Name: Charissa S. L. Cheah, Ph.D.

Education: Ph.D. University of Maryland, College Park, 2000: Human Development, Developmental Science

Area: Children's Social and Emotional Development and Culture

Office: MP330
Lab: http://www.umbc.edu/psyc/ccadlab
Email:ccheah@umbc.edu

Research Interests

Dr. Cheah's research interests include: (1) the study of the interactions between individual, peer, and family factors in the social emotional development and health of children; and (2) the exploration of multiple pathways in which cultural factors contribute to social and emotional development. Currently, Dr. Cheah has several ongoing projects examining these issues: one project focuses on parenting beliefs regarding preschoolers' social skills and development, among European American, Mainland Chinese, South Korean, and Canadian Aboriginal mothers. In this study, the relations between cultural ideologies and values and maternal beliefs are examined. In another longitudinal project, Dr. Cheah is exploring the development of parenting beliefs and practices within a contextual framework among adolescent Canadian Aboriginal mothers and adolescent European Canadian mothers. We are exploring the interrelations among maternal age, cultural ideologies, ethnic identity, acculturation, stress and social support, and child temperament, on child developmental outcomes. Further, the adolescent mothers' social, emotional, and physical well-being and the potential role of these factors in their child's development is also explored. In Baltimore, Dr. Cheah Has initiated Project ADVANCE, an extension of her work with adolescent parents. We examine socio-cultural, relational, and individual factors that may influence positive outcomes for both the adolescent parent and their child by describing and understanding: (a) adolescent parents' transition into adulthood and their parenting roles; (b) their parenting beliefs and observed behaviors; (c) the interactive role of child characteristics and their child's developmental outcomes; and (c) the change and stability of these associations over 4 time points. Observations of mother-infant interactions are conducted. The sample includes adolescent mothers and fathers from Baltimore City and County, primarily of low SES and from high risk environments. The second project (C-STARS) will involve immigrant families residing in Baltimore City and County, focusing on Chinese, Korean, and Latino/Hispanic families with young children ages 3-5 years. The community resources available to these families, their adaptation and acculturation, and their culturally-specific parenting beliefs and practices will be examined, in relation to their preschool children's social emotional development, social skills, and transition into American society.

Selected Publications

Bornstein, M. H. & Cheah, C. S. L. (in press). The place of "culture and parenting" in an ecological contextual perspective on developmental science. In K. H. Rubin & O. B. Chung, (Eds.). Parental beliefs, parenting, and child development in cross-cultural perspective. London, UK: Psychology Press.

Park, S. Y., & Cheah, C. S. L. (2005). Korean mothers' proactive socialization beliefs regarding preschoolers' social skills. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 24-34.

Cheah, C. S. L., & Nelson, L. J. (2004). The role of acculturation in the emerging adulthood of Aboriginal college students. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 495-507.

Cheah, C. S. L., & Rubin, K. H. (2004). Comparison of European American and Mainland Chinese Mothers' responses to aggression and social withdrawal in preschoolers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 83-94

Cheah, C. S. L., & Rubin, K. H. (2003). European American and Mainland Chinese mothers' socialization beliefs regarding preschoolers' social skills. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3, 1-22.

Rubin, K. H., Cheah, C. S. L., & Fox, N. A. (2001). Emotion regulation, parenting, and the display of social reticence in preschoolers. Early Education and Development, 12, 97-115.

Cheah, C. S. L., Nelson, L. J., & Rubin, K. H. (2001). Non-social play as a risk factor in social and emotional development. In A. Goncu & E. Klein (Eds.), Children in play, story, and school. pp 39-71. New York: Guilford Press.