Keiana Mayfield, PhD, MSW

Dr. Keiana Mayfield’s research interests lie at the intersection of child development and sociocultural contextual factors. Her work focuses on how families and schools influence child and adolescent development while embedded within a society with deep roots in racially oppressive ideologies. She examines how a combination of individual characteristics, socialization processes and sociocultural factors support (or undermine) child and adolescent development across contexts using advanced statistical methodologies. Her research strives to create and inform intervention and prevention programs working to undermine and dismantle the perpetuation of racially oppressive ideologies through socialization practices in family and school contexts. 

Dr. Mayfield earned a doctorate in the Human Development and Family Studies program at The Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Studies of Women and Gender Studies from the University of Virginia.

Research Interests

• Family processes in relation to race-oriented socialization processes
• Family- and school-based preventive interventions targeting race-oriented socialization processes
• Family- and school-based preventive interventions targeting academic functioning and wellbeing in
• communities of color

Degrees

• PhD, Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 2022
• MSW, Social Work, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2015
• BA, Sociology & Women’s Studies, University of Virginia, 2011