Grant to support Janet Chang’s study on social and cultural factors affecting mental health of Latinos and Asian Americans
HARTFORD, Conn. – Janet Chang, an assistant professor of psychology at Trinity, has been awarded a 25-month, $75,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to conduct research on social and cultural factors that affect mental health. The grant is funded through the RWJF New Connections program and will finance a project entitled, “The Relationship between Social Networks and Mental Health among Latinos and Asian Americans: The Mediating Effects of Family Cohesion and Acculturative Stress.”
New Connections is a national program designed to introduce new scholars to RWJF and expand the diversity of perspectives that inform the foundation’s programming. New Connections seeks early- to mid-career scholars who are historically underrepresented ethnic or racial minorities, first-generation college graduates, and individuals from low-income communities.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Chang to a program that reflects the Foundation’s commitment to increasing the diversity in our grant making and in the broader fields of health research,” says Debra Pérez, Ph.D., M.P.A., M.A., the RWJF Senior Program Officer who directs the New Connections program.
“More than a grant opportunity, New Connections serves as a lifelong professional network for diverse researchers,” says Pérez.
Chang has been a member of Trinity’s faculty since 2006 and will be on leave in the 2009-10 academic year to pursue her research. She has a B.A. with honors from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis. She previously received awards from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Williams College Gaius Charles Bolin Dissertation Fellowship. Her primary research interests lie in the area of socio-cultural, ethnic minority, and community psychology.
She will be conducting secondary data analyses using a national dataset that is archived at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan. The data come from the National Latino and Asian American Study, one of the largest nationally representative studies of Latino and Asian American community respondents. The availability of existing datasets affords researchers, like Chang, the luxury of concentrating on analyses and also on having large sample sizes at their disposal.
Specifically, Chang will investigate the impact of family social support on psychological distress and use of mental health services among Latinos and Asian Americans. Close family bonds can be helpful, and at times, stressful. When individuals experience acculturation stressors associated with interacting with their culture of origin and a different culture, it may counter the benefits of close family bonds. Chang will examine the complexity of these issues by taking into account the role of family cohesion and acculturative stress—salient factors relevant to ethnic minority groups, particularly those from immigrant backgrounds. Her research will also focus on variations between different Latino (e.g., Mexican, Puerto Rican) and Asian American subgroups (e.g., Chinese, Filipino) given the heterogeneity of experiences within and between these groups. Findings from Chang’s research will shed light on cultural factors that influence coping and reveal ways to improve mental health outcomes.
In 2008, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded approximately $520 million in grants in seven program areas: building human capital; childhood obesity; health coverage; pioneering bold ideas; public health; the quality and equality of health care; and vulnerable populations.
Chang’s research falls in the category of vulnerable populations. Up to eight projects will be funded during this round of the RWJF New Connections program.
More information about New Connections is available at http://www.rwjf-newconnections.org/index.html.
About Trinity College
Founded in Hartford, CT, in 1823, Trinity College (www.trincoll.edu) is an independent, nonsectarian liberal arts college with more than 2,200 students from 43 states and 41 countries. It is home to the eighth-oldest chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in the United States. The faculty and alumni include recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur Award, Guggenheims, Rockefellers, and other national academic awards. Trinity students integrate meaningful academic and leadership experience at all levels on the College's celebrated campus in the capital city of Hartford and in communities all over the world.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Fondation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, RWJF works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, RWJF expects to make a difference in your lifetime.