Overview
Misha N. Inniss-Thompson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. Dr. Inniss-Thompson received her doctorate in Community Research and Action at Vanderbilt University. She is an alumnus of Cornell's Department of Human Development. During her undergraduate career, she was a Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholar.
Dr. Inniss-Thompson’s research examines the impact of families, communities, and schools in shaping Black girls’ mental health and wellness using a cultural-assets perspective.
Research Focus
I am passionate about centering youth voices in the research process through methodological approaches such as photovoice and youth participatory action research.
My program of research investigates three primary questions:
- What protective processes buffer the impact of racial discrimination on Black girls’ mental health and wellness?
- How do social contexts shape Black adolescent girls’ mental health and wellness during the transition from middle childhood through adolescence?
- What can be gained by creating epistemological and physical spaces and places that support Black girls’ development?
Publications
- Inniss-Thompson, M. N., Leath, S., & Harris, J. N. (2024). Seeing Black girls in their glory: Cultivating spaces that facilitate Black girls’ psychological safety. Journal of Black Psychology, 50(3), 259-292. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984241231038
- Anderson, R. E., Ahn, L. H., Brooks, J. R., Charity-Parker, B., Inniss-Thompson, M., Gumudavelly, D., Mitchell, S., & Anyiwo, N. (2023). “The talk” tells the story: A qualitative investigation of parents’ racial socialization competency with Black adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 38(3), 562-588. https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584221076067
- Inniss-Thompson, M.N., Butler-Barnes, S.T., Taaffe, C., & Elliott, T. (2022). “What serves you”: Charting Black girl spaces for wellness through spirituality, resistance, and homeplace. Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education 2(2), 37–64. https://doi.org/10.21423/jaawge-v2i2a113
- Butler-Barnes, S.T., Leath, S., Inniss-Thompson, M. N., Boyd, D. T., & Allen, P. (2022). Racial and gender discrimination by teachers: Risks for Black girls’ depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28(4), 469–482. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000538
- Cooper, S. M., Burnett, M., Golden, A. R., Butler-Barnes, S., & Inniss-Thompson, M.N. (2022). School discrimination, discipline inequities, and the adjustment of Black adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32 (1), 170-190, https://doi.org/ /10.1111/jora.12716
- Butler-Barnes, S.T. & Inniss-Thompson, M.N. (2020) “My teacher doesn’t like me”: Perceptions of teacher discrimination and school discipline among African-American and Caribbean Black adolescent girls. Education Sciences, 10, 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10020044
PSYCH Courses - Spring 2025
- PSYCH 4560 : Black Girlhood Studies: Rememory, Representation, and Re-Imagination
- PSYCH 4700 : Undergraduate Research in Psychology
- PSYCH 4710 : Advanced Undergraduate Research in Psychology
HD Courses - Spring 2025
- HD 4000 : Directed Readings
- HD 4010 : Empirical Research
- HD 4020 : Supervised Fieldwork
- HD 4560 : Black Girlhood Studies: Rememory, Representation, and Re-Imagination
- HD 7000 : Directed Readings
- HD 7010 : Empirical Research