NCID-1596
Eleanor Seaton
Professor
Arizona State University
Education/Degree:
1 Developmental Psychology Developmental Psychology (Temple University)
About
Dr. Eleanor Seaton is a Professor at Arizona State University. Dr. Seaton is a developmental psychologist who examines: 1) the impact of racism on mental health, 2) racial identity as a protective factor for racism, 3) the intersection of race, gender and puberty, and 4) the biopsychosocial impacts of racism. Recently, Dr. Seaton initiated a project examining the impact of Chicago style house music among Black adults who are members of Generation X. Dr. Seaton is the former chair of SRCD’s ERI Committee and SRA’s Diversity and Equity Committee, and currently serves on SRCD’s Governing Council. Dr. Seaton is dedicated to eradicating racism and enhancing the number of underrepresented scholars in developmental science. Dr. Seaton developed the Scholars Development Program, designed to increase the numbers of Black developmental scientists receiving NIH funding, a racial disparity that NIH acknowledges. Dr. Seaton is a former co-host of a television segment, titled Break it Down on AZ PBS where she discusses how racism impacts various facets of society. Dr. Seaton tends to journal, travel, bake desserts, shop, read, watch movies and dance to Chicago style house music when relaxing.
Current Work
Dr. Eleanor Seaton is a psychologist who examines the impact of racism among Black youth. Dr. Seaton examines how Black youth experience racism, how Black youth feel about their Blackness, and whether these feelings mitigate the negative effects of racism. Dr. Seaton’s current projects include examination of the Weathering Hypothesis to understand how racism "gets under the skin" in two ways. The Weathering Hypothesis argued that Black Americans have accelerated aging and health deterioration as a consequence of coping with acute and chronic manifestations of racism. One manifestation of accelerated aging includes pubertal timing, and Dr. Seaton examines how racism interacts with pubertal development among Black children and adolescents. Another indication of accelerated aging includes dysregulated physiological processes, and Dr. Seaton has examined daily racism-related experiences on conjunction with daily physiological processes.
Research Area Keyword(s)
Black youth, mental health, Racial Identity, racism, pubertal development, Weathering patterns, HPA axis activity, pubertal development, Weathering patterns, HPA axis activity