Su Yeong Kim: Developmental Research

By Su Yeong Kim Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin The Correlation between Families and Confidence in Adolescents  Children raised in many immigrant families are raised to live in two worlds. They use their heritage language at home. They speak English in school. This is not only a linguistic bilingual experience. It is often associated with the practice of responsibility in adulthood. Language brokering is one of the widespread tasks. Teenagers are commonly used to translate documents, discussions, and official messages of their parents. They are cultural and language intermediaries between their families and American society. Meanwhile, these teenagers do not lack social problems. Some of them are subjected to racial and ethnic discrimination within academies and neighborhoods as well as in everyday life. Such experiences of prejudice cause stress that may influence their self-esteem, motivation and school performance. One of the mos...

By Su Yeong Kim Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin How Culture Adaptation Influences Identity, Behavior and Success The fact that adolescents of migrant families have to move between two cultures can be a challenge and an opportunity simultaneously. The Mexican-origin youth in the United States are mostly anchored between maintaining the heritage culture as practiced by the parents to other contemporary American culture that surrounds them.  But what effect do these cultural identity issues have on their mental health, academic performance, and developmental dynamics over time? A longitudinal study conducted by Jinjin Yan, Lester Sim, Seth J. Schwartz, Yishan Shen, Deborah Parra-Medina, Su Yeong Kim , published in New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development illuminates this question by tracing the patterns of acculturation among Mexican-origin adolescents in families who immigrated to the United States. Findings of the research...

First published in the Journals of Gerontology by Dr. Su Yeong Kim, Ph.D. & Team Discrimination doesn’t just bruise emotions; it shapes the way the brain functions years down the line. Our latest research explores how the chronic stress of discrimination can deteriorate the mental sharpness of Mexican-origin women, with depression acting as the hidden link in this troubling chain. The study, titled “Prospective Effects of Discrimination, Depressive Symptoms, and Cognitive Control Among Mexican-Origin Women” , tracks how social stress reverberates inside the mind, ultimately slowing reaction times and impairing decision-making in ways that can persist for nearly a decade. Why This Study, Why Now? Mexican-origin women represent over 60% of the U.S. Latino population and face heightened risk for cognitive impairment compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Despite this, few studies have examined how discrimination, a pervasive and insidious form of chronic stress, may be impairing their cogn...

By Su Yeong Kim Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin How Cultural Values Influence Parenting and Adolescent Outcomes — Findings by Su Yeong Kim Family is a noted determinant to Mexican American adolescents , not only due to its provision of care, but as the central cultural identity. Some of the most dominant cultural principles include family obligation, which contends that a person ought to respect, assist, and make sure that the family members are well. A research by Dr. Su Yeong Kim in the Journal of Early Adolescence, maps out the effects of family obligation values as enacted by both parents and adolescents. He discusses changing the patterns of parenting activities and consequently, the psychological, as well as academic conditions of adolescents. Based on two waves of data on 604 Mexican Americans families, the study developed a complex insight regarding how cultural values may be used as an asset in the development of adolescents. Fi...