Stephen Kulis

Principal Investigator, Specialized Center of Excellence, Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC)

Professor, The Sanford School

Summer/Winter Research Faculty, Global Center for Applied Health Research (GCAHR)

Professor, Sociologists at ASU

University Center (ASU Downtown) 722E Phoenix, AZ 85004-0693
Mail code: 3701

Campus: Tempe
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Long Bio

Stephen Kulis is Cowden Distinguished Professor of Sociology in the ASU School of Social and Family Dynamics. His research focuses on the role of ethnicity, acculturation, and gender identity in youth drug use and in health disparities, on family, school and neighborhood social contexts that contribute to risk behaviors and resiliency against them, on the cultural adaptation of prevention programs for ethnic minority and international youth populations, on gender and racial inequities in professional careers, and on the organizational sources of discrimination.

As the director of research for the Global Center for Applied Health Research (GCAHR) and co-Principal Investigator for ASU's Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC), he works with a team of ASU faculty researchers and graduate students from Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Human Development, Justice Studies, Communications, Education, Health Solutions and Nursing who engage in research on substance use, mental health and health disparities, addressing the distinctive cultures of the Southwest borderlands region, and applications of cultural adaptation methods to develop and test prevention programs in other countries.

His research projects encompass studies of youth drug use in U.S. elementary and middle schools, urban American Indian communities in Arizona and other regions, as well as youth in Mexico, Guatemala, Uruguay, Spain, China and Kenya. He is part of a team of researchers who design, implement, and evaluate culturally grounded substance use prevention programs for youth, based on keepin' it REAL (Refuse, Explain, Avoid, Leave), a model program for preventing drug use. Wearing another hat, he has conducted national studies of faculty in U.S. colleges and universities to sort out individual, departmental, disciplinary, organizational, and geographic influences on gender and racial equity in faculty recruitment, academic rank and salary.

Education

Ph.D. , Columbia University

Curriculum Vitae

Research Website URL

https://globalappliedhealth.asu.edu/

Google Scholar URL

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=xnxwkU0AAAAJ&view_op=list_works…

Research Interests

Research focus is on the role of ethnicity, acculturation, and gender identity in youth drug use and in health disparities, on the school and neighborhood social contexts that contribute to risk behaviors and resiliency against them, on gender and racial inequities in professional careers, and the organizational sources of discrimination.

Core scholarly themes: Health and Society, Race, Ethnicity, Migration

Publications

Last 10 years

† indicates a graduate student co-author

Libisch, Carlos A., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Stephen S. Kulis, Olalla Cutrín, José Antonio Gómez-Fraguela, and Paul Ruiz. Forthcoming. "The Role of Peer Pressure in Adolescents’ Risky Behaviors." In Cognitive Sciences and Education in non-WEIRD populations, edited by Marcus Vinicius Alves, Roberta Ekuni, Julia Hermida, and Juan Valle-Lisboa (eds.), Cognitive Sciences and Education in Non-WEIRD Populations. Springer.

Nuño-Gutiérrez, Bertha L., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Stephen S. Kulis, and Olalla Cutrín. Forthcoming. “Roles de Género tradicionales en la Familia y Su Implicación en la Prevención de Sustancias en Adolescentes. In Salud, Violencia, Drogas y Narcotráfico. Observación desde el Occidente de México, edited by J. L. Seefoó-Luján and Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez. El Colegio de Michoacán-Universidad de Guadalajara.

