The Guerrero Lab for Youth Mental Health & Family Well-Being is dedicated to advancing research that supports the emotional health of adolescents and the families and communities who care for them. Our work centers on understanding how cultural identity and strengths, family communication and racial-ethnic socialization, and experiences in young people’s social environments, such as racial-ethnic discrimination, shape mental health and well-being. We partner closely with Latine communities, schools, and youth-serving organizations to develop and refine approaches that strengthen caregiver-adolescent relationships, reduce stress, and promote resilience. Across projects, we use mixed-methods and community-engaged research to co-create strategies that help youth thrive. Grounded in adolescent medicine and prevention science, our lab aims to generate knowledge that informs clinical practice, empowers families, and drives meaningful improvements in youth mental health.
Project Salud
Project Salud examines how racial-ethnic discrimination and family racial ethnic discrimination shape mental health among Latine adolescents. Through surveys and interviews, the project explores the experiences of youth and caregivers to identify strengths, stressors, and opportunities for support. Our goal is to generate insights that inform culturally grounded strategies to promote resilience and well-being for Latine families.
Spanish Mental Health Toolkit
Our American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) grant supports a partnership with a local Latine youth organization to co-develop a multimedia mental health toolkit for adolescents and their caregivers. Working alongside bilingual mental health providers, we are creating accessible, culturally grounded materials that address common emotional and behavioral concerns, offer guidance for families, and connect youth to community resources. This project aims to expand mental health support in community settings by building tools that reflect the voices, priorities, and lived experiences of Latine youth and families.
Intervention To Address And Support Adolescent Mental Health
This work is funded through Community Health Partnerships’ Trailblazer Award, which supports community-academic partnerships conducting innovative research to improve health in Indiana. In this project, we are partnering with Starfish Initiative, a local youth-serving organization, to co-design an intervention that addresses and supports adolescent mental health in Indianapolis. Collaborating closely with Research Jam’s design team, we use human-centered design methods to ensure the intervention reflects the experiences, needs, and voices of youth and families. This work lays the groundwork for a future pilot study aimed at strengthening mental health supports for adolescents in the community.
Latine Mental Health Colectivo
Established in January 2025, the Latine Mental Health Colectivo is a collaborative space for supporting the emotional well-being of Latine youth and families. The group meets monthly to respond to the needs of the community, discuss issues affecting family well-being and mental health, share ongoing projects, and identify opportunities for future collaboration. It also serves as a forum for gaining insights from community members to inform current and future research initiatives. Through partnerships with local organizations, schools, and community members, the Colectivo develops culturally grounded resources, facilitates workshops, and conducts research that centers the voices and experiences of Latine adolescents and their caregivers. By fostering dialogue and collaboration, this initiative strengthens community capacity and promotes supportive environments for youth mental health.
