I am interested in exploring the intersection of education and youth mental health, with a particular emphasis on the development, implementation, and evaluation of school-based social and emotional learning programs. My current research involves investigating effective prevention strategies for digital addiction among adolescents in rural schools and studying teachers' social-emotional competencies to support the well-being of both students and teachers. My research also includes mindfulness-based interventions and the development and validation of reliable scales for measuring mental health and well-being. Additionally, I am a registered social worker in Hong Kong, with practice experience working with children and youth in school, hospital, and community settings.

I am particularly interested in the impact of culturally tailored Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs on children’s developmental outcomes. In addition, I am interested in adult SEL, with a specific emphasis on supporting school teachers. Furthermore, I am passionate about understanding resilience mechanisms in vulnerable children and families across multiple systems. Currently, I am involved in several research projects aimed at assessing the effectiveness of SEL and mental health interventions for marginalized children across various cultural contexts.

(1) developing and validating social-emotional competence instrument scales that are psychometrically sound, culturally appropriate, and demonstrate measurement invariance across subgroups of target populations, multiple time points, and multi-informants, (2) understanding and exploring the promotive and risk factors at levels of family, school, neighborhood to identify underrepresented and vulnerable children, youth, and families, and (3) developing, evaluating, and informing the implementation of school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions and family poverty alleviation policy. I mainly use nest-structured, panel, and administrative data to conduct quantitative research in longitudinal and cross-cultural/international study designs. My work aims to build research-practice connections by informing evidence-based interventions and prevention programs and policy that are effective and equitable.

—particularly youth with disabilities and other marginalized identities—through the role of K–12 schools and higher education contexts. My research interests include identity development, (bias-based) bullying, school climate, and school-based programs to foster youth’s social-emotional development.