Charissa S. L. Cheah, Ph.D.
Charissa S. L. Cheah is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Asian Studies Faculty Affiliate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She holds a B.A. in psychology (Honors thesis) from the University of Waterloo in Canada and a Ph.D. in Human Development (Developmental Science Specialization) from the University of Maryland. Dr. Cheah completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. Before coming to UMBC, she was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Canada. As a cultural developmental scientist, Dr. Cheah utilizes mixed-method approaches to explore how individual characteristics, relationships, socialization agents, and contexts interact to influence social-emotional, mental, and physical health. She is particularly interested in understanding these processes among families of racial and religious minority backgrounds, considering their minoritized, immigrant, and marginalized intersecting statuses across different countries.
She is the President of the Society for Research on Adolescence. She has served as the co-chair of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) International Affairs Committee and the chair of the Asian Caucus of the SRCD. Dr. Cheah was also an elected member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD). Dr. Cheah received a University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship or Research. She was also awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship Grant to Italy (2017-2018) for her work exploring the group identities and adjustment of Muslim Tunisian adolescents in Sicily. Dr. Cheah received a fellowship from the Foundation for Child Development: Changing Faces of America’s Children – Young Scholars Program (YSP) (https://www.fcd-us.org/about-us/young-scholars-program/) and a Visiting Scientists Fellowship award from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.
Additionally, Dr. Cheah has served as an associate editor for the journal Child Development, and an editorial board member of the International Journal of Behavioral Development, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, and Parenting: Science and Practice. She regularly serves as a cultural content consultant for children’s media (e.g., Nickelodeon Jr. Television; Noggin; The WNET Group, PBS; 9 Story Media Group), and lends her expertise as a commentator and advisory board member for public media, foundations, and private corporations.
Charissa S. L. Cheah Biosketch
Contact
Email: ccheah@umbc.edu
Phone: 410-350-5455