Cutrín, Olalla, Lorena Maneiro, Yasmine Chowdhury, Stephen S. Kulis, Flavio F. Marsiglia, and José A. Gómez-Fraguela. Forthcoming. “Longitudinal Associations between Parental Support and Parental Knowledge on Antisocial Behavior and Emotional Problems in Spanish Adolescents: A Mediation Model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Nagoshi, Julie L., Stephen S. Kulis, Flavio F. Marsiglia and Brandy Piña-Watson. Forthcoming. “Accounting for Linguistic Acculturation, Coping, Anti-sociality, and Depressive Affect in the Gender Role-Alcohol Use Relationship in Mexican American Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model for Boys and Girls.” 2020. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/15332640.2020.1781732 [PubMed: PMC7762740]

Ayers, Stephanie L., Justin Jager, and Stephen S. Kulis. 2021. “Variations in Risk and Promotive Factors on Urban American Indian Youth Substance Use.” Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse 20(2): 187-210. doi:10.1080/15332640.2019.1598907.

Cutrín, Olalla, Stephen S. Kulis, Stephanie L. Ayers, Justin Jager, and Flavio F. Marsiglia. 2021. “Perception of Parental Knowledge by Parents and Adolescents: Unique Effects on Recent Substance Use in a Latinx Sample.” Journal of Latinx Psychology 9(3): 189-203. doi:10.1037/lat0000155

Cutrín, Olalla, Stephen S. Kulis, †Lorena Maneiro, Isotta MacFadden, †Maria P. Navas, David Alarcón, José Gómez-Fraguela, Cristina Villalba, and Flavio F. Marsiglia. 2021. “Effectiveness of the Mantente REAL Program for Preventing Alcohol Use in Spanish Adolescents.” Psychosocial Intervention 30(3): 113-222. doi:10.5093/pi2020a19

Kulis, Stephen S., M. Hilda Garcia-Pérez, Flavio F. Marsiglia, and Stephanie L. Ayers. 2021. “Testing a Culturally Adapted Youth Substance Use Prevention Program in a Mexican Border City: Mantente REAL.” Substance Use and Misuse 56(2): 245-257. doi:10.1080/10826084.2020.1858103

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Maria E. Medina-Mora, Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez, Maria D. Corona, and Stephanie L. Ayers. 2021. “Keepin’ it REAL – Mantente REAL in Mexico: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Culturally Adapted Substance Use Prevention Curriculum for Early Adolescents.” Prevention Science 22(5): 645-657. doi:10.1007/s11121-021-01217-8

Marsiglia, Flavio F., Stephen S. Kulis, and Stephanie Lechuga-Peña. 2021. Diversity, Oppression, and Change: Culturally Grounded Social Work (3rd edition). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Cutrín, Olalla, Isotta Mac Fadden, Stephanie L. Ayers, Stephen S. Kulis, Jose A. Gómez-Fraguela, and Flavio F. Marsiglia. 2020. “Applicability of the Theory of Planned Behavior for Predicting Alcohol Use in Spanish Early Adolescents.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17(22): 8539. doi:10.3390/ijerph17228539 [PubMed: PMC7698639]

Kulis, Stephen S., Monica Tsethlikai, Mary L. Harthun, Patricia K. Hibbeler, and Stephanie L. Ayers. 2020. “Parenting in 2 Worlds: Effects of a Culturally Grounded Parenting Intervention for Urban American Indians on Participant Cultural Engagement.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 26(4): 437–446. doi:10.1037/cdp0000315 [PubMed: PMC7326650]

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez, Maria D. Corona-Lozano, Miguel A. Mendoza-Meléndez, †Elizabeth Kiehne, Justin Jager, Stephanie L. Ayers, and SeungYong Han. 2019. "Reciprocal Effects of Alcohol Use and Violence Perpetration among Early Adolescents in Mexico: A Gendered Analysis." Journal of Youth and Adolescence 48(8): 1519–1531. doi: 10.1007/s10964-019-01014-1 [PubMed: PMC6640098]

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Maria Porta, †Marvyn R. Arévalo Avalos, and Stephanie L. Ayers. 2019. “Testing the keepin’ it REAL Substance Use Prevention Curriculum among Early Adolescents in Guatemala City. Prevention Science 20(4): 532-543. doi:10.1007/s11121-018-0956-8 [PubMed: PMC6520179]

