity styles) whereas intimacy development was explored through insecure attachment dimensions. In summary, processes of identity (i.e., identity styles) and intimacy development (i.e., insecure attachment dimensions) were found to work together to predict reports of depressive and anxiety symptoms.
Note: Findings of the study described were recently published in the Emerging Adulthood journal.
Saint-Eloi Cadely, H.,Vega, W., Pittman, J. F., & Adams, S. K. (2025). Identity styles moderate the role of insecure attachment dimensions on internalizing behaviors. Emerging Adulthood, 14(1), 49-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251385613.
What is your current EA focused research? Currently I am examining the influence of cyber dating aggression on emerging adults’ mental health.
Ammara Numan, Ph.D.,
Lahore College for Women University (PAKISTAN)
Emerging Adulthood in a Collectivistic Context: Evidence from Pakistan
Bio: Dr. Ammara Numan is a Research Scientist in the Department of Applied Psychology at Lahore College for Women University, Pakistan. Her research focuses on the mental health of emerging adults, with particular attention to how transitional experiences are shaped by cultural values, family systems, and socioeconomic conditions in Pakistan.
Description: My research examines how emerging adults in Pakistan experience the transition from adolescence to adulthood, focusing on their mental health and the role of family and culture during this period. The study highlights how this life stage is shaped by social and cultural expectations, and how young people adapt to these changes to maintain their well-being. One published study from this work offers preliminary empirical evidence on emerging adulthood in Pakistan, showing that the construct reflects both culturally specific features and broader developmental patterns.
Numan, A., Muazzam, A., & Arnett, J. J. (2024). Dimensions of emerging adulthood in Pakistan: A demographic profile. Journal of Adult Development, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09493-8
What are your current EA-focused research interests? My current research focuses on emerging adulthood and mental health, particularly how resilience, family relationships, and sociocultural values interact to shape psychological well-being during this developmental period.
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