Faculty photo

Nestor Tulagan

he/him/his

Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling & Human Development

PhD, University of California, Irvine, 2020

Office Location
491 LeChase Hall
Telephone
(585) 275-6355
Web Address
Website

Office Hours: By appointment

Mentorship and Advising Statement (PDF)

Research Overview

Professor Tulagan will be accepting applications for graduate students for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Professor Tulagan’s (he/him/his) primary research examines the family factors that contribute to the development of academic motivation and achievement of adolescents from racially/ethnically minoritized backgrounds. This work addresses three interrelated questions. First, in what ways do family socializers (i.e., parents, siblings, and extended relatives) use their cultural funds of knowledge to support adolescents in their academic development? Second, in what ways are families developmentally responsive to youths’ academic and psychological needs and barriers during adolescence? Third, under what conditions do family academic support most strongly predict adolescents’ academic motivation and achievement?

Professor Tulagan’s secondary research also examines the family socialization processes involved in adolescents’ gender and racial/ethnic identity development and socioemotional learning. With these aims, his research examines the ways in which families integrate multiple, co-occurring socialization processes to support adolescents’ overall flourishing.

Professor Tulagan uses strength-based and promotive theoretical frameworks that highlight the cultural assets that minoritized families possess but are often disregarded by deficit-based research. Aligned with this commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, he has also partnered with local communities and academic programs to deliver research-based and family-informed workshops that aim to enhance parents’ educational support at home.

Visit the FAM&I Lab website to learn more.

Selected Publications

*denotes student collaborators

  • Tulagan, N., *Puente, K., & Simpkins S. D. (2023). Latinx adolescents’ school-related science conversations with family members: Associations with adolescents’ science self-concept and task value in high school. Applied Developmental Science, 27(2), 156-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2022.2045201
  • Reich, S., *Dahlin, M., Tulagan, N., Kerlow, M., Cabrera, N., Piroutek, M. J., & Heyming, T. (2023). Caregivers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and their children’s behavior. Journal of Family Issues, 44(4), 1093-1112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X211055511
  • Reich, S. M., *Liu, Y., Tulagan, N., *Martin, E., *Dahlin, M., & Cabrera, N. (2023). Applying a family stress model to understand patterns of stress, media use, and child behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Children and Media. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2023.2187853
  • Gülseven, Z., *Puente, K., Tulagan, N., Zarrett, N., Vandell, D. L., & Simpkins, S. D. (2022). Developmental trajectories of children’s self-control: Insights from mothers and teachers. Applied Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2022.2158827
  • Starr, C. R., Tulagan, N., & Simpkins, S. D. (2022). Underrepresented students’ STEM motivational beliefs: A systematic review of the literature on parent and family support. Educational Psychology Review. 1-41 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09700-6
  • Reich, S. M., Tulagan, N., *Dahlin, M., Labbaf, S., Dutt, N., Rahmani, A. (2022). Pregnant in a pandemic: Connecting perceptions of uplifts and hassles to mental health. Journal of Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053221120115
  • Tulagan, N. & Eccles, J. S. (2021). African-American mothers’ socialization strategies to address adolescent-related academic expectations and risk concerns. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30, 855–869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01922-6
  • Simpkins, S. D., Tulagan, N., *Lee, G., Ma, T.-L., Zarrett, N., & Vandell, D. L. (2020). Children’s developing work habits from middle childhood to early adolescence: Cascading effects for academic outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 56(12), 2281–2292. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001113