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Recent Publications

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Dr. Villodas’ research centers on understanding how social determinants of health impact the mental health of vulnerable young people while considering how to address these challenges through treatment and initiatives at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Dr. Villodas investigates various environments such as neighborhoods, public housing, and schools, delving into topics like suicidality, trauma exposure, and mental health symptoms and outcomes. Her research focus encompasses three key areas: (1) Neighborhood Environment and Social Determinants of Health, (2) Policy, Systemic, and Community Influences on Mental Health and Well-Being, and (3) Mental Health Interventions and Support Services. Below are recent publications in each of the areas:

Neighborhood Environment and Social Determinants of Health

  1. Foell, A., DiMonte, C., Villodas, M.L., Enelamah, N., Newranksy, C., Lombe, M., Yu, M. (2026). Housing hardships and health risks among children and youth: Examining impacts across household, housing, and neighborhood contexts. Child and Family Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.70197
  2. Rodriguez, M.Y., Dohler, E., Phillips, J., Villodas, M.L., Vegara, V., Joseph, K., & Wilson, A. (2025). Open Source Software and Data for Human Service Development: A Case Study on Predicting Housing Instability. ArXiv, abs/2512.12919.
  3. Villodas, M.L., Enemalah, N.V., Cole, A., Foell, A., Forte, A., Newransky, C., Rodriguez, C.N.*, Yu, M., Nebbitt, V.E. & Lombe, M. (2025). Exploring associations between neighborhood amenities and mental health: Insights from parent reports of older youth in low-income households. Wellbeing, Space & Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2025.100317
  4. Enelamah, N. V., Foell, A., Villodas, M.L., Newransky, C., Lombe, M., Nebbitt, V., & Yu, M. (2025). Family history of diabetes: Neighborhood and familial risks in African American youth living in public housing. Healthcare, 13(17), 2098. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13172098
  5. Blank Wilson, A., Villodas, M.L., Mahadeva, T., Boseman, E., Swaine, J., Gilmore, J., Bowman, L. & Garman, A. (2025). Tiny homes – big movement: Building a permanent and affordable housing option for people with severe mental illness. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1516751
  6. Parisi, A., Villodas, M.L., & Acquah, N.* (2024). The Impact of Trauma Exposure on Substance Use Among Women Under Community Supervision: Do Neighborhoods Matter? Victims and Offenders, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2024.2439943
  7. Vergara, J.V., Rodriguez, M., Phillips, J., Dohler, E., Villodas, M.L., Wilson, A. & Joseph, K. (2023). An Evaluation Framework for Predictive Models of Neighborhood Change with Applications to Predicting Residential Sales in Buffalo, NY. Urban Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980231189403
  8. Villodas, M.L., Nebbit, V., Yu, M., Lombe, M., Foell, A., McCoy, H., & Enelamah, N.V. (2023). Assessing the modified neighborhood cohesion index among African American adolescents living in public housing: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Journal Society for Social Work Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/716084
  9. Villodas, M.L., Blank Wilson, A., Ansong, D., Munson, M. Clark Goings, T. & Nebbit, V. (2023). Examining the Influence of Perceived Neighborhood Environment and Connectedness on the Mental Health Symptoms of Black Adolescent Serious Offenders. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-023-00942-z 
  10. Enelamah, N.V., Lombe, M., Yu, M., Villodas, M.L., Foell, A., Newransky, C., Smith, L.C., & Nebbitt, V. (2023). Structural and Intermediary Social Determinants of Health and the Emotional and Behavioral Health of US Children. Children 10, 1100. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071100   
  11. Villodas, M. L., Forte, A. B., & Blank Wilson, A. (2023). Examining the Influence of the Neighborhood Environment on Stress Among Black American Adolescents: A Scoping Review. Youth & Society, 56(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X231179243
  12. Villodas, M. L., Gibbs, D., Blank Wilson, A., & Munson, M. R. (2023). The relationship between connectedness and mental health symptoms among Black youth involved in the juvenile justice system: a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. Social Work in Mental Health, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2023.2178269

