Dr Maryam Rafieifar
Assistant Professor of Social Work at University of Texas at Arlington, United States
Email: maryam.rafieifar@uta.edu
Profile
Dr. Rafieifar’s research focuses on disenfranchised immigrant families and children through community-based participatory methods. She studies the impact of immigration enforcement policies at federal and state levels on the health and well-being of mixed-status immigrant families and their children. In her recent project, she is exploring the impact of immigration-related stress on parenting practices and child maltreatment risk. Her translational objective is to mitigate the effects of immigration enforcement on trauma among children born to immigrant families by examining community-based initiatives.
Research
Publications
Rafieifar, M., Gallegos, T.A. †, & Praetorius, R.T. (2025) Understanding family dynamics in mixed-status families: A qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis, Child and Family Social Work. http://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.70006
Rafieifar, M., Beualaurier, R., & Huang, H. (2025). Family separation planning among undocumented Latina immigrant parents with US citizen children, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894251326960
Rafieifar, M., Potocky, M., Huang, H., Beaulaurier, R. L., & Bruan Lorenzini, S. (2023). Experiences of undocumented parents reuniting with children who entered the United States as unaccompanied minors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054496
Seddighi, H., Naseh, M., Rafieifar, M. & Donais, P. (2022). Education of Afghan refugees in Iran: A structured review of policies. Children & Society. http://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12620
Rafieifar, M. & Held, M.L. (2022). Youth detrimentally affected by exclusionary immigration policies: A call to action for social work practice and education, Journal of Policy Practice and Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-022-00053-6
Rafieifar, M., & Macgowan, M. J. (2022). A meta-analysis of group interventions for trauma and depression among immigrant and refugee children, Research on Social Work Practice. 32(1), 13 –31. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315211022812