Faculty Directory

Christopher Salas-Wright

Barry Family Professor in Social Work

Assistant Dean, Doctoral Program

Photo of Christopher Salas-Wright

Christopher Salas-Wright

Ph.D.

Contact

McGuinn Hall 118

Telephone: 617-552-1295

Email: christopher.salas-wright@bc.edu

Education

  • B.A., Santa Clara University
  • M.A., Boston College
  • M.S.W., University of Washington
  • Ph.D., Boston College

Research Interests

Crisis migration

Migration-related cultural stress

Mental health

Expertise

  • Children, Youth, and Families
  • Immigrants and Refugees
  • Latinx Communities
  • Substance Use Disorder
CV OR RESUME

Profile

Christopher Salas-Wright, Ph.D., MSW, MA, is the inaugural Barry Family Professor in Social Work and Assistant Dean for Doctoral Education at the Boston College School of Social Work. His research agenda focuses on crisis migration and mental health. He received his Ph.D. from Boston College in 2012 before completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brown University鈥檚 Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Later, he held faculty positions at The University of Texas at Austin (2013-2016) and Boston University (2016-2020) before returning to Boston College as faculty in 2020.聽

Dr. Salas-Wright鈥檚 research focuses primarily on the experiences of stress and resilience among Latin American crisis migrants and how such experiences influence mental health. He has been instrumental in developing the crisis-informed theory of cultural stress, which explores how individuals and families experience stress as a result of cultural changes and challenges when migrating across national borders. Building upon this framework, he led the development of the crisis migration experiences scale, designed to measure exposure to pre-migration stressors such as material hardship, physical danger, and psychological desperation.

Dr. Salas-Wright is leading two five-year studies on crisis migration and cultural stress funded by the National Institutes of Health. The first, the Adelante Boricua study, focuses on Puerto Ricans displaced to the United States mainland after Hurricane Mar铆a in 2017. The only longitudinal study of 鈥淢ar铆a migrants,鈥� Adelante Boricua focuses on how pre-migration hurricane trauma and post-migration cultural stress shape the resettlement experiences of climate migrants and influence mental health. The second, the Venezolanos en Nuevos Entornos study, charts the experiences of聽nearly 2,000 Venezuelan children and adults resettling in Bogot谩 and Medell铆n, Colombia, and the U.S. state of Florida. VENE is the only longitudinal, cross-national study of Venezuelan crisis migrants, providing unique and timely evidence on one of modern history鈥檚 most significant population movements.聽

Since 2010, Dr. Salas-Wright鈥檚 research has resulted in over 250 publications, including first-author articles in journals such as the聽American Journal of Public Health,听迟丑别听American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and聽Current Opinion in Psychology. His scientific contributions have significantly advanced the field, leading to his recognition with the Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work in Research in 2019 and the National Award of Excellence in Research by a Senior Investigator from the National Hispanic Science Network in 2023.

Dr. Salas-Wright is a standing member of NIH鈥檚 Social Psychology, Personality, and Interpersonal Processes Study Section, which reviews the scientific merit of grant applications submitted to NIH. Since 2020, he has also served as an editorial board member of the Oxford University Press Encyclopedia of Social Work. This comprehensive reference work is regarded as a cornerstone in the field of social work. Dr. Salas-Wright represents Boston College as a Fellow in the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Leaders Network, a program designed to enhance leadership skills and foster collaboration among leaders from ACC universities.

Dr. Salas-Wright works with students at all levels in his research. He is currently a mentor for three NIH-funded predoctoral training fellowships and dissertation awards, an NIH Diversity Supplement Award, and the UNICEF-USA Boston College Postdoctoral Fellowship. His recent doctoral and postdoctoral trainees have accepted tenure-track faculty positions at Tulane University, Rutgers, and the University of Pennsylvania.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Salas-Wright, C.P., Schwartz, S.J., Mej铆a-Trujillo, J., Garc铆a, M.F., Sahbaz, S., Bates, M., Andrade, P., P茅rez-G贸mez, A., Maldonado-Molina, M.M. (2024). The crisis migration experience scale: Developing and validating a tool for Venezuelan youth and adults residing in Colombia. Psychological Trauma. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/tra0001708聽

Salas-Wright, C.P., Mej铆a Trujillo, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Garc铆a, M.F., Bates, M., Schwartz, S.J., & P茅rez-G贸mez, A. (2024). Interplay of pre-migration crisis exposure and post-migration cultural stress on depression among Venezuelan crisis migrants in Colombia. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000665

Salas-Wright, C.P., Schwartz, S.J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Keum, B.T.H., Trujillo, J.M., Garcia, M.F., Cano, M.A., Bates, M., & P茅rez-G贸mez, A. (2024). Online xenophobia and mental health among Venezuelan migrant youth in Colombia: The interplay with 鈥渋n-person鈥� discrimination. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/ort0000730

Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Bates, M., Brown, E.C., Garc铆a, M.F., Rodr铆guez, J., & Schwartz, S.J. (2023). The importance of acculturation strategies in understanding the impact of pre- and post-migration stressors on behavioral health: Evidence from a crisis migrant sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 79(8), 1770-1785. doi: 10.1002/jclp.23505

Salas-Wright, C.P., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., P茅rez-G贸mez, A., Mej铆a-Trujillo, J., & Schwartz, S.J. (2022). The Venezuelan diaspora: Migration-related experiences and mental health. Current Opinion in Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101430

Salas-Wright, C.P., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., Brown, E.C., Bates, M., Rodr铆guez, J., Garc铆a, M.F., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). Cultural stress theory in the context of family crisis migration: Implications for behavioral health with illustrations from the Adelante Boricua study. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 46(4), 586-608. doi: 10.1007/s12103-021-09626-9聽

Salas-Wright, C.P., Oh, S., Vaughn, M.G., P茅rez-G贸mez, A., Mej铆a-Trujillo, J., Montero-Zamora, P., Andrade, P., Cohen, M., Scaramutti, C., Rodr铆guez, J., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). A validation of the Perceived Negative Context of Reception scale with recently-arrived Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia and the United States. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(4), 649-658. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000455

Salas-Wright, C.P., Goings, T.C., Vaughn, M.G., Cohen, M., Adrade, P., P茅rez-G贸mez, A., Duque, M., Mejia-Trujillo, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2021). Health risk behavior and cultural stress among Venezuelan youth: A person centered approach. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56, 219-228. doi: 10.1007/s00127-020-01905-w

Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Goings, T.C., Cobb, C.L., Cohen, M., Montero-Zamora, P., Eschmann, R., John, R., Andrade, P., Oliveros, K., Rodr铆guez, J., Maldonado-Molina, M.M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2020). Toward a typology of transnational communication among Venezuelan immigrant youth: Implications for behavioral health. Advance online publication. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. doi: 10.1007/s10903-020-01099-y

Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., Cohen, M., & Schwartz, S.J. (2020). The sequelae of pre-migration hunger among Venezuelan immigrant children in the United States. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 58(3), 467-469. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.10.010

SELECTED GRANTS

R01 MD015920 6/7/2022-2/28/2027

The Behavioral Health of Venezuelan Families in Diaspora: A Cross-National Study Stress and Resilience

We aim to conduct the definitive study of the Venezuelan diaspora in the US with a comparison sample in Colombia鈥攁 study that will provide knowledge vital to addressing the immediate and longer-term needs of Venezuelan crisis migrant families, and inform responses to future crises.

Role: Principal Investigator

R01 MD014694 8/14/2019-4/30/2024

Post-Maria Puerto Rican Families Relocated to Florida: A Multisite Study of Alcohol Misuse and Mental Health

The goal of this study is to assist Puerto Rican families in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. We focus on alcohol misuse based on findings from research indicating elevated levels of alcohol use among island-born Puerto Ricans prior to the storm and increases in alcohol misuse in response to trauma and migration-related stressors.

Role: Principal Investigator

RWJF Evidence for Action 8/1/2022-7/31/2024

Testing a novel approach to measuring the mental health impact on emerging adults of exposure to perceived racism-based police-involved interactions

We aim to establish the validity of a survey measure of exposure to racism-based police use of force among Black/African American emerging adults, and extend this measure for Latino emerging adults in the United States.

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

K01 AA026645 9/1/2018-8/31/2023

Preventing Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Violence among Latino Youth

The overall objective of this K01 project is to adapt a school-based, SAMHSA model substance use intervention to include a focus on violence prevention. This includes research and training in the areas of qualitative research, intervention adaptation, and prevention implementation and outcomes research.聽

Role: Principal Investigator

R25 MH104660 (PI: J. Gallo) 03/01/2019-06/30/2020

Mixed Methods Research Training Program for the Health Sciences

The goal of this program is to provide a state-of-the-art methodology training to enhance the mixed methods skills of investigators. The R25 accepts 14 investigators/year who participate in an in-person training program.聽

Role: Scholar | Research Fellow

R25 AA021714 1/15/2017-1/02/2018

The Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Program (ADEP) for Social Work Faculty

The ADEP Program for Social Work Faculty promoted the use of empirically-supported substance use identification and treatment methods via intensive, in-person training.聽

Role: Principal Investigator / Consultant聽

SELECTED APPOINTMENTS AND AWARDS

2023听Recipient of the National Award of Excellence in Research by a Senior Investigator from the National Hispanic Science Network

2021-2025聽Chartered Member, Social Psychology, Personality and Interpersonal Processes Study Section, National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review

2020听Fellow, Society for Social Work and Research

2019听Recipient of the Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research

2019听Key Contributor Award, Ra铆ces Venezolanas, Venezuelan Awareness Foundation

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