Biography
Shardé McNeil Smith is an associate professor of Human Development and Family Studies and an affiliate faculty member of African American Studies. She earned her M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University-Calumet and Ph.D. in Family Relations from Florida State University. Her research centers on the intersections of racial discrimination, mental health, and family dynamics, with a particular focus on Black parent-child and romantic relationships.
Research Interests
- Social connectedness and resilience
- Effects of racial discrimination on families
- Mental health and wellness in African American communities
Education
- Ph.D. Family Relations, Florida State University
- M.S. Marriage and Family Therapy, Purdue University-Calumet
- B.A. Psychology, North Carolina State University
- B.A. Sociology, North Carolina State University
Additional Campus Affiliations
Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies
Associate Professor, African American Studies
Affiliate, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute
Affiliate, Social & Behavioral Sciences Institute
Recent Publications
Jones, S. C. T., McNeil Smith, S., Sutton, N., Winchester, L. B., & Shepard, B. (2025). Parent–teen dyadic experiences of racism: Implications for Black familial racial socialization. Journal of Marriage and Family, 87(3), 990-1008. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13060
McNeil Smith, S., & Gobin, R. L. (2024). The dyadic effects of racial discrimination: Using latent class analysis to explore patterns of racial discrimination among Black parent–adolescent dyads. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000678
Bigman, C. A., Planey, A. M., Williamson, L. D., Smith, M. A., & McNeil Smith, S. (2023). ‘There will be screen caps’: the role of digital documentation and platform collapse in propagation and visibility of racial discourses. Information Communication and Society, 26(9), 1812-1829. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2041698
Rivas-Koehl, M., Rivas-Koehl, D., & McNeil Smith, S. (2023). The temporal intersectional minority stress model: Reimagining minority stress theory. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 15(4), 706-726. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12529
Barton, A. W., Lavner, J. A., Sutton, N. C., Smith, S. M., & Beach, S. R. H. (2022). African Americans’ Relationship Quality and Depressive Symptoms: A longitudinal investigation of the Marital Discord Model. Journal of Family Psychology, 36(7), 1061–1072. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000967