INQUIRY

New York University • College of Arts and Science
Relationship between Academic Performance and
Anxiety among Undocumented Community College
Students: Preliminary Results
Ahmed Alif, Applied Psychology
Bryan S. Nelson, Mathematics, Psychology
Sponsor: Professor Sumie Okazaki, Applied Psychology,
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human
Development
The present study compares levels of psychological
distress and academic performance among New York City
college students with various immigration statuses. For
each of the 94 participants (39.5% at-risk of deportation),
several factors were measured: participants’ grades, depression
(CESD), anxiety (GAD-7), self-esteem (Rosenberg),
alienation (Jessor and Jessor), study habits (SHI), somatization
(PHQ) and fear of family deportation. Those with
at-risk of deportation status (undocumented or refugee/
asylee application rejected) had statistically significantly
higher anxiety, depression, alienation and fear of family
deportation than both stable status participants and temporary
status participants. Further, there were no statistically
significant differences in typical grades across immigration
statuses. From the results it can be inferred that at-risk
of deportation participants exhibit higher psychological
distress, yet also demonstrate the same level of scholastic
achievement as both stable status and temporary status participants,
which may highlight this population’s resiliency.
Using Survey Methods to Analyze Behaviors and
Thoughts of Undocumented Immigrants and Their
Financial Activities: A Preliminary Report
Ahmed Alif, Applied Psychology
Bryan S. Nelson, Mathematics, Psychology
Sponsor: Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Applied Psychology,
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human
Development
The majority of the 11 million undocumented immigrants
in the U.S. pay taxes from which they do not benefit.
By examining the psychological factors that influence
their participation in the economy, the present study seeks
to better understand how undocumented immigrants are
viewed within the context of the American economy and
how they participate in it. The semi-structured interview
measures levels of psychological distress and immigration
related stressors, such as depression, anxiety, somatization,
self-esteem, quality of life and alienation. Economic questions
were adapted from the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA). Open-ended questions measuring
how undocumented immigrants utilize public health
services and schools were also included. This study will
accurately determine how immigration status relates to
the psychological well-being of immigrants and how this
in turn relates to their tax participatory behavior. The cost
of education and healthcare by undocumented immigrants
and how it compares to the state and federal level budget
estimates will also be explored, providing valuable insight
into the true financial impact of this population.
Evaluating the Effects of Wealth on Corruption in
Brazilian Municipalities: An IV Design
Matheus Amaral, Economics, Politics
Sponsor: Professor Anna Harvey, Politics
Does increasing wealth also increase opportunities
for corruption in developing countries? The goal of this
research project is to answer this question. This study
hypothesizes that increased levels of wealth will lead to
increased opportunities for government officials to extract
rents, thereby increasing corruption. It further predicts this
effect will outweigh the possible effect wealth may have
on strengthening democratic institutions, and thereby on
reducing corruption. Existing studies of the effect of wealth
on corruption have returned mixed results. Some studies
have found negative associations between measures of
wealth and measures of corruption, but others have found
positive associations. However, these studies have mostly
failed to address the problem of causal inference. While
wealth may have an effect on corruption, the inverse may
also be true. This project address this issue of identification
using wealth shocks induced by coffee prices as an
instrument to predict the effect of wealth on corruption
in Brazilian municipalities. The study finds that once the
causal inference problem is addressed, an effect of wealth
on corruption can no longer be observed. These results
matter because it implies that increases in wealth do not
necessarily cause decreases in corruption once the negative
effect of corruption on wealth is subtracted.
Molecular Analyses of East African Galagos (Order
Primates)
Julia Apoznanski, Anthropology
Sponsor: Professor Todd Disotell, Anthropology
Galagos, or bushbabies, are a group of small nocturnal
African primates. The various species of galagos have a
great deal of overlapping morphology, so their taxonomic
classification has largely been based on acoustic data (vocal
calls) because morphology is often an ambiguous indicator.
While both types of data have been useful for identifying
members of different species and for estimating phylogenetic
relationships, genetic analysis can also be used to
help understand species’ boundaries and phylogeny. There
is little genetic data for galagos compared to other primate
groups, so additional coverage of the genome through
this project contributes valuable evidence for a better
understanding of galago evolution. After amplification via
36