Marsiglia, Flavio F., David Alarcón-Rubio, †Elizabeth Kiehne, Stephanie L. Ayers, and Stephen S. Kulis. 2019. “School Connectedness, Educational Aspirations, Academic Performance, and Alcohol Use in Uruguay.” Health Behavior and Policy Review 6(3): 276-285. doi:10.14485/HBPR.6.3.7

Marsiglia, Flavio F., Maria Elena Medina-Mora, Anaid Gonzalvez, Grace Alderson, Mary L. Harthun, Stephanie L. Ayers, Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez, Maria Dolores Corona, Miguel A. Mendoza-Meléndez, and Stephen S. Kulis. 2019. “A Binational Cultural Adaptation of the keepin’ it REAL Substance Use Prevention Program for Adolescents in Mexico.” Prevention Science 20(7), 1125-1135. doi:10.1007/s11121-019-01034-0 [PubMed:: PMC6721982]

Okamoto, Scott K., Stephen S. Kulis, Susana Helm, Steven Keone Chin, Janice Hata, Emily Hata, and Awapuhi Lee. 2019. “An Efficacy Trial of the Ho'ouna Pono Drug Prevention Curriculum: An Evaluation of a Culturally Grounded Substance Abuse Prevention Program in Rural Hawai‘i.” Asian American Journal of Psychology 10(3), 239-248. doi:10.1037/aap0000164 [PubMed: PMC7213509]

Kulis, Stephen S., Jaime M. Booth, and David Becerra. 2018. “Estrategias de Resistencia al Consumo de Drogas en Adolescentes Mexicanos: El Rol del Género.” Pages 37-54 in Género, Adolescencia y Drogas: Prevenir el Riesgo desde la Familia, edited by Carmen Orte Socias and Rosario Pozo Gordaliza. Barcelona: Octaedro.

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez, Maria D. Lozano, and Maria E. Medina-Mora. 2018. “Traditional Gender Roles and Substance Use Behaviors, Attitudes, Exposure and Resistance among Early Adolescents in Large Cities of Mexico.” Journal of Substance Use 23(5): 471-480. doi:10.1080/14659891.2017.1405088 [PubMed: PMC6350823]

Marsiglia, Flavio F., Stephen S. Kulis, †Elizabeth Kiehne, Stephanie L. Ayers, †Carlos A. Libisch, and Lucia Barros. 2018. “Adolescent Substance Use Prevention and Legalization of Marijuana in Uruguay: A Feasibility Trial of the keepin’ it REAL Prevention Program.” Journal of Substance Use 23(5): 457-465. doi: 10.1080/14659891.2017.135830

Ayers, Stephanie L., Stephen S. Kulis, and Monica Tsethlikai. 2017. “Assessing Parenting and Family Functioning Measures for Urban American Indians.” Journal of Community Psychology 45(2): 230-249. doi:10.1002/jcop.21844 [PubMed: PMC5687281]

Kulis, Stephen S., Stephanie L. Ayers, and Mary L. Harthun. 2016. “Substance Use Prevention for Urban American Indian Youth: An Efficacy Trial of the Culturally Adapted Living in 2 Worlds Program.” Journal of Primary Prevention 38(1), 137–158. doi:10.1007/s10935-016-0461-4 [PubMed: PMC5313372]

Kulis, Stephen S., Stephanie L. Ayers, Mary L. Harthun, and Justin Jager. 2016. “Parenting in 2 Worlds: Effects of a Culturally Adapted Intervention for Urban American Indians on Parenting Skills and Family Functioning.” Prevention Science 17(6):721-731. doi:10.1007/s11121-016-0657-0 [PubMed: PMC4939122]

Kulis, Stephen S., Jaime M. Booth, and David Becerra. 2016. “Drug Resistance Strategies of Early Adolescents in Mexico: Gender Differences in the Influence of Drug Offers and Relationship to the Offeror.” Substance Use and Misuse 51(3): 370-382. doi:10.3109/10826084.2015.1110171. [PubMed: PMC4856063

