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KIM, SU YEONG
No

Su Yeong Kim

Professor, Research Lab Director (Academic)
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Population Research Center


Dr. Kim is accepting new Ph.D. students for Fall 2024. Application deadline is December 1, 2023.

su.yeong.kim@utexas.edu

Phone: 512-471-5524

Office Location
SEA 2.322G

Postal Address
108 E DEAN KEETON ST
AUSTIN, TX 78712

Postdoctoral Fellow, Prevention Research Center, Arizona State University
Ph.D., Human Development, University of California, Davis
B.A., Psychology (Departmental Honors), University of Southern California
B.S., Business Administration (Information Systems), University of Southern California

Research Interests

Su Yeong Kim, Ph.D., is Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She studies the intersection of family and cultural contexts in understanding the development of children of immigrants in the United States, with a focus on children of Chinese and Mexico-origin.  Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Kim examines how culturally relevant developmental processes (acculturation), cognitive processes (executive functioning), and physiological (cortisol, inflammation) and social stressors (discrimination) directly, indirectly, or interactively influence parent-child relationships (parenting, tiger parenting, father-child relationships) and adjustment transitions and outcomes (academic achievement, depressive symptoms) in minority adolescents and young adults. She also develops and tests the measurement invariance of culturally relevant measures for use with ethnic minorities. For example, she developed measures of language brokering to capture the subjective experiences of adolescents translating for monolingual, immigrant parents with limited English skills. 

Her research has revealed that the commonly held perception of Asian American parents as “tiger parents” being responsible for producing child prodigies is inaccurate. In fact, her eight year longitudinal study of Chinese American families demonstrate supportive parenting as the most common type of parenting leading to the most optimal outcomes in terms of both academic and socio-emotional adjustment in Chinese American adolescents. Her studies on language brokering among Mexican American adolescents reveals that children experience both a sense of burden and efficacy in translating for their non-English fluent, Spanish-speaking parents, and that their perceptions of the language brokering experience relate directly to their socio-emotional adjustment

More about Dr. Kim

My undergraduate students and I developed an after-school program for middle school students to become better and more efficient translators for their English-limited parents. We have a team of research assistants who develop and deliver a weekly curriculum at the middle school. As the Editor of the journal Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, my main priority is to publish rigorous, cutting-edge science to advance the psychological science of ethnic minorities in a global context.  My scholarly papers focus on ethnic minority and immigrant groups, and I pay special attention to the unique stressors facing these groups, as well as mechanisms to identify the modifiable mediators and moderators that may be leveraged to develop intervention programs to improve the health and well-being of minority populations. My undergraduate course and graduate seminar focus on the ecology of human development and the diverse experiences of ethnic minority and immigrant populations. As my research focus is on immigrant families, students who are bilingual and of ethnic minority backgrounds are naturally drawn to work with me. Other students appreciate the opportunity to work with a diverse team and to learn about the lived experiences of ethnic minorities and immigrants in the United States. Often, students tell me that I gave them an opportunity for their first research experience, and that they learned about themselves, their heritage culture, and language by working in my research lab. Students say they are proud to work on a research project that can positively impact the immigrant communities they represent.

Accepting New Ph.D. Students

Dr. Kim is accepting new Ph.D. students for Fall 2024. Application deadline is December 1, 2023 for the Human Development and Family Sciences Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Austin. Please inquire directly with Dr. Kim at su.yeong.kim@utexas.edu

 

Interests

Mexican American and Chinese American families and immigration, acculturation, language brokering, parenting, depressive symptoms, school achievement, measurement invariance

 

Funding Agency

Role

Title/Award Number

Total Award/Dates

National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

PI

Socio-cultural Stress Profiles, Stress Responses, and Health in Mexican American Adolescents

(Urgent Competitive Revision Supplement:

3R21MD-012706-02S1)

$195,626

09/08/2020-06/30/2024

National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

PI

Socio-cultural Stress Profiles, Stress Responses, and Health in Mexican American Adolescents

(1R21MD-012706-01A1)

$457,615

09/23/2019-06/30/2024

National Science Foundation’s Developmental Sciences Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences

PI

Collaborative Research: Stress, Academic Outcomes, and Health Outcomes among Language Brokers (BCS-1651128)

$505,844

06/15/2017-05/31/2021

National Science Foundation’s Developmental Sciences Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences

PI

CAREER: Language Brokering and Child Adjustment in Mexican American Children

(BCS-0956123)

$479,962

06/15/2010-05/31/2017

National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

PI

Language Brokering and Child Adjustment in Mexican American Families

(1R03HD060045-01A2)

$149,586

09/13/2011-07/31/2015

National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

PI

Teenagers, Families, and Well-being

(1R03HD051629-01A2)

