Yzette Lanier

Faculty

Yzette Lanier Headshot

Yzette Lanier

Assistant Professor

1 212 998 5803

433 First Ave
New York, NY 10010
United States

Accepting PhD students

Yzette Lanier, PhD, is an assistant professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. As a developmental psychologist, her research broadly centers on health promotion and disease prevention in communities of color, with a special focus on preventing HIV/STIs and unintended pregnancy among African American adolescents. Using health equity and strengths-based lenses, her research seeks to understand how individual, social, and cultural factors influence adolescents’ sexual decision-making. Lanier’s current research examines how adolescent romantic relationships influence sexual behaviors. Her long-term goal is to develop effective developmentally-appropriate, culturally tailored interventions that promote healthy romantic relationships and protective sexual behaviors among adolescents. In June 2016, Lanier was awarded $1.2 million from the CDC for HIV behavior intervention based on young black heterosexual couples' dynamics.  

Lanier earned her PhD and MS in developmental psychology at Howard University. She completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Health Equity Research at the University of Pennsylvania and a postdoctoral research fellowship in HIV prevention in communities of color at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Health Equity Research - University of Pennsylvania
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for HIV Prevention in Communities of Color - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
PhD, Developmental Psychology - Howard University
MS, Developmental Psychology - Howard University
BS, Psychology - Howard University

Pediatric
Infectious disease
Families
Community/population health
HIV/AIDS
Vulnerable & marginalized populations

American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
Association of Black Psychologists
Society for Research on Adolescence

Visiting Scholar, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University

Expanded HIV testing and trends in diagnoses of HIV infection - District of Columbia, 2004-2007

Lanier, Y., & Al., . (2010). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 59(24), 737-741.

Examining the role of culture-specific coping as a predictor of resilient outcomes in African Americans from high-risk urban communities

Utsey, S. O., Bolden, M. A., Lanier, Y., & Williams, O. (2007). Journal of Black Psychology, 33(1), 75-93. 10.1177/0095798406295094
Abstract
Abstract
This investigation examined the role of culture-specific coping in relation to resilient outcomes in African Americans from high-risk urban communities. Participants (N = 385) were administered a survey questionnaire packet containing measures of culture-specific coping, traditional resilience factors (cognitive ability, social support, and familial factors), and resilient outcomes (physical, psychological, social, and environmental quality of life). Structural equation modeling was used to test the degree to which culture-specific coping would uniquely contribute to the prediction of quality of life above and beyond traditional predictive factors of resilience. Findings indicated that spiritual and collective coping were statistically significant predictors of quality of life outcomes above and beyond the traditional predictive factors. Overall, the findings indicated that both traditional and cultural factors were predictors of resilient outcomes (i.e., positive quality of life indicators) for African Americans.

Spiritual well-being as a mediator of the relation between culture-specific coping and quality of life in a community sample of African Americans

Utsey, S. O., Bolden, M. A., Williams, O., Lee, A., Lanier, Y., & Newsome, C. (2007). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38(2), 123-136. 10.1177/0022022106297296
Abstract
Abstract
This study examines the antecedent factors affecting the quality of life of African Americans. A theoretical model is proposed that identifies the effects of culture-specific coping and spiritual well-being as predictors of quality of life. A sample of 281 African Americans was administered a battery of questionnaires that examined the constructs of interest. The theoretical model was tested within a structural equation - modeling framework to identify both direct and indirect effects. Results indicate overall model fit, with both culture-specific coping and spiritual well-being as significant predictors of quality of life. Spiritual well-being partially mediated the effects of culture-specific coping on quality of life. The article concludes with a discussion of the study's findings in relation to quality of life issues for African Americans.

Moderator effects of cognitive ability and social support on the relation between race-related stress and quality of life in a community sample of Black Americans

Utsey, S. O., Lanier, Y., Williams, O., Bolden, M., & Lee, A. (2006). Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12(2), 334-346. 10.1037/1099-9809.12.2.334
Abstract
Abstract
The current study examined the combined moderating effects of cognitive ability and social support on the relation between race-related stress and quality of life in a sample of Black Americans. Participants (N = 323) were administered the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT; E. F. Wonderlic Associates, Inc., 1983), the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MDSS; Winefield, Winefield, & Tiggemann, 1992), the Index of Race-Related Stress-Brief (Utsey, 1999), and the WHOQOL-BREF (The WHO Group, 1998). The findings indicated that cognitive ability and social support, conjointly, moderated the relation between individual and cultural race-related stress and quality of life for Black Americans in the current sample. The paper concludes by discussing the study's findings, limitations, and by offering recommendations for future research related to this area of inquiry.

A confirmatory test of the factor validity of scores on the Spiritual Well-being Scale in a community sample of African Americans

Utsey, S. O., Lee, A., Bolden, M. A., & Lanier, Y. (2005). Journal of Psychology and Theology, 33(4), 251-257. 10.1177/009164710503300401
Abstract
Abstract
This study examined a five-factor model of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS; Ellison, 1983) proposed by Miller, Fleming, and Brown-Anderson (1998). A confirmatory factor analytic procedure was conducted to determine whether the Miller et al. model fit the data for the current sample of African Americans. For comparative purposes, several alternative SWBS models were included in the study's design. The findings indicated that none of the SWBS models provided an adequate fit to the data for the current sample. Implications for future use of the SWBS with African American populations are discussed.