Kulis, Stephen S., Justin Jager, Stephanie L. Ayers, †Hussain Lateef, and †Elizabeth Kiehne. 2016. “Substance Use Profiles of Urban American Indian Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis.” Substance Use and Misuse 51(9): 1159-1173. doi:10.3109/10826084.2016.1160125. [PubMed: PMC4964876]

Kulis, Stephen S., Daniele E. Robbins, †Tahnee M. Baker, †Serena Denetsosie, and †Nicholet A. Parkhurst Deschine. 2016. “A Latent Class Analysis of Urban American Indian Youth Identities.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 22(2): 215-228. doi:10.1037/cdp0000024 [PubMed: PMC4615273]

Kulis, Stephen S., and Monica Tsethlikai. 2016. “Urban American Indian Youth Spirituality and Religion: A Latent Class Analysis.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 55(4), 677-697. doi:10.1111/jssr.12298

kamoto, Scott K., Stephen S. Kulis, Susana Helm, Michela Lauricella, and Jessica K. Valdez. 2016. “An Evaluation of the Ho‘ouna Pono Curriculum: A Pilot Study of Culturally Grounded Substance Abuse Prevention for Rural Native Hawaiian Youth.” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 27(2): 815-833. doi:10.1353/hpu.2016.0061 [PubMed: PMC4984839]

Kulis, Stephen S., Stephanie L. Ayers, and †Tahnee M. Baker. 2015. “Parenting in 2 Worlds: Pilot Results from a Culturally Adapted Parenting Program for Urban American Indians.” The Journal of Primary Prevention 36(1): 65-70. doi:10.1007/s10935-014-0376-x [PubMed: PMC4289082]

Marsiglia, Flavio F., Stephen S. Kulis, †Jaime M. Booth, Bertha L. Nuño-Gutierrez, and Danielle E. Robbins. 2015. “Long-term Effects of the keepin’ it REAL Model Program in Mexico: Substance Use Trajectories of Guadalajara Middle School Students.” The Journal of Primary Prevention 36(2): 93-104. doi:10.1007/s10935-014-0380-1 [PubMed: PMC4503325]

†Martinez, Marcos J., Stephanie L. Ayers, Stephen S. Kulis, and Eddie F. Brown. 2015. “The Relationship between Peer, Parent and Grandparent Norms and Intentions to Use Substances for Urban American Indian youth.” Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse 24(4): 220-227. doi:10.1080/1067828X.2013.812529 [PubMed: PMC4507275]

Nieri, Tanya A., †Jake Apkarian, Stephen S. Kulis, and Flavio F. Marsiglia. 2015. “Effects of a Youth Substance Use Prevention Program on Stealing, Fighting, and Weapon Use.” Journal of Primary Prevention 36(1): 41-49. doi:10.1007/s10935-014-0373-0. [PubMed: PMC4289019]

Sangalang, Cindy C., Angela C. C. Chen, Stephen S. Kulis, and Scott T. Yabiku. 2015. “Development and Validation of a Racial Discrimination Measure for Cambodian American Adolescents.” Asian American Journal of Psychology 6(1): 56-65. doi:10.1037/a0036706 [PubMed: PMC4570621]

Marsiglia, Flavio F., †Jamie Booth, Stephanie L. Ayers, Bertha L. Nuño-Gutierrez, Stephen S. Kulis, and †Steven Hoffman. 2014. “Short-term Effects on Substance Use of the keepin' it REAL Pilot Prevention Program: Linguistically Adapted for Youth in Jalisco, Mexico. Prevention Science 15(5): 694-704. doi:10.1007/s11121-013-0421-7 [PubMed: PMC3864112]

