Guadalupe Lopez Hernandez

Guadalupe Lopez Hernandez is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Loyola University Chicago, where she leads the Juntos Lab and teaches courses such as PSYC 273 Developmental Psychology.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Psychology – University of California, Los Angeles
• M.A. in Psychology – University of California, Los Angeles
• B.A. – Northern Illinois University

Research Interests:

Dr. Lopez Hernandez’s scholarship centers on the social belonging and social-emotional development of Latinx immigrant-origin adolescents in families, schools, and communities. Employing qualitative and mixed-methods designs, she investigates how xenophobia, oppressive immigration policies, and anti-immigrant rhetoric shape adolescents’ experiences of inclusion or exclusion, especially in suburban contexts experiencing rapid demographic change.

Her core questions include how undocumented household status affects adolescent development, how immigration enforcement and toxic discourse influence belonging, and which factors foster resilience amid racial injustice and xenophobia.

Publications Trend:

Across her recent publications, a clear thematic arc emerges: nuanced qualitative and mixed-methods explorations of immigrant-origin youths’ psychological experiences under threat, with emphases on social exclusion, anxiety, resilience, and civic engagement. Her work spans developmental psychology, urban education, cultural diversity, and mental-health psychiatry, consistently foregrounding Latinx voices in suburban and higher-education settings.

Scientific Awards:

• No awards explicitly listed in the provided text.

Labs & Teams:

She directs the Juntos Lab, a research group dedicated to understanding and promoting the social belonging of Latinx immigrant-origin adolescents through community-engaged scholarship.