Cerenity E Collins

Cerenity is a doctoral candidate whose research focuses on racialized emotion, identity processes, social networks, and health. Her dissertation engages with W.E.B. Du Bois’ theory of double consciousness to examine the identity management strategies, emotions, and health of Black STEM students. Her prior work focused on how race and other social positions impact reported affective sentiments. Her dissertation has been supported by the Phelps-Stokes Graduate Fellowship and the University of Georgia Graduate School Dean’s Award.

Cerenity is also engaged in several collaborative projects. In an article currently under revise and resubmit, Cerenity and her coauthors examine the relationship between racial discrimination, psychosocial resources, and long-term health outcomes for Black Americans. In a second project, Cerenity and her collaborator are conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews to understand mental health care access and decision making among LGBTQ+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also working on a project exploring the link between racial identity, gender, and emotion complexity.

Cerenity currently works on an interdisciplinary research team for a National Science Foundation funded project focused on increasing middle school STEM participation. She has also served as project manager on multiple studies conducted in the Laboratory for the Study of Social Interaction (LaSSI) including a study focused on developing new measures for studying identity-based emotions.