Research Students

Health psychology; Stress adaptation; Psychosomatic medicine

Ms. CHEN Bowen is a PhD candidate in health psychology under the supervision of Prof. YU Xiaonan Nancy. Her research interests have focused on using the biopsychosocial model to examine the long-term effect of the past COVID-19 pandemic, as well as relevant mechanisms at biomedical, psychological, and social levels.

Prior to coming to CityU, Ms. CHEN obtained her Bachelor of Medicine from Sun Yat-sen University in 2021. During her bachelor's study, she gained a deep insight into the population's mental health through her internship in hospitals and CDC and research experiences working with different health professionals. With training in public health, she has interdisciplinary knowledge of medicine and statistics.

Values, self, social relationships, socioecological psychology, residential mobility, inequality

I am a Ph.D. student in social and cultural psychology under the supervision of Dr. Sam Ye since 2022 after I earned my B.Sc. in psychology from Fudan University, China.

I am interested in how macro-level social structural factors (e.g., residential mobility, social hierarchy) impact human psychology, e.g., values, self, and social relationships/networks. My research endeavours to enlighten the mysterious power of social context and help construct a good life and a good society.

I used multilevel analysis, daily dairy, social psychology experiment, and computational social science methods.

The interplay between personal values and everyday affect

My research focus on the interplay between personal values and everyday affect. Specifically, I am interested in understanding the emotions elicited due to the pursuit of different personal values. I am also interested in the change of personal values at both the individual level and aggregated level considering affective experiences.

Neighbourhood services, social capital and mental well-being among Chinese empty-nest older adults

Shuting is currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Social and Behavioural Science at the City University of Hong Kong. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Xi'an Jiaotong University in 2020 and subsequently pursued her Master's degree in Public Administration with a specialization in mental health promotion at the Renmin University of China, completing her studies in 2022.

During her academic journey, Shuting broadened her perspectives as an exchange student at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. She actively engaged in various social surveys and gained practical experience with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Shuting's doctoral thesis focuses on neighbourhood services, social capital, and mental well-being among Chinese empty-nest older adults. Beyond her specific focus, Shuting is passionate about public mental health promotion for vulnerable populations and advocates for evidence-based interventions within communities.

If you have any inquiries or wish to connect with Shuting, she can be reached at shutindai2-c@my.cityu.edu.hk. Feel free to reach out for further collaboration and discussions.

Objectification and dehumanization, especially sexual objectification; power and social hierarchy

I am Yijia, a PhD student majoring in social psychology. Before joining CityU, I obtained both my bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University.
After exploring a variety of areas in social psychology for several years, I am now interested in two major topics: 1) objectification and dehumanization, especially women’s sexual self-objectification and its antecedents; 2) power and social hierarchy, especially the influence of these structural factors in society on individuals’ self-perceptions, decisions, and even behaviors.
Due to my personal experiences in a patriarchal society, I am extremely interested in women, striving to gain a deeper understanding of this group. I hope that my research can be of some assistance to this vulnerable group in a society that is highly hierarchical and full of glass ceilings for them.

Adolescent well-being
Academic burnout

My research interests lie in the field of educational psychology, specifically the role of parents in affecting students' motivation, emotion and overall well-being. My research has been concentrated on identifying parental factors that contributing to academic burnout among Chinese middle-schoolers, as well as some possible interventions on alleviating high levels of academic burnout and stress.
I am supervised by Dr. Anna Hui, please reach out to me at xueninfan2-c@my.cityu.edu.hk.

Health psychology
Chronic illness management
Meta-analysis
Dynamic structural equation modelling

I am interested in dyadic illness management in couples in which one member lives with chronic illness and adopted meta-analysis, cross-sectional, and intensive longitudinal design for this topic. Also, I am interested in applying advanced and complex statistical models at the dyadic level (e.g., dynamic structural equation modelling) for my research interests.

Emotion-Focused Intervention
Reducing Aggression Among Preschool Children
Emotional Competence
Parental Emotion Socialisation

As a counselling psychologist actively involved in both clinical practice and research, my research focus lies in exploring emotion-focused interventions to reduce aggression among preschool children. Through my research, I aim to develop strategies prioritising emotional competence and social-emotional learning, tailoring interventions to meet the specific needs of young children. Along with this, I am deeply interested in parental emotion socialisation, seeking ways to empower parents with the knowledge and skills to foster emotional competence in their children. Ultimately, I am driven to contribute to the advancement of my field and enhance the well-being of young children and their families through evidence-based practices and innovative approaches.

A Recursive Process Model: Trusting Relationship on Drug Sales and Purchases from Online and Offline Perspectives

Kan Wan Sang is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree at the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include Trust, Digital/Online Sociology, and Criminology, with a focus on topics such as online social capital, drug trafficking, and peer-to-peer (P2P) fraud. He possesses a strong proficiency in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Additionally, he has actively engaged in various academic activities, including attending academic conferences and authoring scholarly papers.

