The USF College of Public Health’s Dr. Rita DeBate won the Advancing Health Equity Award at the American College Health Association’s annual conference in June for her poster, “Examining Mental Health Among Multiply Minoritized College Students: The Need for Intersectional Approaches.” The award acknowledges her exceptional work in identifying and addressing mental health disparities among college students from an intersectionality framework.

As executive director of the USF Center for Transdisciplinary Research in College Health and Well-being, DeBate’s research study sought to address a significant gap in college health research by examining how mental health issues among college students differ when considering the intersectionality of race/ethnicity with sexual and gender identity.

“Although mental health disparities by race, ethnicity and sexual orientation have been well-documented among college students, the exploration of mental health from an intersectionality framework is lacking,” DeBate explained.

The study, which was co-authored by COPH assistant professor Dr. Jennifer Bleck and alumni Drs. Erika Thompson and Nolan Kline, highlighted the critical need for multi-level approaches centered on intersectionality as a theoretical lens for mental health research and college programming. It delved into the experiences of college students who identify as both racial/ethnic and sexual/gender minorities, shedding light on the unique challenges they face.

By incorporating an intersectionality lens into college health research, this research enables the specification of health disparities between and among sexual and racial/ethnic minorities. It emphasizes the importance of considering multiple categories of social identity rather than focusing solely on one category, paving the way for targeted and effective interventions to reduce health disparities among college students.

“I am very proud of this award as it recognizes the importance of applying an intersectional lens to identify health disparities and inform the population-specific interventions within university settings with the goal of reducing health disparities and improving the health and quality of life of college students,” she said.

Looking ahead, DeBate aims to take her research a step further. The findings of her study point to the need for additional research to fully understand the life experiences of intersectional college students and the structural systems that may contribute to their marginalization and discrimination.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health