Zornitsa Kalibatseva, Ph.D.
My research broadly focuses on understanding the influence of culture on psychopathology in culturally diverse individuals. In particular, I examine the prevalence, phenomenology, assessment, and diagnosis of psychological disorders among racially and ethnically diverse populations and immigrants in the U.S. I have pursued two lines of research within cross-cultural psychopathology. The first one examines cultural variations in the experience, expression, and assessment of depression among underrepresented groups in psychology (i.e., Asians, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Iranians). The second one entails disentangling health disparities or group differences in psychological disorders by examining culturally relevant factors, such as self-construal, loss of face, and family conflict. Parallel to my interest in cross-cultural psychopathology, I have also been involved in cross-cultural evidence-based psychotherapy research. In particular, I have conducted research on culturally sensitive treatments for depression, barriers to seeking treatment, and attitudes toward psychotherapy among culturally diverse clients.
Kalibatseva, Z., Leong, F. T. L., Ham, E. H., Lannert, B., & Chen, Y. (2017). Loss of face, intergenerational family conflict and depression among Asian American and European American college students. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 126-133. (pdf)
Dadfar, M., & Kalibatseva, Z. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the short Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13) with Iranian psychiatric outpatients. Scientifica, Article ID 8196463, 6 pages (pdf)
Kalibatseva, Z., & Leong, F. T. L. (2014). A critical review of culturally sensitive treatments for depression: Recommendations for intervention and research. Psychological Services, 11, 433-450. (pdf)
Kalibatseva, Z., Leong, F. T. L., & Ham, E. H. (2014). A symptom profile of depression among Asian Americans: Is there evidence for the differential item functioning of depressive symptoms? Psychological Medicine, 44, 2567-2578. (pdf)
- GPA of 3.3 or higher
- Successful completion of PSYC2241 Statistical Methods
- Preferred but not required: PSYC3242 Experimental Psychology
Students will learn a wide range of skills, which vary based on the research project. Most students would be involved in learning how to complete a literature search and review research articles. They will learn how to summarize research articles and discuss them one-on-one or in groups. They may participate in preparing IRB applications, developing questionnaires, and collecting data (in-person or online). Students will develop basic and advanced data management and data analysis skills (using SPSS), such as inputting data, cleaning data, scoring data, and analyzing data. In addition, students will learn to interpret and report data analyses as well as connect findings to the existing literature. Students may also learn to draft and edit different sections of a research manuscript and prepare a research conference poster and present it at local and national conferences.
Students are responsible for attending meetings regularly, completing assigned tasks by the agreed deadlines, conducting research ethically, behaving in a professional manner with participants, other lab members, and faculty, and communicating promptly. All research assistants have to commit for a full semester and dedicate a certain number of hours to research tasks every week (based on availability).
Contact Zornitsa.Kalibatseva@stockton.edu to inquire about lab openings. Please enclose a copy of your resume, with GPA, and a brief cover letter stating your interest in gaining research experience and related educational and professional goals.
