Lab News and Projects
Current Workshops and Youth Mental Health First Aid
Asian American Parenting Workshop: Dr. Wang and students are currently offering parenting workshops to Asian American parents on how to prevent bullying and promote youth mental health at Churchill High School.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Parent Workshop: Dr. Wang and students are offering Youth Mental Health First Aid for parents at MCPS.
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Youth Mental Health First Aid Student Workshop: Dr. Wang and Dr. Jia Liu offered Youth Mental Health First Aid for students at UMD.
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Ethnic Racial Socialization Project
Dr. Wang and Dr. Jia Liu are studying how Chinese American mothers talk to their children about race and ethnicity. Ethnic racial socialization (ERS) are the parental messages concerning children’s race and ethnicity to foster knowledge and appreciation for their cultural heritage, prepare children for possible encounters of societal racism, stereotypes, and discrimination, and/or promote wariness of other ethnic groups (Grindal & Nieri, 2015; Hughes et al., 2006). Although research demonstrates the importance of cultural socialization and preparation for bias in preparing young children to enter school settings, these parenting practices are relatively rare among Asian immigrant groups. Our current ERS study seeks to overcome some of those limitations by examining the ERS messages that low-income and middle-class Chinese immigrant parents convey to their young 5-6 year-old children in a videotaped shared book-reading task and one-hour qualitative interview with mothers.
Drs. Cixin Wang and Rashawn Ray Receive BBI Seed Grant to Develop Cyberbullying Interventions
Drs. Cixin Wang (Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education) and Rashawn Ray (Sociology) received a BBI seed grant for their project: The Impact of Race and Gender on Cyberbullying and Interventions among Middle School and High School Students. Despite the rise and detrimental effects of cyberbullying, there is little research that addresses how the race and gender of victims impact the likelihood of bystanders to intervene. Their research directly responds to these concerns with the aim of identifying the cognitive, risk, mental health, and protective factors that increase the likelihood of peers to intervene in cyberbullying. Intervening is a stressful encounter. Accordingly, rarely is the physiology of bystanders assessed. Results from this study will inform their future work to speak to this important gap in the literature. In addition to developing an educational plan that will be implemented by Prince George’s County Public Schools, they plan to use results from this study to apply for external grants to develop a virtual reality program that examines the physiological responses of bystanders. Read more about the BBI grant program here. Culturally Responsive Parenting Workshops for Asian Americans
Dr. Cixin Wang and colleagues are currently leading a 7-session culturally-responsive workshop for Asian American parents at Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville, Maryland. Topics will include improving communication, solving conflicts, preventing bullying, and home-school communication strategies. For more information, please contact Cixin Wang at cxwang@umd.edu.
To register, visit http://www.mcpsparentacademy.org.
Village Initiative Community Resource Seminar
The Village Initiative is a continued joint effort of the CCACC-Mental Health 360, Chinese American Parent Association and the Asian American Studies Program of the University of Maryland. The Village Initiative aims at promoting overall wellbeing of our community by providing information, resource referral and other resources for community members in need. In this event, we will showcase the inspiring growing journey of Ms. Jiang Xinrou, a young lady lost her hearing at the age of 8 months, grew into a graceful professional dancer. We also invited MCPS professionals, as well as community organizations who provide resource and service for students with special needs to join our panel discussion.
Culturally Responsive Parenting Workshops
Dr. Cixin Wang and colleagues lead a 6-session workshop at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland through December 2018 for parents of Asian American students with the goal of reducing bullying and depression, improving parent-child communication and problem-solving skills, and providing evidence-based strategies for parents. Topics included effective communication, enhancing emotional awareness, use of praise in parenting, bullying prevention, and strategies for communicating with schools. Please contact cxwang@umd.edu for more information. Parent-Teen Connect Workshop Series
Dr. Cixin Wang and colleagues led culturally-responsive workshops aimed at parents of teenagers with an emphasis on bridging cultural and generational gaps and building positive family relationships. Topics include improving parent-teen communication, problem-solving and stress management.
The Hear Me Out Essay Contest
The Hear Me Out! essay contest was an opportunity for immigrant parents and children of immigrant parents to share their personal stories exploring cultural and generational issues within their families. The 27 winners of the essay contest were honored in a ceremony on April 6, 2018.