Robert L. Peralta, Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences

Name:

Robert L. Peralta

Title:

Assistant Professor

Department:

Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences

Describe your research in about 200 words.

I am a former professor of sociology at the University of Akron, and my research examines how social inequality shapes health outcomes for minoritized populations across diverse social contexts. My work spans alcohol and substance use, interpersonal violence, and the broader social determinants that drive health inequity, with particular attention to how gender, sexuality, and race intersect with these outcomes. In recent years, my research has centered on the health implications of policing within minority communities. Working alongside colleagues, I have investigated the relationship between law enforcement contact and adverse mental health outcomes among minoritized residents of a Midwestern city, including members of the African American LGBTQI+ community specifically. This work has documented associations between racialized policing and outcomes such as psychological trauma, hazardous alcohol use, and diminished wellbeing, and it has been presented at national meetings including the American Sociological Association, the American Society of Criminology, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse. My aim throughout this line of inquiry is not only to document these disparities empirically but to translate the findings into concrete policy recommendations for communities and the institutions that serve them.

What’s the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?

I once met with an art history student. They taught me how paintings can subtly convey aspects of inequality in deeply meaningful ways. I now see meaning in art in a deeper way than before!