Faizun Bakth
Biography
Faizun is a fifth-year Ph.D. graduate student at Wayne State University. Her research focuses on how adolescents' positive (e.g., friendships) and negative (e.g., victimization, discrimination) peer relationships shape their health, identity, emotional well-being, and academic performance via short and long-term longitudinal methods. As a Muslim woman of color and a first-generation college student from a low-income background, Faizun's intersecting identities have profoundly shaped her commitment to understanding the experiences of marginalized youth and identifying protective factors that address their unique needs, particularly in educational settings. Therefore, guided by her personal and professional experiences, Faizun's research has two central aims: 1) Investigate the influence of bioregulatory factors, such as sleep, in the association between peer relationships and adolescents' academic and socioemotional adjustment; 2) Examine how different proximal social and macro-level contextual factors influence adolescent identity development and health outcomes. In her free time, she likes to read non-fiction books, watch horror movies, and spend time with her family and friends.
Education
- B.A., John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- M.A., Wayne State University
Research Focus
- Peer Relationships
- Ethnic-racial Identity
- Sleep
- Academic outcomes
- Psychosocial Wellbeing
Honors and Awards
Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute Predoctoral Fellowship (2022-Present)
Publications
Bakth, F. N., Chen, M., & Wang, Y. (2023). Adolescents’ experiences of peer ethnic/racial victimization and school engagement in everyday life: sleep as a moderator. Sleep Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2023.01.006
Bakth, F. N., Hoffman, A. J., & Schacter, H. L. (2022). Investigating the relation between ethnic–racial identity and classroom engagement among Cherokee adolescents: Cultural socialization as a moderator. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28(2), 182–192. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000530
Schacter, H. L., Hoffman, A. J., Ehrhardt, A., & Bakth, F. N. (2022). Peer victimization, schooling format, and adolescent internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Between- and within-person associations across ninth grade. Development and Psychopathology, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579422000074
Schacter, H.L., Lessard, L.M., Kiperman, S. et al. Can Friendships Protect Against the Health Consequences of Peer Victimization in Adolescence? A Systematic Review. School Mental Health (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09417-x
Fessinger, M. B., McWilliams, K., Bakth, F. N., & Lyon, T. D. (2020). Setting the Ground Rules: Use and Practice of Ground Rules in Child Forensic Interviews. Child Maltreatment, 26(1), 126–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559520910783