Graduate Student Researcher
CREAR Lab
Sydni is a third-year Developmental Psychology doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research centers on examining interpersonal and structural adversity experienced by and within a family unit (e.g., economic hardship, violence). Additionally, she explores how this adversity is associated with identity development and mental health for communities throughout Latin America and the U.S. She earned her B.A. in Psychology (minor Neuroscience) and a B.S. in Health Sciences from Cleveland State University and joined UPitt as a Post-Bacc student through the Hot Metal Bridge program.
Publications
Medrano, A.S., Medina, C. M., Davila, S. A., Adame Montelongo, E. S., Jenkins, A. S., Pina, I. M., Vazquez, Y. N., Leonard, A. F., Dupree, G. E., Martinez, A., Kabir, Z., & Wah Figueroa, F. (in press). Sexual victimization in school, community, and online contexts: A scoping review on the measurement of youth sexual victimization. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse.
DOIKabir, Z. S., Davila, S. A., & Medrano, A.S. (2026). Holding together in hard times: Family cohesion as a moderator of mental health amidst community violence. Journal of Community Psychology, 54(1), e70067.
DOIDavila, S. A., Adame Montelongo, E. S., Labrousse, D., & Medrano, A.S. (2025). "Uno no puede solucionarlo por sí mismo": Sociocultural influences on mental health and help-seeking attitudes among rural Mexican adults. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
DOIDavila, S. A., Martinez, A., & Medrano, A.S. (2025). Navigating familial stressors and material needs: Examining resilience and family cohesion as protective factors for rural Mexican adolescents. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology.
DOIMedrano, A.S., Davila, S. A., Labrousse, D., Adame Montelongo, E. S., & Williams, E.-D. G. (2025). Disentangling machismo and caballerismo: Mental health help-seeking in rural Mexico. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 49(3), 267-277.
DOIPresentations & Posters
Medrano, A. (chair), Labrousse, D., Adame Montelongo, E. S., Davila, S. A., Williams, E.-D. G., Figuereo, V., Vicente, M. J., Espejo, D., Shannon, L., Flores, A. T., Garcia, Y., Robledo, D., Tandon, D., & Platt, R. (2024). Navigating Cultural and Identity Constructs: Mental Health in Latinx Communities [Conference presentation]. National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Symposium