Human-Machine Interaction

Hello! My name is Larry KOU Yilin (Chinese: 寇翼麟). I am a Ph.D. student at CityU under the supervision of Prof. Nancy YU Xiaonan in Psychology and Prof. Wang Jianping in Computer Science. My research is centered on human–machine interactions, with a particular emphasis on autonomous vehicles. At present, I am exploring strategies to enhance cooperative interactions between human–driven vehicles and autonomous vehicles, employing a combination of survey, behavioral experiment, and simulation. Prior to my time at CityU, I was a MPhil student at Beijing Normal University, concentrating on human motivation and terror management theory.

Professional help-seeking behaviour for mental health problems among young migrants

Mr. Li is a certified hypnotherapist and narrative practitioner. He purses mental health research after graduating from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a Master degree of Social Work. His current research interests include stigma, mental health service utilization and help-seeking behaviours, recovery from serious mental Illness and social work intervention.

Retirement planning among the sandwich generation

LIN Jiahui (Gloria LIN) is a research student at the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong. She obtained a master’s degree in Operational Research and Business Statistics from Hong Kong Baptist University and a master’s degree in Psychology from City University of Hong Kong. Her current research is on retirement planning among the sandwich generation.

Study on social-psychological factors related to pro-tree conservation intention and behaviours

Mr So is a part-time student studying social-psychological factors related to pro-tree conservation intention and behaviours. Mr So is the chief executive of the Conservancy Association, an environmental NGO advocating tree conservation in Hong Kong since 1968. He has worked in arboriculture and landscape management for over 24 years. He has worked proactively on developing arboriculture training for the government and academic institutes since 2005. He is an adjunct associate professor at the School of Biological Science of HKU and the founder of the Advanced Diploma on Tree Management and Conservation of HKU SPACE. He received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the HKU SPACE in 2021. Mr So is the expert under HKCAAVQ and has been appointed member of different tree management and industry development advisory bodies under the Development Bureau, Education Bureau, and the academic sector.

Adolescent Mental Health
Family and Children
Positive Psychology and Intervention
Mindfulness

I graduated from the University of California, Davis (UCD), armed with a double major in Psychology and International Relations. This was complemented by an enriching special education internship in the United States, where I dedicated my efforts to making a difference in the lives of others.
The quest for deeper knowledge led me to the Nanyang Technological University(NTU) in Singapore for my graduate studies, where I specialized in Developmental Psychology. This experience not only broadened my academic horizons but also enriched my understanding of the human psyche.
Post-graduation, my path took me to Beijing, where I embraced the role of a psychology teacher at an international school. There, I applied my skills and insights to guide and support young minds through their developmental journeys.
Currently, I am pursuing my doctoral degree , driven by a passion to pioneer in mental health research. My goal is to harness a more specialized scientific perspective, aiming to contribute significantly to the well-being and positive development of young people in China.

Immigrant mental health, depression, parent-child relationships

I was an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at CityU. Now, I continue to embark on my research journey in health psychology at CityU under Prof. Nancy Yu’s supervision.

Currently, I am working on a community-based project to facilitate family harmony among New Arrivals in Hong Kong. I hope our research can benefit the participants and contribute to the field. I can’t wait to explore different possibilities on this journey!

Health psychology; self-management of chronic illness; dyadic coping

I am a PhD candidate under the supervision of Prof. YU Xiaonan Nancy. My research interests include illness self-management, coping, cognitive functions, and psychological well-being in children and adolescents living with chronic illnesses. Taking a dyadic perspective, my research examines the interactions between pediatric patients and their caregivers through the illness-coping process.  Additionally, I am interested in developing and evaluating intervention programs that aim to improve self-management behaviors, health outcomes, and overall quality of life for this population. Currently, my research focuses on family illness management and HAART adherence among HIV-positive children and adolescents.

Child and adolescent well-being
Positive education
Parenting and family

Ms. Xie is a PhD candidate supervised by Professor Sylvia Kwok. Her research focuses on parenting practices and influences on children’s emotional and social well-being. She is also interested in societal and familial factors contributing to parenting practices. Besides, she has engaged in the projects and is doing research on positive education and students’ learning motivation. Before pursuing her PhD, she obtained her Master of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong and had been working for youth in NGOs and universities in Hong Kong.

Suicide, Resilience, & Social media platform

Research Focus:
•    Incorporate the concept of resilience into suicide research by examining effective resilience factors against suicide-related outcomes.
•    Investigate prevalence and pattern of suicide risk in online social media platform (e.g., r/SuicideWatch subreddit), specifically focusing on its time-varying nature and linguistic features from posts.
•    Utilizes meta-analysis, growth-based trajectory modelling, and time-varying effect modelling to address related research questions.

Education:
•    2017-2019 Central China Normal University, Geography, BS
•    2019-2022 Central China Normal University, Psychology, BS
•    2022-Present City University of Hong Kong, Psychology, Ph.D. candidate

Objectification, Social cognition, Career development

ZHANG Jingyu is currently a PhD student in social psychology supervised by Prof. WANG Xijing. She received her BS in Psychology from Nanjing University, China. Her research is focused on three main directions: 1) identifying experienced objectification from social structure and education system, 2) examining the downstream effects of self-objectification on goal pursuit and personal growth, and 3) unpacking different dimensions of sexual objectification perpetration. Quantitative methods such as surveys, laboratory and online experiments are predominantly used in her research.