$142,475

09/25/2008-08/31/2011

 

Select Publications (129 Journal Publications)

  • Lo, A., Kim, S. Y., & Grotevant, H. (2023). Parents' adaptation from conflict: Bicultural socialization beliefs and acculturative family conflict in Chinese American families. Journal of Family Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001094. PMID: 37053417.
  • Benner, A. D., Alers Rojas, F., S. Y., & Hou, Y., & Coulter, K. M. (2023). COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination, current pandemic stress, and adolescents’ mental health. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
  • Muñoz, E., Yan, J., Tse, H. W., Zavala, D., Lopez, B.G., & Kim, S. Y. (2023). Prospective effects of discrimination, depressive symptoms, and cognitive control among Mexican-origin women. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad042. PMID: 36881689
  • Wen, W., Ip, K., Lee, S., Lopez, B. G., Kamata, A., Lui, P. P., & Kim, S. Y. (2023). Acculturation and daily cigarette use among Mexican-origin youth: The moderating role of executive functions. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2022.208948
  • Wen, W., Chen, S., Kim, S. Y., & Hou, Y. (2023). Mother-adolescent perceived parenting profiles and Mexican-origin adolescents’ academic performance. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52(2), 344-358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01696-0 PMID: 36344877.
  • Causadias, J. M., Anderson, R. E., Ryu, E., Tein, J.-Y., & Kim, S. Y. (2023). Innovative theory and methods for the next generation of diversity, equity, and inclusion sciences: Introduction to the special issue. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 29(1), 1-5. PMID: 36622725. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000543
  • Kim, S. Y., Wen, W., Chen, S., Yan, J., Song, J., Zhang, M., & Zeiders, K. H. (2022). Mexican-origin youths’ language brokering for fathers and mothers: Daily experiences and youths’ diurnal cortisol slopes. Child Development, 93(4), 1106-1120. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13768 PMID: 35397115
  • Kim, S. Y., Matsui, E. C., Wen, W., Tse, H. W., & Chambliss, S. E. (2022). Demographic and psychosocial characteristics, air pollution exposure, and housing mobility of Mexican immigrant families. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01473-6 PMID: 36512313.
  • Wen, W., Chen, S., Hazen-Swann, N., Lorenzo-Blanco, E.I., Shen, Y., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Cultural stressors, internalizing symptoms, and parent-child alienation among Mexican-origin adolescents. Family Relations, 71(5), 1977-1992. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12775
  • Yan, Y., & Sim, L., Song, J., Chen, S., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Reconsidering the “acculturation gap”: Mother-adolescent cultural adaptation mis/matches and positive psychosocial outcomes among Mexican-origin families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(7), 1409-1425. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01606-4. PMID: 35397085
  • Chen, S., Wei, W., Witherspoon, D., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Invisibly oppressed: Individual and ecological correlates of Chinese American adolescents’ perceived discrimination. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 518-532. https://org/10.1111/jora.12759 PMID: 35443094
  • Song, J., Hou, Y., Hazen, N. L., Lorenzo-Blanco, E.I., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Do mothers’ experiences count? An actor-partner interdependence model of language brokering experiences in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(5), 888-903. https://org/10.1007/s10964-022-01586-5 PMID 35247159
  • Wang, J., Wen, W., Sim, L., Li, X., Yan, J., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Family environment, heritage language profiles, and socioemotional well-being of Mexican-origin adolescents with first generation immigrant parents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(6), 1196-1209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01594-5 PMCID: PMC9098666
  • Hovmand, P., Calzada, E.J., Gulbas, L. E., Kim, S. Y., Chung, S., Kuhlberg, J., Hausmann-Stabile, C., & Zayas, L. H. (2022). System dynamics of cognitive vulnerabilities and family support among Latina children and adolescents. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 25, 131-149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-022-00395-3 PMCID: PMC8948134
  • Wang, J., Yan, J., Osman, K.M., Li, X., Zeiders, K. H., Shen, Y., Victory, M., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). The phenotypic, psychological, and social interplays of skin color and developmental outcomes among Mexican-origin adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32(2), 432-450. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12709 PMID: 34935232
  • Song, J., Ip, K.I., , J., Lui, P. P., Kamata, A., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Pathways linking ethnic discrimination and drug-using peer affiliations to underage drinking status among Mexican-origin adolescents. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 30(5), 609-619. https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000504 PMCID: PMC8861974
  • Yan, J., Hou, Y., Shen, Y., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Family obligation, parenting, and adolescent outcomes among Mexican American families. Journal of Early Adolescence, 42(1), 58-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316211016064
  • Kim, S. Y., Song, J., Chen, S., Wen, W., Zhang, M., Yan, J., Lopez, B. G., Arredondo, M., & Ip, K. (2021). Culturally relevant stressors as moderators of intergenerational transmission of mother-adolescent executive function in Mexican Immigrant Families. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 6, 70. https://doi: 10.1186/s41235-021-00333-x PMCID: PMC8566615
  • Kim, S. Y., Chen, S., Wen, W., Yan, J., , J., Hou, Y., Zhang, M., Schwartz, S. J., & Shen, Y. (2021). Language brokering-stress transition profiles and marijuana use in Mexican-origin adolescents. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 53(5), 384-393. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2021.1992046 PMCID: PMC9012145
  • Martinez, A. D., Mercado, E., Barbieri, M., Kim, S. Y., & Granger, D. A. (2021). The importance of biobehavioral research to examine the physiological effects of racial and ethnic discrimination in the Latinx population. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 762735. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.762735 PMCID: PMC8784784
  • Chen, S., Jelsma, E., Hou, Y., Benner, A., & S. Y. (2021). Antecedents and consequences of discrepant perceptions of racial socialization between parents and adolescents within Mexican-origin families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(12), 2412-2426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01487-z PMID: 34480295
  • Sim, L., Chen, S., Zhang, M., Edelstein, R. S., & Kim, S. Y. (2021). Cultural adaptation congruence in immigrant spouses is associated with marital quality. Journal of Marriage and Family, 83(5), 1420-1438. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12799
  • Lopez, B. G., Zhang, M., Arredondo, M. M., & Kim, S. Y. (2021). The Simon effect in bilingual language brokers: A role for emotion and proficiency. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25 (1), 100-119. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006920939659
  • Yan, Y., Sim, L., Schwartz, S. J., Shen, Y., Parra-Medina, D., & Kim, S. Y. (2021). Longitudinal profiles of acculturation and developmental outcomes among Mexican-origin adolescents from immigrant families. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2021(176), 205-225. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20396 PMID: 33616288
  • Heads, A. M., Glover, A. M., Castillo, L. G., Blozis, S., Kim, S. Y., & Ali, S. (2021). Perceived discrimination and risk behaviors in African American students; The potential moderating roles of emotion regulation and ethnic socialization. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 8, 494-506. https://org/10.1007/s40615-020-00807-6 PMID: 32607721

