Matthew Grindal is a quantitative sociologist who researches the theoretical mechanisms that link ethnic identity processes (i.e., ethnic identity development and ethnic-racial socialization) to the health and delinquency outcomes of adolescents and young adults. He is specifically interested in the general mechanisms specified by the social psychological literature (e.g., verification, enhancement, perceptions of threat and intergroup attitudes) and the micro-level mechanisms traditionally employed in criminological theory (i.e., social learning, social bonds, strain and self-control). His work has appeared in journals such as Deviant Behavior and Journal of Family Issues.

• Ethnic Identity
• Ethnic-Racial Socialization
• Theories of Criminal Offending
• Race and Crime
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Substance Use
• Identity Theory
• Social Identity Theory

• Grindal, Matthew, Amanda Admire, Danielle Marie Carkin, and Tanya Nieri. In press. "Gender and Substance Use among Latinx College Students: An Application of Social Structure Social Learning Theory." Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. Online ahead of print: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15332640.2023.2271873
• Grindal, Matthew. In press. "An Examination of Peer Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Alcohol Intoxication Among Latino College Students." Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. Online ahead of print: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07347324.2023.2292021
• Grindal, Matthew and Steff King. In Press. “College Student Bonds and Problematic Substance Use:  A Social Control Theory Analysis.” College Student Journal 
• Grindal, Matthew. 2023.  “Ethnic Identity Achievement, Identity Verification, Group-Specific Self-Worth, and Intergroup Attitudes among Latinos.” Pp. 297-317 in Advancing Identity Theory, Measurement, and Research, edited by Jan E. Stets, Ashley V. Reichelmann, and K. Jill Kiecolt. New York: Springer. 
• Grindal, Matthew and Kristin Haltinner. 2023. “White Racial Identity and its Link to Support for Far-Right Groups: A Test of a Social Psychological Model.” Social Sciences 12(7): 369. 
• Grindal, Matthew, Dilshani Sarathchandra, and Kristin Haltinner. 2023. “White Identity and Climate Change Skepticism: Assessing the Mediating Roles of Social Dominance Orientation and Conspiratorial Ideation.” Climate 11(2): 26. 
• Sarathchandra, Dilshani, Kristin Haltinner, and Matthew Grindal. 2022. “Climate Skeptics’ Identity Construction and (Dis)trust in Science.” Environmental Sociology 8(1): 25-40.
• Grindal, Matthew, Melanie Kushida, and Tanya Nieri. 2021. “Ethnic Identity Achievement, Identity Verification, and Self-Worth.” Pp. 39-60 in Identities in Action editors, Philip Brenner, Jan E. Stets and Richard T. Serpe. New York: Springer.  
• Grindal, Matthew and Ryan Trettevik. 2019. “Perceived Similarity in Identity Meanings, Identity Verification, and Positive Emotions.” Pp. 35-52 in Identities in Everyday Life, edited by Jan E. Stets and Richard T. Serpe. New York:  Oxford University Press. 
• Grindal, Matthew, Amanda Admire, and Tanya Nieri. 2019. “A Theoretical Examination of Immigrant Status and Substance Use among Latino College Students.” Deviant Behavior 40(11): 1372-1390.
• Grindal, Matthew. 2017. “Ethnic-Racial Socialization, Social Bonds, and College Student Substance Use.” Deviant Behavior 38(10): 1102 – 1119.
• Nieri, Tanya, Matthew Grindal, Michelle A. Adams, Jeffrey Cookston, William Fabricius, Ross Parke, and Delia Saenz. 2016. “Deconstructing the ‘acculturation gap’ in Mexican-American Families and its Effects on Youth Problem Behavior.” Journal of Family Issues, 39(14): 1919-1944.
• Trettevik, Ryan and Matthew Grindal. 2016. “The Influence of the Ideal and Ought Self Guides on the Affective Consequences of Identity Verification” Pp. 601-625 in New Directions in Identity Theory and Research, edited by Jan E. Stets and Richard T. Serpe. New York:  Oxford University Press. 
• Grindal, Matthew and Tanya Nieri. 2016. “The Relationship between Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Adolescent Substance Use: An Examination of Social Learning as a Causal Mechanism.” The Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 15(1): 3-24. 
• Grindal, Matthew and Tanya Nieri. 2015. “An Examination of Ethnic Identity and Academic Performance: Assessing the Multidimensional Role of Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization among a Sample of Latino Adolescents.” Race and Social Problems, 7(3): 242-255.

Dr. Grindal is currently working with survey data collected in 2022 from a national sample of white young adults. He is examining how ethnic-racial developmental processes (parental socialization about ethnicity and race and ethnic/racial identity) impact a variety of political attitudes, substance use outcomes, and psychological health outcomes.