Fernanda L. Cross

Assistant Professor of Social Work

Cross received her MSW from the School of Social Work and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her research program utilizes a strength-based approach to examining family and cultural factors that promote healthy development and mitigate the risk of poor psychological and/or educational outcomes for Latinx adolescents and families. She is particularly interested in examining the role undocumented status plays in family processes and adolescents’ outcomes, as well as the protective effects of ethnic-racial socialization and identity development. To inform her research, Cross utilizes qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methodologies, and she draws on not only her personal experience as a Latinx immigrant but also her dozen years of involvement in the Latinx immigrant community of southeast Michigan as both an advocate and a Portuguese/Spanish interpreter.

Research Interests

Latinx mixed-status families, undocumented immigrants, ethnic-racial socialization, discrimination experiences, adolescent mental health and academic outcomes

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

  • [email protected]

  • (734) 647-1265

  • 2743 SSWB
    University of Michigan
    School of Social Work
    1080 S. University Ave.
    Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Education

  • 201 PhD Developmental Psychology
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 2010 MSW Interpersonal Practice/Children & Youth
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Developmental Psychology

News

Activities

Publications

Constante, K., Cross, F. L., Piceno, V., & Rivas-Drake, D. (in press). Latinx adolescent ethnic-racial discrimination and expected future barriers over time. Developmental Psychology.
Cross, F. L., Hoffman, A. J., Medina, M. A., Mora, A. S., & Rivas-Drake, D. (in press). Fostering Futures: Academic Socialization and Educational Utility among Latinx Parent/Adolescent Dyads. Journal of Latinx Psychology.
Cross, F. L. (in press). Documentation status socialization as an ethnic-racial socialization dimension: Incorporating the experience of mixed-status Latinx families. Studies in Social Justice.
Cross, F. L., Bares, C. B., Wood, A. L., & Lucio, J. (in press). Adverse childhood experiences and tobacco use among Latinx parents in the United States. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
Cross, F. L., Blanco, S., & Rivas-Drake, D. (in press). Documentation status socialization among Latinx immigrant parents. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development.
Cross, F. L., Williams, C. E., Esqueda, A. P., Hunt, R., Ku, C. P., Lucio, J., Bailey, S., Williamson, S., Marsh, E. E., & Resnicow, K. (2025). Incentivizing Immunity: Black and Latinx individuals' attitudes about COVID-19 vaccine incentives. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
Cross, F. L., Hunt, R., Buyuktur, A., Platt, J., Reyes, A., Ledon, C., Israel, B., Marsh, E., & Woolford, S. (2025). Factors that Impact Effective Public Health Communication with Michigan's Latinx Population in the Context of COVID-19. Health Education and Behavior, 52(1), 82-91.
Cureton, A., Cross, F., Aguinaldo, E., & Polk, S. (2025). An exploration on how racism and discrimination impact the mental health of Latinx immigrant youth. Academic Pediatrics, 24(7S), S139-S146.
Cross, F., Esqueda, A. P., Ku, C. P., Lucio, J., Hunt, R., Williams. C., Bailey, S., Williamson, S., Marsh, E., & Resnicow, K. (2024). “Life as We Knew It”: Continued Challenges in Getting Up-to-Date COVID-19 Vaccinations Amongst Black and Latinx Michigan Residents. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
Cureton, A., Tonui, B., Cross, F. L., & Gonzalez Benson, O. (2024). ‘What’s at stake?’ An exploration on the merits and drawbacks of the Welcome Corps Program, a private sponsorship of refugees. International Social Work, 68(1).

Honors and Awards

Year Description
2023 2023 NCID Anti-Racism Research & Community Impact Faculty Fellow

Presentations

Year Description
2025 Cross, F. L., Lucio, J., Blanco, S., Canino, J., Shapiro, L. F., González, E., Stupple, K.,Linares, R. Leveraging a Community-based Partnership to Support the Mental Health ofLatinx Immigrant-origin Youth. Oral presentation accepted to the 2025 Society for SocialWork and Research Annual Conference in Seattle, WA.
2024 Cross, F. L., Hunt, R., Buyuktur, A., Platt, J., Reyes, A., Ledon, C., Israel, B., Marsh, E.,Woolford, S. Facilitating and Hindering Factors for Effective Public HealthCommunication with Michigan's Latinx Population in the Context of COVID-19. Posterpresented at the American Public Health Association and Annual Expo.
2024 Cross, F., Esqueda, A. P., Hunt, R., Ku, C.P., Lucio, J., Williams. C., Marsh, E., Resnicow,K. Incentivizing Immunity: Black and Latinx Individuals’ Attitudes about COVID-19Vaccine Incentives. Paper submitted to the American Public Health Association andAnnual Expo.
2024 Cross, F. L., Aramburu, J., Blanco, S., Lucio, J. Parental Involvement in GrassrootsCommunity. Poster presented at the 2024 Society for Social Work and Research AnnualConference in Washington, DC.
2023 McCullum, J., McCoy, B., Motem, EG., Rowe, Z., Valbuena, F., Velasco, M., Williamson,SM., Piechowski, T., Ramakrishnan, A., Damm, MB., Buyuktur, A., Cross, F.,Morenoff, J., Woolford, S., Coombe, C., Sand, S., Platt, J., Israel, B. (2023,November). Community engaged research at its best: An educational campaign to buildvaccine confidence and uptake in Michigan. Paper presented at the American PublicHealth Association and Annual Expo. Atlanta, GA.

Courses

Current & Future Courses

Title Instructor Term Course Section Meeting Start Meeting End
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2026 801 08:00 pm 10:00 pm View Course

Past Courses

Title Instructor Term Course Section Meeting Start Meeting End
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2025 801 01:00 pm 03:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2024 801 08:00 pm 10:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2023 801 08:00 pm 10:00 pm View Course
Research Basics for Social Work Practice Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2022 002 02:00 pm 03:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2022 001 05:00 pm 08:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Winter 2022 001 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2021 001 05:00 pm 08:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Winter 2021 004 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Winter 2021 003 06:00 pm 09:00 pm View Course
Contexts of Life-course Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Adulthood Cross, Fernanda L. Fall 2020 001 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course