Maffini, Cara S
Professor, Child & Adolescent Development
Core Faculty, EdD Educational Leadership Program
Director, SJSU Healthy Development Community Clinic (HDCC)
Lurie College of Education
Preferred: cara.maffini@sjsu.edu
Telephone
Preferred: (408) 924-3629
Office Hours
By Appointment
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Counseling Psychology, Indiana University Bloomington, 2014
- Master of Arts, Psychology, CSU Sacramento, 2009
- Bachelor of Science, Psychology with an emphasis in Biology, UC Davis, 2006
- Bachelor of Arts, Dramatic Art with an emphasis in Dance, UC Davis, 2006
Bio
Cara S. Maffini is a Professor in the Department of Child & Adolescent Development. She is also co-Founder and Director of SJSU's Healthy Development Community Clinic (HDCC) which is a pioneering model of student training through community-engagement that focuses on promoting healthy development, mental health and health equity for children, youth, and families across Santa Clara County.
Her research encompasses intersections of culture, mental health, and trauma particularly among adolescents and emerging adults with a focus on underserved populations. She has three main lines of research: (a) understanding psychosocial, cultural, and developmental protective and risk factors associated with trauma (e.g., violence, victimization, and campus safety); (b) examining refugee experiences and intergenerational transmission of trauma; and (c) examining bicultural and biracial experiences and identity development. Grounded in her training in counseling psychology, her research serves to inform community-based intervention and prevention programs.