PAU Doctoral Student Florencia Iturri Mariaca Receives Diversity Research Award from the Minority Affairs Committee of the American Psychology-Law Society

Florencia Iturri Mariaca, M.S., has received a ‘Diversity in Psychology and Law Research Award’ from the Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS). The award promotes diversity by supporting student research on psycho-legal issues related to diversity as well as research by students from underrepresented groups. Iturri’s $1,000 grant will fund her dissertation, “Culture, Gender, and Sex: Experiences and Attitudes in a Sexually Diverse Sample of Latino Men.”

“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” said Iturri. “It allows me to include in my dissertation my interest in forensic psychology with an intersection of populations I am passionate about.”  Given the high risk for sexual violence that Latinx sexual minorities face, and the lack of research on culturally-relevant risk factors for perpetration, Iturri’s study seeks to explore the interaction of three constructs that may be relevant to same-sex sexual violence perpetration by Latino men: machismo, heteronormativity, and internalized sexual stigma.

“Florencia has a long-standing commitment to working with diverse, underserved populations in a forensic context in both her clinical work and her research activities. Her dissertation is the next step in this trajectory. It is truly an innovative project addressing intersectional cultural identities and the prevention of sexual assault,” said PAU Associate Professor Amanda M. Fanniff, Ph.D. Fanniff leads PAU’s Developmentally Informed Policy and Practice Lab (DIPP) under and is Iturri’s research advisor. The DIPP lab is engaged in research and scholarship related to effective public policies and clinical practices with a focus on adolescence and emerging adulthood.

A fourth-year Ph.D. candidate, Iturri is an international student from Bolivia. She has been an active member of the PAU community as part of the Latinx Task Force, working at the Gronowski Center as a senior clinic manager, becoming a teaching assistant for several courses, and serving as a peer advisor in the Professional Academic Advising Center. In recognition of her leadership roles and her many contributions to the PAU community, Iturri received the 2018 PAU Award for Excellence in Service. She will do a pre-doctoral internship at Harris County Juvenile Probation Department in Houston, Texas, including psycho-diagnostic and forensic assessments for detained youth. Post-graduation, Iturri plans to become a board-certified forensic psychologist providing culturally-sensitive assessment and treatment to help underserved communities.