Mellissa Gordon

Associate Professor

Mellissa Gordon is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her research examines how at-risk families and their communities impact adolescent and young adult developmental outcomes. In particular, she explores the mechanisms underlying these relationships and investigates the complex interactions between families, communities, and youth that inform youth and young adult outcomes. Her work is situated at the intersection of several theoretical frameworks, including Ecological Theory and Critical Race Theory.

By situating her work within Ecological Theory, Gordon examines development as a multifaceted process that occurs within a set of nested and interrelated settings. She integrates this ecological approach with Critical Race Theory, which recognizes that race is an ingrained and pervasive element of society intersecting with many other aspects of individuals’ daily lives. Additionally, she applies a Positive Youth Development lens to her research. Gordon’s ultimate goals in integrating these three approaches are to identify protective factors that can mitigate adverse circumstances in the lives of ethnoracial minority youth and to promote meaningful, sustainable, life-long success.

Her research primarily utilizes large-scale secondary data sets, and she employs various statistical techniques such as multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and growth curve modeling to address the questions that guide her work.