Culture, Children, and Families
Office
Psychology Building 122
Fuller Theological Seminary
180 N Oakland Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
Mission
Dr. Fung's lab studies culture and family processes, adolescent mental health, and mindfulness and spirituality.
PROJECT
Project STRIVE
Strive is "STudents RIsing aboVE". In this NIH-funded study, we will identify students in marginalized communities who are academically resilient in the face of early adversity and offer a tailored mindfulness intervention. Black, Latinx and Asian American adolescents in under-resourced school contexts, often achieve admirable academic success despite limited social capital and early life stress. However, youths’ resilience in one domain (i.e., academic) can come at a cost in other domains (i.e., physical and mental health) that are under-identified and under-treated. This is known as the "cost of resilience." The study will test the extent to which the STRIVE mindfulness intervention can impact self-regulation mechanisms to promote student physical and mental health, while preserving academic resilience.
PROJECT
Asian American Identity Project
The racialization of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in and exacerbated deep-seated anti-Asian sentiments, with a 147% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021-2022. In this mixed qualitative-quantitative study, we investigate Anti-Asian sentiments and experiences among young adults, including racial discrimination, microaggression, perceived threat and fear, and media exposure. Drawing from theories of social change and resilience, we examine ethnic/racial socialization, prosociality, and civic engagement as protective factors against well-being and identity development.
PROJECT
Mindfulness, Well-Being and Virtue Development
Mindfulness as a psychological construct and a form of clinical intervention has been widely researched among adults. In this line of research, we examine the effects of infusing meditation with spirituality as well as the effects of mindfulness training in promoting academic and social emotional functioning among ethnic minority youths.
The Spiritual Mindfulness Study
Despite deep roots in Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, mindfulness meditation has been researched almost exclusively in the U.S. within Western psychological frameworks. What are the differences between Western psychological, Christian, and Buddhist conceptualizations and practices of meditation? Can the benefits of mindfulness meditation be enhanced when it is reintegrated with its spiritual traditions? How may cultural values impact the effects of meditation?
School-Based Depression Screening and Prevention Intervention
Ethnic minority youths are at greater risk of unmet mental health needs compared to their Non-Hispanic White counterparts. Can universal depression screening reduce observed racial/ethnic disparities in mental health service referral and utilization? Can school-based mindfulness intervention promote academic and social emotional functioning among ethnic minority youths?
PROJECT
Family Processes in Immigrant and Ethnic Minority Families
This line of research examines broadly how cultural, social, and economic context shape parenting practices, parent-child interactions, and child adjustments. I am particularly interested in parental psychological control (e.g., shame socialization, guilt induction, upward social comparison), and specifically how cultural beliefs about parental control shape parenting practices which in turn impact child adjustment.
Stress and Wellbeing in Migrant Children and Families in China
There are currently an estimated 230 million migrant workers and 20 million migrant children in Chinese cities. Migrant families do not enjoy the rights and privileges in the city and, in many ways, live as second-class citizens (e.g., migrant children are not allowed to go to mainstream public schools and have to attend migrant schools). What are the unique stressors that migrant children face and how do they cope with their stress? How do child (e.g., temperament), parental (e.g., parental support) and contextual (e.g., social discrimination) characteristics influence children’s perceptions of self, academic achievement and peer relationships?
PROJECT
Psychology and Ministry
How can an understanding of psychological processes better inform ministry decisions? In this line of research, we explore ministry stress among Chinese American church leaders in the U.S. We also investigate what it means to provide culturally-sensitive assessment and intervention for formerly trafficked women in India, and identify alternatives to state orphanages for social orphans in Kyrgyzstan.
Business as Mission (BAM): Freedom Business among Trafficked Women
What is the effect of freedom businesses on human development and mental health outcomes of women employed? This is a case study of Freeset, a free trade business located in Kolkata that offers alternative employment to women who were forced into prostitution by trafficking or poverty. What are the significant themes in the women’s lives, including their decision-making processes with regard to the economic choice of work? How do you run a business that is fully business and fully mission while taking care of the person’s psychological needs?
The Chinese-American Pastor Study (CAPS)
What are some unique challenges that Chinese American church leaders face in their ministry, and what is the extent to which ministry stress affects psychological wellbeing and family relations? What are some protective factors that promote wellbeing, positive family processes, and marital relationships?
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
1.   Fung, J., Fung, W., Rosales, A., Jin, J., & Pettit, M. (2022). The Role of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward the Poor in Donation Choices. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly doi:10.1177/08997640211073530
2.   Fung, J., Cai, G., & Wang, K. (2022). Personal and Family Perfectionism among Asian and Latinx Youth in the United States: Relations with Self-Compassion and Psychological Functioning. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
3.   Doan, S., Yu, S., Wright, B., Fung, J., Saleem, F., & Lau, A. (2022). Resilience and Family Socialization Processes in Ethnic Minority Youth: Illuminating the Achievement-Health Paradox. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review
4.   Fung, J., Lin, E., Joo, S., Wong, M. (2021). Factors associated with burnout, marital conflict, and life satisfaction among Chinese American church leaders. Journal of Psychology and Theology doi:10.1177/00916471211011594
5.   Fung, J., Chen, G., Kim, J., Lo, T. (2021). The relations between self-compassion, self-coldness and psychological functioning: A comparison between North American and Hong Kong college students. Mindfulness, 1-12.
6.   Fung, J., Kim, J., Jin, J., Chen, G., Bear, L., & Lau, A. (2018). A randomized trial evaluating school-based mindfulness intervention for ethnic minority youth: Exploring mediators and moderators of intervention effects. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(1), 1-19.
PEOPLE
Faculty
Joey Fung
Professor of Psychology
Associate Dean, School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy
Director, Travis Research Institute
BA, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR
MA, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
PHD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
Students
Mitchell Leong, PsyD, 2027
Mandy Lok, PsyD, 2027
Esther Lee, PhD, 2027
Celine Chui, PsyD, 2028
Jean Park, PsyD, 2028
Cassidy Bernatz, PhD, 2029
Ossanna Amran, PhD, 2030
Meri Yedigaryan, PhD, 2030
Contact Us
phone: 626.584.5544
email:Â [email protected]
Staff
Nicole DeCamp
Research and Grant Administrator
[email protected]
Address
180 N Oakland Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101