Please click here for more information about my research and teaching, with downloadable PDFs.
Please click here to learn more about Tri-Co Asian American Studies.
Education
B.A., Barnard College, Columbia University (Psychology and Anthropology)
M.A. and Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (Clinical Psychology)
Clinical Predoctoral Internship, West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Clinical Postdoctoral Residency, Center for Cognitive Therapy, Penn Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Research
I am trained as a clinical psychologist, but my research spans the social, cultural, and health psychology fields. Broadly speaking, my research interests are in the areas of stress, social interaction, and health and well-being in families and relationships. A part of my work examines links between social-emotional processes (e.g., social support) and biological stress response systems (e.g., the HPA-axis and cortisol activity) using naturalistic and experimental methods. My research primarily uses a cultural framework to understand how cultural values regarding relationships and emotion processes predict social behavior, health, and well-being, with a focus on Asian American and Latinx groups. Recently, I have begun studying social class as culture with a focus on the experiences of first generation college students with regard to stress, coping, and support use.
My research has been published in scientific journals such as Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Asian American Journal of Psychology, Journal of Family Psychology, and Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
Selected Publications
Benjamin, L., Ni, X.-T., & Wang, S. (2021). Implicit support differs across five groups in the U.S., Taiwan, and Mexico. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(4), 675-683.
Chang, J., Wang, S., Mancini, C., McGrath-Mahrer, B., & Orama de Jesus, S. (2020). The complexity of cultural mismatch in higher education: Norms affecting first-generation college students’ coping and help-seeking behaviors. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(3), 280-294.
Wang, S., & Lau, A. S. (2018). Ethnicity moderates the benefits of perceived support and emotional expressivity on stress reactivity for Asian Americans and Euro Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(3), 363-372.
Wang, S., & Campos, B. (2017). Cultural experiences, social ties, and stress: Focusing on the HPA axis. In J. M. Causadias, E. H. Telzer, and N. A. Gonzales (Eds.) Handbook of Culture and Biology. New York: Wiley.
Wang, S., & Repetti, R. (2016). Who gives to whom?: Testing the support gap hypothesis with naturalistic observations of couple interactions. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(4), 492-502.
Wang, S., & Lau, A. S. (2015). Mutual and non-mutual social support: Cultural differences in the psychological, behavioral, and biological effects of support-seeking. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(7), 916-929.
Wang, S., & Repetti, R. L. (2014). Psychological well-being and job stress predict marital support - A naturalistic observation study of dual-earner couples in their homes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(5), 864-878.
Lau, A. S., Wang, S., Fung, J., & Namikoshi, M. (2014). What happens when you can't read the air? Cultural fit and aptitude by values interactions on social anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 33(10), 853-866.
Wang, S., & Repetti, R. L. (2013). After the workday ends: How jobs impact family relationships. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Family Communication 2nd edition (pp. 409-423). New York: Routledge.
Campos, B., Wang, S., Plaksina, T., Repetti, R. L., and Schoebi, D. (2013). Positive and negative emotion in the daily life of dual-earner couples with children. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(1), 76-85.
Wang, S., Repetti, R. L., & Campos, B. (2011). Job stress and family social behavior - The moderating role of neuroticism. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16(4), 441-456.
Wang, S., Shih, J. H., Hu, A. W., Louie, J. Y., & Lau, A. S. (2010). Cultural differences in daily support experiences. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(3), 413-420.
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