Diversity in Adolescence Lab

Discrimination & Substance Use Project

This project investigates the influence of discrimination on adolescents’ substance use outcomes using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

Funding: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Peers and Diversity (PAD) Project

This project investigates how ethnic/racial and cultural processes in peer groups influence adolescents' cognitive functioning, psychological well-being, academics, and sleep. This project follows 9th graders in high school and collects daily diary and sleep actigraphy data annually.

Funding: William T. Grant Foundation, MSU Social Science College Faculty Initiatives Fund

Peers in Rural China Project

This project investigates how peer relationships influence early adolescents' psychological well-being, sleep, and cortisol output in rural China. This project sampled 7th and 8th graders in a rural boarding school and collects daily diary and salivary cortisol data.

Congruence & Social Norm Project

This project investigates adolescents’ substance use and risky sexual behaviors in diverse ethnic groups using nationally representative data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

Funding: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

 

Director

Yijie Wang, Ph.D. I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. I received my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Peking University in China and PhD degree in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. My research interests center on adolescent development within the context of race, ethnicity, immigration, and social inequality. My work investigates socio-cultural (e.g., ethnic/racial socialization), bio-behavioral (e.g., sleep), and cognitive (e.g., executive function) factors that can be leveraged to promote adolescent development in the face of racism and inequality. My work integrates diverse methodologies such as longitudinal and daily diary designs to understand both short-term and long-term developmental mechanisms. This research has been funded by National Institute of Health and William T. Grant Foundation. My work appears in top journals including Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Adolescent Health, and JAMA. I have received the Rising Star award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS) in 2019, and the Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2024.

Post-Doctoral Trainees

Youchuan Zhang, Ph.D. I am a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. I received my Bachelor of Medicine from Sun Yat-sen University in China, my Master of Social Science in Psychology from Hong Kong University, and my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Michigan State University. My research revolves around disadvantaged youth populations, particularly ethnic-racial minority adolescents in the U.S. and adolescents from low-income families in rural China. I investigate how various social contexts, especially those at structural and neighborhood levels, shape these adolescents’ development in psychosocial and bio-behavioral domains. My research employs multiple methods, including daily diaries, longitudinal models, salivary sampling protocols, actigraphy assessment of sleep, as well as advanced analytics such as multi-level structural equation modeling, dynamic structural equation modeling, latent growth modeling.

Elizabeth Jelsma, Ph.D. is a former postdoctoral fellow in the lab and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston. (website) 

Current Doctoral Trainees

Qi Huang I am a doctoral student at the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University with a focus on Diversity, Youth, and Family Development (DYAD). I received my bachelor's degree in Psychology at Michigan State University as well. My current research interests focus on the academic, cultural, and psychological adjustment of international students who struggle academically, particularly Chinese international students on academic probation or academic dismissal. I am also involved in research about discrimination experiences, cultural socialization, and wellbeing of ethnic/racial minority adolescents and young adults.

Jiayi Liu I am a doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University with a concentration on Diversity, Youth and Family Development. My research focuses on understanding the cultural beliefs, values, and practices behind daily family interactions. I am particularly interested in examining the impact of parenting on youth well-being in changing cultural contexts (e.g., modernization and social stratification). My goal is to inform clinical practices and policies through a sociocultural lens. Using mixed research methods, I am currently working on studies to examine Chinese international students’ perceptions about their parents and the role of parental support in their acculturation process. I have also engaged in studies investigating the microaggressions faced by adoptive families in the U.S. and their ethnic-racial socialization processes. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, cooking, and playing board games with friends.

Sylvia Lin I am a doctoral student at the Department of HDFS with a focus on Diversity, Youth, and Family Development (DYAD). I received my bachelor's in psychology at Saint Louis University. My current research interests focus Asian and Asian American ethnic/racial identity (ERI) development and socialization processes. I am particularly interested in how context (i.e., neighborhood/community environments and peers) influence ERI development and mental health outcomes. I am involved in a project that seeks to understand how daily peer racial/ethnic interactions operate as a source of stress or support and influences adolescent outcomes (e.g., racial/ethnic identity, school engagement, school belonging, among others). With a background in evidence-based practices, my professional aims are to translate research into developing and evaluating programs that support Asian and Asian American youth.