Okamoto, Scott K., Stephen S. Kulis, Susana Helm, Christopher Edwards, and †Danielle Giroux. 2014. “The Social Contexts of Drug Offers and Their Relationship to Drug Use of Rural Hawaiian Youth.” The Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Use 23(4): 242-252. doi:10.1080/1067828X.2013.786937 [PubMed: PMC4029507]

Okamoto, Scott K., Stephen S. Kulis, Flavio F. Marsiglia, Lori Holleran Steiker, and Patricia Dustman. 2014. “A Continuum of Approaches Toward Developing Culturally Focused Prevention Interventions: From Adaptation to Grounding.” Journal of Primary Prevention 35(2): 103-112. doi:10.1007/s10935-10013-10334-z. [PubMed: PMC3943988]

Reeves, Leslie R., Patricia A. Dustman, Mary L. Harthun, Stephen S. Kulis, and Eddie F. Brown. 2014. “American Indians’ Cultures: How CBPR Illuminated Inter-Tribal Cultural Elements Fundamental to an Adaptation Effort.” Prevention Science 15(4): 547-556. doi:10.1007/s11121-012-0361-7 [PubMed: PMC3726553]

Ayers, Stephanie L., Stephen S. Kulis, and Flavio F. Marsiglia. 2013. “The Impact of Ethnoracial Appearance on Substance Use in Mexican Heritage Adolescents.” Hispanic Journal of the Behavioral Sciences 35: 227-240. doi:10.1177/0739986312467940 [PubMed: PMC3881429]

Kulis, Stephen S., Patricia A. Dustman, Eddie F. Brown, and †Marcos J. Martinez. 2013. “Expanding Urban American Indian Youths’ Repertoire of Drug Resistance Skills: Pilot Results from a Culturally Adapted Prevention Program.” American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research 20(1): 35-54. doi:10.5820/aian.2001.2013.35 [PubMed: PMC3670795]

Kulis, Stephen S., †M. Alex Wagaman, †Crescentia Tso, and Eddie F. Brown. 2013. “Exploring Indigenous Identities of Urban American Indian Youth of the Southwest.” Journal of Adolescent Research 28(3): 271 –298. doi: 10.1177/0743558413477195 [PubMed: PMC3677791]

Kulis, Stephen S., David R. Hodge, Stephanie L. Ayers, Eddie F. Brown, and Flavio F. Marsiglia. 2012. “Spirituality and Religion: Intertwined Protective Factors for Substance Use among Urban American Indian Youth.” American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 38(5): 444–449. doi:10.3109/00952990.2012.670338 [PubMed: PMC3431460].

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia, Stephanie L. Ayers, †Jaime M. Booth, and Bertha L. Nuño-Gutiérrez. 2012. “Drug Resistance and Substance Use among Male and Female Adolescents in Alternative Secondary Schools in Guanajuato, Mexico.” Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs 73(1): 111-119. doi:10.15288/jsad.2012.73.111 [PubMed: PMC3237702].

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia, †Albert M. Kopak, Maureen E. Olmsted, and †Ashley Crossman. 2012. “Ethnic Identity and Substance Use among Mexican-heritage Preadolescents: Moderator Effects of Gender and Time in the US.” Journal of Early Adolescence 32(2): 165-199. doi:10.1177/0272431610384484 [PubMed: PMC3392121]

Kulis, Stephen S., Flavio F. Marsiglia and †Julieann L. Nagoshi. 2012. “Gender Roles and Substance Use among Mexican American Adolescents: A Relationship Moderated by Acculturation?” Substance Use and Misuse 47(3): 214-229 doi:10.3109/10826084.2011.630438 [PubMed: PMC3402241].

