Graduate Research Assistant
Jung Yun Na is a second-year doctoral student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She also holds an M.Div. and a Th.M. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Jung’s research examines how Asian American and immigrant-origin youth and their families draw on cultural and relational strengths to thrive in racialized contexts, organized across three interconnected lines of research. First, she studies racial-ethnic socialization and parent–adolescent communication. Second, she examines youth agency in family socialization, focusing on how adolescents interpret and transform the messages they receive from parents and how this voice fosters civic engagement and contribution. Third, she investigates the developmental strengths these processes cultivate, including sense of purpose, meaning in life, and the roles of spirituality and religiosity in youth resilience and positive development. She is also extending this work cross-nationally to multicultural families in South Korea, examining how youth from diverse cultural backgrounds navigate identity and sense of belonging. Ultimately, she hopes to translate this work into culturally informed, strength-based, and community-based intervention and prevention programs that promote the thriving of multicultural youth and families.
Jung is currently involved in Project ARISE, Project BRAVE, Project AURA, and the Multicultural Family and Youth Project.
Contact
Email: jn369@umbc.edu
Phone: 410-455-5755
Website: https://jungyunna.com