Daeun Kim I am from South Korea, and I am a doctoral student in Human Development and Family Studies. My advisors are Dr. Desiree Baolian Qin and Dr. Yijie Wang. My research interests are the parent-child relationships and adolescent development within cultural context. Specifically, I am interested in examining how culture contributes to differences of parent-child relationships within different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, I am interested in how a parent's belief system such as belief in meritocracy is associated with ones of their children in adolescence and how it affects development of adolescent’s belief system, with focus on East Asian families and Asian American immigrant families. I love to walk or go hiking and take a big nap on Saturday.

Jiaxuan Zhao I am a doctoral student at the Department of HDFS with a focus on Diversity, Youth, and Family Development (DYAD). I received my B.A. in Psychology from the Miami University Oxford, and the M.S. degree in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania. My current research interests focus on executive function, risky behaviors, and substance use among ethnic/racial minority adolescents. I am also interested in how peer relationship and parents-child relationship influence adolescents development.

Yuze Liu I am a master student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. I have obtained a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. My research focuses on the identity development of adolescents, particularly how peer relationships and cultural transformation affect identity confusion and psychosocial stress. My long-term goal is to contribute to the academic and social understanding of immigrant youth development in cross-cultural contexts through research and teaching.

Previous Doctral Trainees

Mingzhang Chen, Ph.D. is a former doctoral student in the lab and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alberta. (website)

Ji Hyun Lee, Ph.D. is a former doctoral student in the lab and is currently an Assistant Professor at Montana State University. (website)

Shizhu Liu, Ph.D. is a former doctoral student in the lab and is currently a Data Scientist at Nordstrom.

Previous Undergraduate Students

Faizun Bakth

(Faizun is currently a doctoral student at Wayne State University)

I worked with Dr. Wang via the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP). I am a senior undergraduate student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, majoring in Forensic Psychology and double minoring In English and Counseling. My research interest focuses the social and moral development of minority children and adolescents with a history of abuse. I had the pleasure to be an intern for the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) at Michigan State University. Through the program, I worked with Dr. Wang in the Human Development and Family studies department. Our current project looks at the relationship between racial/ethnic peer-victimization and academic performance by using sleep as moderator. Our current study uses objective sleep data, collected through actigraphy watch, to examine how sleep can act as a protective factor against severe negative experiences for adolescents. 

Emily Saxton

Emily Saxon is a native of St. Louis and chose to attend MSU for her undergraduate degree, due to the school’s outstanding research work.  She was granted a Professorial Assistantship in which she will assist Professor Yijie Wang with her ongoing work in adolescent development.  Emily is also part of the Social Science Scholars Program, and she will soon take on her own research project, which will ultimately culminate in her work being published in a volume of research projects.  Her research interests are numerous, but all center around discovering methods to create social innovation and improvement in communities facing adversity and poverty.  Emily particularly enjoys work relating to adolescents, and thus is an active volunteer for youth-focused programs, such as Girl Scouts.  She is also a passionate Spanish student, with a goal of becoming fluent in the language in order to apply it to a future career and volunteer work. 

Kevin Lesser, B.A.

I am an undergraduate student studying Human Biology through Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University. I am a Research Assistant to Dr. Wang on the Peer and Diversity (PAD) Project. I am interested to see how the background of minority students influences their interactions in everyday life and how these interacts can influence the health of these adolescents. My ultimate passion is service and I frequently volunteer with marginalized groups of children and enjoy working with them. I have many other research interests, but my main interests include: how the gender of students and professors influences their interactions. I am interested in seeing if there are any specific biases towards female students and if this influences the quality of their education, in comparison to their male counterparts. Also, I am interested in how college students learn challenging scientific topics and structuring lectures for professors to maximize learning.

Claudia Marie Salwin, B.A.

I am a Senior in Nutritional Science/PreMed at Michigan State University. I am a Research Assistant for the PAD project and will be following high school students to see differences between ethical and cultural processes. I am looking forward to seeing the data we will be collecting this fall! Once I graduate in May I will be working as a Research Assistant at the University of Michigan Hospital for a year before attending medical school. The research will be looking at opioid use and pain levels in the pre-operative and post-operative stages, in hopes to develop effective interventions to help patients stop using opioids. I will also be continuing working on a project called the Michigan Genomics Initiative, which includes building up a biorepository for future medical research. This projects goal is to advance the understanding of health and wellness, predicting the response to treatments, and advancing drug development.

Audrey Heobecke, B.A.

