Welcome to Erica Marie Szkody, PhD Research Assistant Professor
By: Julie A. Bednark
December 4, 2024
Welcome to Erica Szkody, PhD, who joins the faculty of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Medical Social Sciences (MSS) as a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Intervention Science.
Szkody holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Mississippi State University. At Northwestern University prior to this role, they were a postdoctoral associate working with Jessica Schleider, PhD in MSS.
Substantial empirical evidence suggests that social support has a positive impact on mental and physical health, yet, not all social support is helpful 100% of the time. The goal of Szkody’s research program is to identify, improve, and implement culturally sensitive interventions aimed at improving mental health outcomes among rural and minoritized youth (e.g., individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, individuals who identify as holding intersectional racial and sexually minoritized identities) in the United States through the exploration of social support mechanisms. As a result, their research program examines factors that influence social support messages and outcomes and applies these to developing, adapting, and implementing mental health interventions.
Szkody leverages a three-pronged approach to addressing social justice and inequity issues in the dyadic communication of social support to minoritized populations and addressing mental health disparities. First, their research explores how an individual’s relationships and culture influence how they process and communicate social support with others and how individual receptivity to supportive messaging can be improved. Second, they integrate these mechanisms into evidence-based mental health interventions (EBIs) for rural and minoritized youth to improve communication in relationships and the acceptability of supportive messaging within EBIs. Finally, their research implements these EBIs in rural and minoritized communities by working with communities to apply, tailor, refine, and optimize these open-access resources to improve youths’ mental health outcomes through the creation of training, tools, and delivery materials to improve the uptake of these interventions in their communities.
Last year, Szkody won the American Psychological Foundation Visionary Award to develop and run a randomized control trial of a digital single-session intervention for rural youth focused on improving interpersonal skills. Szkody reflects, “I chose to stay at MSS because of the amazing support and resources provided by the department. Some incredible people have come together with a common aim. I believe MSS is the place to be to contribute to achieving actionable change in our society and improve the health and well-being of our community.”
In their new role, Szkody is most excited about the potential collaborations and new projects that are available in the future. We look forward to the contributions Szkody will make in advancing equity, innovation, and impact in health, both through their research and as a valued member of our community. Welcome Erica Szkody!