Bio

Dr. Hosseini has over a decade of experience in the field of refugee youth mental health. She completed a Master of Education at Harvard University where she collaborated with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to explore psychosocial support services for refugees in Iran. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, and her training as a Child Welfare Scholar included the delivery of trauma-informed mental health services to children and youth in crisis. Dr. Hosseini completed her clinical fellowship at the Boston Children's Hospital where she worked as a psychotherapist in the Division of Adolescent Medicine.

Dr. Hosseini holds a PhD in Developmental and Psychological Sciences from Stanford University. She has collaborated with multiple refugee serving organizations in Iran, Lebanon, Greece, and Mexico, to design, implement, and evaluate culturally responsive mental health services for refugee youth. Her dissertation entailed a community based participatory research (CBPR) project to collaborate with Save the Children and refugee communities to build a psychosocial support intervention for refugee youth in Mexico who were displaced by armed conflict in Central America.

In the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Hosseini led the Global Refugee Mental Health branch of the Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab. In this capacity, she collaborated with US-based refugee serving organizations to explore the impact of faith and cultural beliefs on refugee youth mental health outcomes.

Dr. Hosseini is the recipient of multiple grants and awards, including the National Academy of Education Dissertation Fellowship and the Center for Innovation in Global Health Seed Grant. Dr. Hosseini is a licensed mental health clinician in California.

Currently, Dr. Hosseini is a National Institute of Mental Health T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Stanford Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her research explores the scalability of culturally and contextually responsive mental health interventions for refugee youth who are at different stages of their forced migration.

Honors & Awards

  • Stanford Global Health Seed Grant, Center for Innovation in Global Health (06/2023)
  • Spectrum Community Engagement Pilot Award, Stanford University School of Medicine (06/2022)
  • Dissertation Fellowship, National Academy of Education / Spencer Foundation (06/2022)
  • Graduate Summer Fellowship for Community Engaged Research, Haas Center for Public Service (06/2020)
  • Graduate Public Service Fellowship, Haas Centerfor Public Service (09/2019)
  • Hub Foundation Scholarship, Hub Foundation (10/2019)
  • AERA Division E Seed Grant, American Educational Research Association (6/2021)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    zainabh@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Psychology Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 3096

Research Interests

  • Adolescence
  • Immigrants and Immigration
  • Psychology
  • Research Methods
  • Social and Emotional Learning

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Culturally - contextually responsive psychosocial support services for refugees

Lab Affiliations

All Publications

  • Home, School, and Community-based Services for Forcibly Displaced Youth and Their Families. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America Hosseini, Z., Motamedi, M. 2024; 33 (4): 677-692

    Abstract

    Forced displacement can expose youth to unimaginable levels of traumatic life events. We discuss how home-based, school-based, and community-based services can be strategically situated to address the psychological sequelae of such events. Given the systemic challenges that refugee youth face when establishing trust in their new environments, are often from collectivist cultural backgrounds, espouse stigma towards professional help seeking, and must prioritize accessing services for their basic needs, these types of settings can be particularly relevant. In the administration of such services, we advocate for an intentional approach to addressing basic needs as well as using cultural brokers, validated measures, and family- and school-based interventions.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chc.2024.03.015

    View details for PubMedID 39277319

  • Ethnic Racial Identity Development and Self-Esteem among Native American Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Peer Belonging. American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online) Hosseini, Z., LaFromboise, T. 2024; 31 (1): 1-30

    Abstract

    While ethnic racial identity (ERI) development is associated with a variety of psychological well-being outcomes, the mechanisms through which this association operates is yet to be fully explained. During adolescence, social belonging is a developmentally salient process that can play a key role in how ERI impacts well-being. We sought to explore the mediating role of belonging to peer networks in the association between ERI and self-esteem among Native American adolescents. In this cross-sectional, mediational study, we used survey data from 317 Native American students attending a reservation high school (46.9% female; M age =16). Students' levels of ERI development were measured by combining items from two scales pertaining to ethnic identity development and racial identity. We employed a structural equation modeling approach to explore the mediating role of peer belonging in the association between ERI and self-esteem. Results suggest that our 4-item index of peer belonging was an acceptable measure of this construct. Further, the significant indirect effect of peer belonging explains a notable portion (β=.22, p ≤ .05) of the total effects of ERI on self- esteem (β=.54, p ≤ .05). This finding suggests that higher levels of ERI achievement contribute to higher levels of peer belongingness, which in turn lead to improved self-esteem among students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

    View details for DOI 10.5820/aian.3101.2024.1

    View details for PubMedID 38771792

  • Effects of bicultural competence and racial identity on intrinsic motivation: The mediating role of belonging to Native American tribal colleges CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY LaFromboise, T., Rosales, O., Hosseini, Z. 2023; 74

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102203

    View details for Web of Science ID 001024009100001

  • Islam and Suicide: An Interdisciplinary Scoping Review SPIRITUALITY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE Awaad, R., Quadri, Y., Suleiman, K., Husain, A., Hosseini, Z., Rehman, O., Elzamzamy, K., Abdelrehim, A., Rushdi, R., Hill, T., Koenig, H. 2023; 10 (1): 32-51

    View details for DOI 10.1037/scp0000311

    View details for Web of Science ID 000970289700004

  • Predictors of depression among Syrian refugee women: A socio-culturally relevant analysis. The International journal of social psychiatry Hosseini, Z., Bakdash, T., Ahmad, S., Awaad, R. 2023: 207640231155810

    Abstract

    Syrian refugee women have faced myriad adversities as they have navigated the realities of war, increasing the risk for mental health concerns such as depressive symptomatology. This study explores the nuances of relevant sociocultural factors that can contribute to depressive symptomatology among widowed Syrian refugee women who live in an institutionalized care setting. We explored the impact of past trauma exposure, perceived independence, and a desire to leave the current place of displacement and the interplay between them.The PCRF Traumatic Events Questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were administered to 57 Syrian refugee women in Lebanon (Mage = 37; M number of children = 3) to measure levels of trauma exposure and depressive symptoms, respectively. Perceived independence and a desire to leave their current place of residence were measured using 1-item measures.Using hierarchical regression models, past trauma exposure (B = 1.51, p = .002) and perceived independence (B = 0.33, p = .04) significantly predicted depressive symptoms. A desire to travel (B = 0.84, p = .07) marginally predicted depressive symptoms. Past trauma exposure attenuated the impact of perceived independence on depressive symptoms such that at lower levels of past trauma exposure, higher perceptions of independence predicted higher depression (simple slope = 0.29, t = 2.13, p = .05), while at higher levels of past trauma higher perceptions of independence predicted lower depressive symptoms (simple slope = -0.16, t = -2.21, p = .04). Trauma exposure did not moderate the impact of a desire to leave on depression, but age did.These findings suggest that sociocultural factors may influence women's experiences with depressive symptoms differently, and this heterogeneity must be accounted for when treatment programs are proposed. Further, Syrian refugee women who have lost primary family members may pose different profiles of depressive symptoms than other groups of women.

    View details for DOI 10.1177/00207640231155810

    View details for PubMedID 36825623

  • A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Interventions for Afghan Refugee Mental Health: A Cultural Adaptation Analysis Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology Hosseini, Z., Syed, H., Raza, Z., Mansouri, M., Magan, I., Awaad, R. 2023

    View details for DOI 10.1177/00220221231213884

  • Ethnic Identity and self-esteem development among young adult refugee Teachers in Greece: A Collaborative Teaching Model Teachers in crisis contexts: Promising practices in teacher well-being, management, and school leadership Hosseini, Z., Serra, M. Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies. 2022: 9-12