I am a Research Assistant for Dr. Wang in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. I graduated from MSU this past summer with a degree in Psychology and Human Biology, and I plan to pursue higher education in a year or two. I am currently working as a Behavior Technician with the Early Learning Institute, implementing a Applied Behavior Analysis-based teaching curriculum for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I love my job! My research interests include development and usage of resources in marginalized populations, including those with disabilities, low socio-economic status, and racial/ethnic minorities. After working in a school setting in Lansing, I have also developed an interest in the improvement of educational system outcomes for both children with disabilities as well as neurotypical children. When I’m not working I enjoy being reading, kayaking, and taking weekend trips throughout Michigan.

Eagan Ingrody, B.A.

I am a Research Assistant for Dr. Wang's Peer and Diversity (PAD) Project at Michigan State University. I just recently graduated in May 2019 with a degree in Human Biology through Lyman Briggs College, as well as a minor in Science, Technology, Environment, and Public Policy (STEPP). I am currently pursuing medical school with the hope of being a doctor! In the meantime, I am working as a Patient Companion at St. Joseph Mercy hospital in Ann Arbor and St. Mary Mercy hospital in Livonia. I am very interested in healthcare inequalities that are due to race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, which is the topic of a research paper I am currently trying to publish. These research interests aligned perfectly with Dr. Wang's project on adolescent development, which focuses on the overall health minority students. I have also done research that examined the feeding habits of birds in East Lansing, the levels of ocean acidification in the Great Lakes, and the protein concentrations in various meats and synthetic proteins."

 

 

 

Representative Publications (* denotes student mentees)

2025-

Wang, Y., Zhang, Y.*, Kim, D.*, Jelsma, E.* (in press). Racism and resilience in daily life: A psychosocial, cultural, and neurobiological model of daily resilience among ethnically and racially minoritized young people. American Psychologist.

Wang, Y., Zhao, Z.*, Zhang, M.*, Zhang, Y.*, Yan, J. *, Jelsma, E.*, Cham, H., Alegría, M., Yip, T. (2025). Sleep as a protective factor: Multiple forms of discrimination and substance use intention among racially and ethnically minoritized U.S. youth. Journal of Adolescent Health. (read here)

Wang, Y., Zhang Y.*, Liu, J.*, Zhao, J.*, Chen, S., He, J. (2025). Peer discrimination and diurnal cortisol output in a boarding school in rural China: Empirical findings and methodological considerations. Developmental Psychology. (read here)

Jelsma, E.*, Wang, Y., Cham, H., Zhang, Y.*, Yan, J.*, Zhao, Z.*, Alegría, M., & Yip, T. (2025). Everyday ethnic discrimination and early substance use based on hair samples in high-risk racial/ethnic minority early adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. 

2024

Wang, Y., Zhao, Z.*, Zhang, Y.*, Yan, J. *, Zhang, M.*, Jelsma, E.*, Johnson, S.*, Cham, H., Alegría, M., Yip, T. (2024). Race, ethnicity, and sleep in U.S. children. JAMA Network Open. (read full text here) (MSU Today)

Wang, Y., Zhang, Y.*, Zhao, Z.*, Jelsma, E. *, Yan, J. *, Johnson, S.*, Cham, H., Alegría, M., Yip, T. (2024). Multiple discrimination and substance use intention in late childhood: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Zhang, Y.*, & Wang, Y. (2024). Daily social support and school belonging among rural Chinese adolescents: Variations by parental migration. Journal of Research on Adolescence.

Wang, Y., Huang, Q.*, Lin, S.*, Chen, M.*, & Zhang, Y.* (2024). Daily ethnic/racial support from family and peers: Changes from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Child Development.

2023

Wang, Y., Chen, M.*, Zhang, Y.*, & Chen, Y. (2023). Daily associations between adolescents’ executive function and school engagement: The role of ethnic/racial discrimination. Developmental Psychology.

Wang, Y., Zhang, Y.*, & Wadsworth, H.* (2023). Family and peer ethnic/racial socialization in adolescents’ everyday life: A daily transactional model with ethnic/racial identity and discrimination. Child Development. 

Wang, Y., & Lin, S.* (2023). Peer ethnic/racial socialization in adolescence: Current knowledge and future directions. Infant and Child Development. 

Bakth, F.*, Chen, M.*, & Wang, Y. (2023). Adolescents’ experiences of peer ethnic/racial victimization and school engagement in everyday life: Sleep as a moderator. Sleep Health. 