 Mentoring Award

  • Mentorship and Integrity Award, Society for Research in Child Development Asian Caucus, 2023

Diversity Award

  • Carolyn Attneave Diversity Award, American Psychological Association’s Division 43 (Society for Couple and Family Psychology), 2022

Research Award

  • Outstanding Contribution to Research on Asian/Asian Americans, Society for Research in Child Development Asian Caucus, 2017

Top 25 Downloaded Article

  • In July 2013, Kim et al. (2013) tiger parenting paper recognized as Top 25 downloaded papers in the previous 3 months by the American Psychological Association's PsycNET database

Best Paper Award

  • In July 2013, Kim et al. (2013) tiger parenting paper (Does “Tiger Parenting” Exist? Parenting Profiles of Chinese Americans and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes”) recognized with Asian American Journal of Psychology Best Paper Award, 2014

 Fellow Status

  • Fellow, American Psychological Association, Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race), 2014
  • Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, 2013
  • Fellow, Asian American Psychological Association, 2013

 Early Career Awards

  • Young Scientist Award, International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, 2010
  • Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions (Scholarship), Asian American Psychological Association, 2010

 

Graduate

HDF 380k.1 (Human Development and Family Sciences): Research Methods in Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin

HDF 394 (Human Development and Family Sciences): Immigration and the Family, University of Texas at Austin

Undergraduate     

HDF 315L (Human Development and Family Sciences): Research Methods in Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin

HDF 343 (Human Development and Family Sciences): Human Development in Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Families, University of Texas at Austin

The following doctoral students are currently being supervised by Dr. Su Yeong Kim, for the Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences

  • Wen Wen
  • Hin Wing (Florence) Tse
  • Yayu Du
  • Tianlu Zhang

Undergraduate research assistants are sought for various positions, including interviewing and calling participants, data management, data analysis, transcriptions, and general office tasks related to the reserach. Contact su.yeong.kim@utexas.edu for more information and to schedule an interview. Students with written and verbal proficiency in Spanish or Chinese (Cantonese) are encouraged to inquire about current research opportunities. Spanish/Chinese language fluency is desirable but not required.

Dr. Kim is accepting new Ph.D. students for Fall 2024. Application deadline is December 1, 2023 for the Human Development and Family Sciences Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Austin. Please inquire directly with Dr. Kim at su.yeong.kim@utexas.edu.

 

Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Adult Development

Biobehavioral Processes and Health

Child and Adolescent Health

Contexts of Human Development

Diversity and Culture

Parenting & Caregiving