Rita Ewaz

Rita Ewaz’s research examines maternal health and family wellbeing among refugee, newcomer, and immigrant communities. She studies the perinatal period, maternal-child attachment, and how migration experiences, cultural values, and social context shape maternal and child psychosocial outcomes.

Rita uses quantitative and mixed-methods approaches, combining statistical analysis with qualitative inquiry to understand both patterns across populations and the lived experiences of families. Her work is grounded in social-ecological and multidimensional models of resilience and aims to inform trauma-informed, culturally sensitive programs across health, community, and school settings. She is fluent in Farsi, which supports her community-engaged work.

She holds a master’s degree from Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego.

Curriculum Vitae

(In-review) Ewaz, R. M., and Phuong, A.E., (2025). Resilience and Socioeconomic Status in Higher Education. Contemporary Educational Psychology.

(R&R)Ewaz, R. M., Phuong, A.E.,(2025). Transforming Student Learning in Statistics: Examining the Positive Impact of Adaptive Equity-Oriented Pedagogy (AEP) Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal

Bintliff, A. V., Levine, R. S., Peninah, B., Namanda, Z., Ewaz, R. M., Cheung, W. W., ... Love, J.(2024).Trauma-Informed SEL with Refugee Youth in Uganda via an International Research-Practice Partnership: Lessons Learned from The Wellbeing Club. Journal of Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, 100041.

Ewaz, Rita M. "A Thematic Analysis of the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Student Academic Resilience in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic." Order No. 30489416 Tufts University, 2023. United States, Massachusetts: ProQuest. Web. 7 Sep. 2023.

(In-preparation) Ewaz, R; Levine, R. “How Childhood Socio-Economic Status Impacts
Academic Trajectories: College Students’ Perspectives.” University of California, San
Diego, 2023. United States --

Undergraduate Research Assistant- Adolescent Well-Being Lab
PI: Dr. Amy Bintliff, Ph.D.

McNair Scholar
PI: Dr. Amy Bintliff, Ph.D. and Rebecca Levine, LICSW