2022

Wang, Y. (2022). Every day matters: Using daily methods to understand oppression and BIPOC youth development in context. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 32, 666-672. (Invited commentary for the special issue “Truth is on the Side of the Oppressed”: Systems of Oppression Affecting BIPOC Youth). 

Wang, Y., Benner, A. D., & Boyle, A. E. (2022). Family cultural socialization in childhood: Navigating ethnic/racial diversity and numeric marginalization in school and neighborhood settings. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28, 449-459. Editor's Choice of the Issue.

Thomas, M., Mendez, R. (co-1st author), Zhang, Y.*, Wang, Y., Sohail, S., Chae, D., Marquez-Magana, L., Sellers, R., Woods-Giscombe, C., Allen, A. (2022). Superwoman schema, racial identity, and cellular aging among African-American women. Gerontologist, 62, 762-772.

2021

Wang, Y., Zhang, Y.*, Chen, M.*, & Chen, Y. (2021). Adolescents’ daily executive function: Methodological considerations, daily variation, and associations with daily experiences. Psychological Assessment, 33, 973-986.

Wang, Y. (2021). Daily ethnic/racial context in peer groups: Frequency, structure, and implications for adolescent outcomes. Child Development, 92, 650-661. 

Zhang, Y.*, & Wang, Y. (2021). Daily bidirectional associations of adolescent negative peer interactions and sleep in rural China: The moderating effect of parental migration. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 13, 693-711.

Yip, T., Chen, M.*, Wang, Y., Slopen, N., Chae, D. H., Priest, N., Williams, D. R. (2021). Linking sleep and discrimination and profiles with biomarkers: An investigation in the MIDUS study. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 5, 10021.

2017-2020

Liu, S.*, Wang, Y., & Nuttall, A. (2020). Cross-race and cross-ethnic friendships and psychological well-being trajectories among Asian American adolescents: Variations by school context. Developmental Psychology, 56, 2121-2136. 

Wang, Y., & Yip, T. (2020). Sleep facilitates coping: Moderated mediation of daily sleep, ethnic/racial discrimination, stress responses, and adolescent well-being. Child Development, 91, e833-e852. 

Wang, Y., & Yip, T. (2020). Parallel changes in ethnic/racial discrimination and identity in high school. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49, 1517-1530. 

Wang, Y., Chen, M.*, & Lee, J. H.* (2019). Adolescents’ social norms across family, peer, and school settings: Linking social norm profiles to adolescent risky health behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48, 935-948.

Wang, Y., Cham, H., *Aladin, M., & Yip, T. (2019). Parental cultural socialization and private regard: Exploring mediating pathways through adolescents’ daily experiences. Child Development, 90, e19-e36.

Wang, Y., Douglass, S., & Yip, T. (2017). Longitudinal relations between ethnic/racial identity development and content: Exploration, commitment, and salience among diverse adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 53, 2154-2169.

Before 2017

Wang, Y., & Benner, A. D. (2016). Cultural socialization across contexts: Family-peer congruence and adolescent well-being. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 594-611.

Wang, Y., Benner, A. D., & Kim, S. Y. (2015). The Cultural Socialization Scale: Assessing parent and peer socialization towards heritage and mainstream cultures. Psychological Assessment, 27, 1452-1462.

Wang, Y. & Benner, A. D. (2014). Parent-child discrepancy in educational expectations: The differential effects of actual versus perceived discrepancy. Child Development, 85, 891-900.

Wang, Y., Kim, S. Y., Anderson, E. R., Chen, A. C.-C., & Yan, N. (2012). Parent-child acculturation discrepancy, perceived parental knowledge, peer deviance, and adolescent delinquency in Chinese immigrant families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 907-919.

January, 2025

Our study on sleep disparities featured at MSU Today (read more)

February, 2024

Dr. Yijie Wang received the 2024 APA Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology (Developmental Psychology) (read more)

December, 2023

Our graduate student, Youchuan Zhang, won the MSU CSS Graduate Student Research Award

August, 2023

Our graduate student, Youchuan Zhang, won the Spring 2023 SPSSI Grants-in-Aid funding

May, 2023

Our graduate student, Youchuan Zhang, won the MSU Youth Equity Project 2023 Graduate Student Seed Grant (read more)

December, 2022

Our study featured Editor's Choice of the Issue at Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (read more)

• Parent conversations about racial and ethnic heritage promote young children’s social competence

September, 2021

Dr. Yijie Wang awarded $2 million NIH grant to examine discrimination and adolescent substance use (read more)