Nieri, Tanya A., †Steven Hoffman, Flavio F. Marsiglia, and Stephen S. Kulis. 2012. “Interpersonal Violence and Its Association with U.S. Migration Desires and Plans among Youths in Guanajuato, Mexico.” Journal of International Migration and Integration 13: 365–381. doi:10.1007/s12134-011-0216-2 [PubMed: PMC3939042]

Okamoto, Scott K., Susana Helm, Stephen S. Kulis, Justin Delp and Ay-Laina Dinson. 2012. “Drug Resistance Strategies of Rural Hawaiian Youth as a Function of Drug Offerers and Types of Substances: A Community Stakeholder Analysis.” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 23(3): 1239-1252. doi:10.1353/hpu.2012.0102 [PubMed: PMC3831367]

Research Activity

“Eliminating COVID-19 disparities in partnership with underserved/vulnerable transnational communities of Arizona,” 09-01-2021 to 06-30-2023. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (RADx-UP II Supplement to 2U54MD002316, F. Marsiglia, P.I.), $1,985,102. Role: Co-Investigator.
“Leveraging Bio-Cultural Mechanisms to Maximize the Impact of Multi-Level Preventable Disease Interventions with Southwest Populations,” 09/22/2017-04/30/2022. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (2U54MD002316, F. Marsiglia, P.I.). Role: Principal Investigator for the Investigator Development Core of the center.
“keepin’ it REAL in Mexico: An Adaptation and Multisite RCT,” 09/15/2015 – 07/31/2020. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA038657, F. Marsiglia, P.I.). Role: Co-Investigator.
“Health Disparities Research at SIRC: Cultural Processes in Risk and Resiliency,” 06/01/2012 – 01/31/2017. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (2P20MD002316, F. Marsiglia, P.I.). Roles: Principal Investigator for the center grant’s “Research Core” and Principal Investigator for the center grant main study, “Urban American Indian Youth Substance Use: Ecodevelopmental Influences.”
“Using CBPR to Adapt a Culturally-grounded Prevention Curriculum for Urban American Indian Parents,” 09/30/2010 – 07/31/2017. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 MD006110). Role: Principal Investigator.
“Health Disparities Research at SIRC: Cultural Processes in Risk and Resiliency,” 09/30/2007 – 05/31/2012. National Institutes of Health/National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (1P20MD002316, F. Marsiglia, P.I.). Roles: Principal Investigator for the center grant’s “Research Core” (1P20MD002316-019001) and Co-investigator for the center grant main study, “Culturally-Specific Substance Abuse Prevention for Urban American Indian Youth” (1P20MD002316-010004, E. F. Brown, P.I.)
“Drug Resistance Strategies - DRS-4,” 2003-2008. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA05629, M. Hecht, P.I.). In partnership with the Pennsylvania State University. Role: Co-Principal Investigator for ASU subcontract.
“Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Consortium,” 2002-2007. National Institutes of Health /National Institute on Drug Abuse (R24 DA13937, F. Marsiglia, P.I.). Role: Co-Principal Investigator.
“The Next Generation of Drug Abuse Prevention Research,” 2001-2003. National Institutes of Health /National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA14825, F. Marsiglia, P.I.). Role: Co-Principal Investigator.
“Black Scientists and Engineers on Post-Secondary Faculties: Organizational Barriers to Recruitment and Equity in Academic Rewards,” 1993-1996. The Spencer Foundation. Role: Principal Investigator.
“Gender Equity among Academic Scientists and Engineers: An Organizational Analysis,” 1990-1992. National Science Foundation (SES 8922477). Role: Principal Investigator.
American Sociological Association, 1985-1988: four grants for longitudinal studies of the status of women and minorities in sociology. Role: Co- Principal Investigator.

Courses

2024 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
SOC 791	Seminar
SOC 792	Research
SOC 799	Dissertation

2023 Fall

Course Number	Course Title
SOC 799	Dissertation

2023 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
SOC 791	Seminar
SOC 790	Reading and Conference
SOC 792	Research

2022 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
SOC 791	Seminar

2020 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
SOC 493	Honors Thesis

Expertise Areas

Prevention and Intervention Science