Policy, Systemic, and Community Influences on Mental Health and Well-Being

  1. Villodas, M.L., Forte, A., Dawes, H., Yu, M. & Munson, M.R.(IN PRESS). Trends in anxiety among young adults aged 18 to 25, in the United States 2020–2024: Differences by race, sex, and sexual orientation. American Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308632
  2. Villodas, M.L., Lee, J., Gimm, G. & Pilkerton, C.* (2026). At the Intersection of Disability and Transitioning to Adulthood: Service Receipt by Disability Status among Foster Youth. Children and Youth Services Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108805
  3. Cheatham, L. P., Baker, C., Bennwik, I. H. B., Ellem, K., Kelly, B., Oterholm, I., Venables, J., & Villodas, M. L. (2026). Disability counts: How well do countries address disability in their care-leaving population? International Journal of Social Welfare, 35(3), e70078. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.70078
  4. Enelamah, N., Villodas, M.L., Foell, A., Rayamajhi, S., Yu, M., Lombe, M., Newranksy, C., Nebbitt, V.E., & Peng, L. (2026). Flourishing, mental health, and school engagement among U.S. children: A multivariate regression analysis. Child Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-026-10405-3
  5. Villodas, M.L., Acevedo, N., Wheeler, M., Hamati, F. & Kapur, I.* (2026). Protecting youth mental health through social media policies: A thematic analysis of state-level guidance from enacted policies across the United States. Journal of Policy Practice and Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-026-00155-5
  6. Gimm, G., Cheatham, L. P., Lee, J., & Villodas, M. (2025). All transition-age foster youth, especially those with disabilities, need continuous Medicaid coverage. Health Affairs Forefront. https://doi.org/10.1377/forefront.20250122.417423
  7. Pitzer, K.A., Foell, A., Nebbit, V.N., Lombe, M., Yu, M., Villodas, M.L., Enelamah, N. (2024). Anxiety sensitivity among Black youth: A cross-sectional analysis of the direct and indirect effects of community violence exposure, neighborhood risk, parenting practices, and peer effects. Journal of the National Medical Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2024.07.005
  8. Villodas, M.L., Foell, A., Smith, L.C., Yu, M., McCoy, H., Yang, Y., Enelamah, N.V., Lombe, M. & Nebbitt, V. (2024). Psychometric Properties of the Modified Parenting Attitudes Measure Among African American Adolescents in Public Housing. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02871-6
  9. Villodas, M.L. (2024) Suicidality and non-suicidal self-injury: A narrative review of measurement, risk, and disparities among minoritized and system-involved youth in the USA. Children, 11, 466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ children11040466   
  10. Enelamah, N.V., Rao, S., Lombe, M., Yu, M., Newransky, C., Villodas, M.L., Foell, A., & Nebbitt, V.E. (2024). Examining the Utility of the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) among 3- to 4-Year-Old Children in the Nigeria Context. Children. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11030361
  11. Shea L., Villodas M.L., Ventimiglia J., Wilson A.B., & Cooper D. (2024) Foster care involvement among youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. JAMA Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.6580
  12. Foell, A., Amano, T., Newransky, C., Nebbitt, V., Lombe, M., Yu, M., Horton, D., Enelamah, N., Riffer, A., Villodas, M. L., & Tirmazi, M. T. (2023). Stress Biomarkers in Black Youth: Exploring Psychological, Behavioral, and Socio-Ecological Correlates. Journal of urban health: bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 10.1007/s11524-023-00776-1. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00776-1
  13. Gibbs, D.J., Villodas, M.L., Kainz, K., Francis, A.M. (2023). The effects of “legal orphan” status for emerging adults aging out of foster care: A secondary analysis of linked AFCARS and NYTD Data. Children and Youth Services Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106805

Mental Health Interventions and Support Services

  1. Villodas, M.L., Phillips, J., Dohler, D., Parisi, A., Scanlon, F., Pilkerton, C.* & Blank Wilson, A. (2025). Exploring treatment completion and participant feedback in an adapted intervention among incarcerated men with mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-025-01539-9
  2. Parisi, A., Blank Wilson, A., Kathleen, F., Brown, S., Villodas, M. & Phillips, J. (2024) Examining facilitator experiences delivering an intervention to system-involved women with mental illnesses. Qualitative Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250241255868
  3. Wilson, A. B., Phillips, J., L. Villodas, M., Parisi, A., Dohler, E., & Ginley, C. (2023). Assessing the potential efficacy of an intervention for incarcerated people with mental illness. Psychiatric Services. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20220355
  4. Cole, A.R, Adams, D.R., Ben-David, S., Sapiro, B., Villodas, M., Stanhope, V., Jaccard, J., & Munson, M. (2023). Feasibility, acceptability and preliminary implementation of the cornerstone program for transition-age youth with mental health conditions: A mixed-methods study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 50, 106-519. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-023-01254-1
  5. Phillips, J., Blank Wilson, A., Villodas, M.L. Parisi, A., Dohler, E., & Givens, A. (2022). Feasibility of Recruiting Individuals with Serious Mental Illness in Prisons into a Randomized Control Trial. Journal of theSociety for Clinical Trials. https://doi.org/10.1177/17407745221130757