Dr. Jing Zhang
Biography
Dr. Jing Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Kent State University. She received her B.S. in Economics from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in China, an M.S. in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences from The University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science from Virginia Tech. Dr. Zhang’s scholarly emphasis is on interdisciplinary research across the domains of family science and public health. Grounded in the ecological and life course perspectives, her work contributes to the understanding of crucial targets for preventive interventions that benefit socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and families. Her specific lines of inquiry include (1) exploring mechanisms linking contextual factors and health and behavioral outcomes of marginalized youth and families, and (2) developing, testing, and disseminating preventive interventions that mitigate the negative influence of contextual risk and foster positive family relationships and resilience. Across both lines of inquiry, she utilizes both primary and secondary data, and combines different methodological approaches, to better understand the health and behavioral outcomes of disadvantaged youth and families and the related preventions and interventions. She is a member of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR).
Expertise
- Health and behavioral outcomes of marginalized youth and families
- Contextual risk factors
- Family processes, parenting, parent-child relationships
- Preventions/interventions
- Advanced research methods (e.g., latent growth modeling, multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and group-based modeling for longitudinal clinical randomized trials)
Education
M.S. in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, The University of Florida
B.S. in Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in China
Research Methods
Publications
- Zhang, J., & Slesnick, N. (accepted). Substance use and social stability of homeless youth: A comparison of three interventions. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
- Zhang, J., Savla, J., & Cheng, H. (in press). Cumulative risk and immigrant youth’s health and educational outcomes: Mediating effects of inter- and intra-familial Âsocial capital. Youth & Society.
- Zhang. J., & Slesnick, N. (2018). The effects of a family systems intervention on co-occurring internalizing and externalizing behaviors of children with substance using mothers: A latent transition analysis. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 44, 687
- Zhang, J., Slesnick, N., & Feng, X. (2018). The co-occurring trajectory of mothers’ drug use and psychological control and children’s behavior problems: The effects of a family systems intervention. Family Process, 57, 211-225.
- Zhang, J., & Slesnick, N. (2017). Discrepancies in autonomy and relatedness promoting behaviors of substance using mothers and their children: The effects of a family systems intervention. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46, 668-681.
- Zhang, J., & Slesnick, N. (2016). Cumulative contextual risk and behavior problems among children with substance using mothers: The mediating role of mothers’ and children’s coping strategies. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86, 447-455.
Awards/Achievements
- 2012 Vetra R. Mancini and Jay A. Mancini Research Prize, Center for Gerontology, Virginia Tech
- 2012 International Scholars Grant, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech
- 2011 Alexander L. Meszaros NCFR Leadership Travel Award, Virginia Tech
- 2011 Human Development Departmental Research Grant, Virginia Tech
- 2010 Alexander L. Meszaros NCFR Leadership Travel Award, Virginia Tech