Kerstin Pahl, Ph.D.

Kerstin Pahl received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from NYU’s Steinhardt School for Culture, Education, and Human Development. Much of her research has focused on the longitudinal pathways to and the developmental patterns of health behaviors and well-being, including substance use and sexual behaviors, among adolescents and adults. Kerstin’s other interests include the development of ethnic and racial identities, the impact of discrimination on development and health, and resilience resources that promote well-being among youth and adults of color. One of her recently funded NIH grants explores the longitudinal associations of social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic disadvantage and racial discrimination with allostatic load among African American and Latino adults at the threshold of midlife. Kerstin is also a licensed psychoanalyst.