Deonté Hughes is a PhD candidate in the sociology department with a focus on race, family, and health. His primary research centers on Black families, what stressors they experience, how they respond to those stressors, what resources they use or do not use, and how policies and laws affect how Black families experience and respond to those stressors. Through three quantitative essays, Deonté’s dissertation, titled “Familial Bonds, Black Families, and Well-Being: Three Essays on the Utilization of Familial Bonds in Black Families Across Social Contexts, examines how the effectiveness of kinship bonds as a source of strength on the health and well-being of Black families is influenced by social contexts created by structural racism over time. Through his dissertation, Deonté hopes to simultaneously highlight how effective notable strengths of Black families are in promoting the health and well-being of their members, while also acknowledging how structural racism can influence and potentially hinder the effectiveness of those strengths. Altogether, Deonté hopes to encourage sociologists and family science scholars to depart from a deficit-centered approach to understanding structural racism and Black families and embrace a more holistic approach that acknowledges family strengths and the influence of structural inequality.

Deonté’s research has been published in the Journal of Family Issues and The Handbook of Social Psychology. Prior to UMD, Deonté received his Bachelor’s of Art in Sociology with a concentration in family studies from Longwood University and completed the Provisional Family Life Educator (CFLE) track. Deonté received his Master’s of Art in Sociology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. While attending UTK, Deonté’s research focused on how economic stress and family strengths influence the quality of mother-child relationships in Black families.