UNL Psychology Department to host 57th Symposium on Motivation

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Psychology will host its 57th annual Symposium on Motivation April 16-17 in the Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R St. This year's symposium will address "Ethnicity and Youth Health Disparities."

Traditionally, the UNL symposium is widely attended; it is the world's longest continuously running psychology series, and it attracts many of the field's most distinguished scholars.

The goals of the 2009 symposium are to provide basic information on the scope and causes of health disparities among youth, to identify the methodological and political challenges ahead and to provide a venue for exchange of ideas to address these challenges and reduce these disparities. The symposium will bring together scholars known for studying psychological and behavioral health in ethnic minority populations in the United States.

The scheduled speakers have expertise on health disparities across multiple ethnic populations including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, as well as disparities linked to social class. Health topics to be discussed include violence, academic achievement, substance use, and physical and mental health, among others. The speakers will focus on major conclusions from theory and research, as well as how their body of work could improve human well-being and functioning.

This year's symposium is coordinated by UNL faculty members Gustavo Carlo, Lisa Crockett and Miguel Carranza. Organizers said they expect more than 200 clinicians, researchers and practitioners to participate. Visit www.unl.edu/psypage/symposium for details, including registration information. In addition to speakers and discussion sessions, the symposium will feature a display of posters created by researchers from across the country.