Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Ariel Smith-Malonga, LGBT Dating Violence & Simulation Games
Collaborative Endeavors Podcast: Season 4, Episode 6
Episode Summary Heading link
Dr. Ariel Smith-Malonga is working to address dating violence and associated suicidality among LGBT youth. An assistant professor in the University of Illinois Chicago department of population health nursing science and CCTS Clinical and Translational Science Affiliate Scholar , she developed “Reducing Adverse Dating Outcomes and Suicidality” (RADOS), a social media simulation game that equips young adults with practical skills to recognize and address unhealthy relationships.
Drawing upon her experience as a psychiatric mental health nurse, Smith-Malonga’s intervention offers an engaging, culturally responsive platform to educate and empower young adults as they navigate the dating world. By leveraging the popularity and accessibility of social media, RADOS seeks to bridge the gap between knowledge and behavior change, providing LGBT identifying individuals a safe space develop the necessary skills for positive, healthy relationships.
“It’s translating the knowledge of what we know to be true based on facts, incorporating it into the actual lived experiences of these individuals, and then feeding that into a tool that can facilitate behavioral change and learning. A lot of times we think that by changing knowledge, immediately we will change behavior, and that’s not the case. People need the opportunity to develop skills,” said Smith-Malonga.
Supported by a diverse mentorship team, Smith-Malonga aims to create innovative interventions that merge technology with lived experience to improve mental health outcomes among marginalized populations.