What degree are you pursuing?
– Third year PhD student in Human Development and Family Sciences. My Advisor is Dr. Linda Halgunseth

What have you learned from working at UConn HDFS?
– The HDFS graduate program has helped me become familiar with family and consumer sciences theories and methodologies, and the experience working with my advisor at UConn has expanded my understanding of developmental science and research across cultural contexts. I am committed to applying this knowledge and research skills to promote a better understanding of immigrant and ethnic minority family functioning.

What are your future goals and research interests?
– I am passionate about spreading my research findings to improve public awareness of the Asian population. My long-term goal is to work in a university as a professor and researcher. My research interests are broadly on Asian parent-child relationships, acculturation, and identity development. Specifically, I am interested in a) understanding parenting in immigrant families as it relates to the development and well-being of both parents and adolescents and b) understanding the Asian international students’ acculturation experiences and the impacts significant others have on the process

What is your current research project?
– Currently my advisor and I are working on a collaborative project to build knowledge on the role gender plays in parent-adolescent relationships within the cultural context of China. We will use an adolescent self-report dataset collected from over 3000 Chinese adolescents to examine how fathers’ and mothers’ parental behaviors (e.g. parental psychological control and parental communication) differentially affect adolescents’ mental health (e.g. depression and self-esteem) depending on their gender. Our research goals are building knowledge on the gender difference of adolescents’ psychological issues, as well as expending the understanding on how fathering influence daughters’ and sons’ psychological adjustment. We also want to inform preventive intervention programs geared toward strengthening parenting skills and parent-adolescent relationships in China.

What is your favorite activity to do at home?
– As a new mom of a one-year old, my favorite activity is to enjoy the time playing and reading with my daughter. I also love to cook traditional Chinese cuisines.