Yang Hou

Professional Profile

Dr. Hou’s research seeks to comprehensively understand how environmental (i.e., sociocultural, family, school, and peer) factors and biological factors (e.g., sex, gene, disease) influence child and adolescent development in socioemotional, behavioral, cognitive, academic, and health domains. Specifically, she has established three main lines of research: (1) assessing how sociocultural, family, school, and peer factors influence adolescent socio-emotional, behavioral, academic, and health outcomes, with a particular focus on immigrant and low-income families; (2) understanding biological and environmental factors related to the neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes of individuals with genetic disorders (e.g., Neurofibromatosis Type 1); (3) addressing a common and challenging methodological issue in developmental and clinical science—informant discrepancies in reports of family process and child outcome variables. Her research utilizes various advanced quantitative methodologies such as structural equation modeling, time-varying effect modeling, and multilevel modeling.

She has published about 30 peer-reviewed papers in top-tiered journals such as American Psychologist, Child Development, and Developmental Psychology. Her research has garnered multiple national/international awards, including Distinguished Student Research Award from American Psychological Association (Division 45, 2016), Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award from the Society for Research in Child Development Asian Caucus (2017), Outstanding Dissertation Award from American Psychological Association (Division 7, 2020), and Early Career Outstanding Paper Award from American Psychological Association (Division 7, 2021). Recently, her research project “Using Big Data to Comprehensively Delineate the Neurobehavioral Phenotype of Children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1” is funded by the Department of Defence (total amount awarded: $651,871, 09/2021-08/2024).

Dr. Hou serves as a member of editorial boards of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence and Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology. She also has served as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for many journals including American Psychologist, Child Development, Journal of Research on Adolescence, International Journal of Psychology, and Learning and Individual Differences.

Dr. Hou values students’ intellectual development and recognizes the importance of helping students achieve their academic and professional aspirations. She is committed to mentoring students from diverse backgrounds, especially those from ethnic minority, immigrant, or low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students, and international students. She has mentored/supervised over 30 undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds. She has helped mentees publish in academic journals and apply for scholarships, graduate schools, and jobs.

Dr. Hou is recruiting doctoral students and postdocs.

Representative Publications:

1. Hou, Y., Allen, T., Wolters, P. L., Toledo-Tamula, M. A., Martin, S., Baldwin, A., Reda, S., Gillespie, A., Goodwin, A. & Widemann B. C. (2020) Predictors of cognitive development in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 and plexiform neurofibromas. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 62, 977-984. doi:10.1111/dmcn.14489
2. Hou, Y., Benner, A.D., Kim, S. Y., Chen, S., Spitz, S., Shi, Y., & Beretvas, T. (2020) Discordance in parents’ and adolescents’ reports of parenting: A meta-analysis and qualitative review. American Psychologist, 75, 329-348. doi:10.1037/amp0000463 (This paper received Early Career Outstanding Paper Award from American Psychological Association, Division 7 Developmental Psychology, 2021)
3. Hou, Y., Neff, L. & Kim, S. Y. (2018). Language acculturation, acculturation-related stress, and marital quality in Chinese American couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80, 555-568. doi:10.1111/jomf.12447
4. Hou, Y., Kim, S. Y., & Benner, A.D. (2018). Parent-adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting and adolescent outcomes in Mexican American immigrant families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 430-444. doi: 10.1007/s10964-017-0717-1
5. Hou, Y., Kim, S. Y., Hazen, N. L. & Benner, A. D. (2017). Parents’ perceived discrimination and adolescent adjustment in Chinese American families: Mediating family processes. Child Development, 88, 317-331. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12603
6. Hou, Y., Kim, S. Y., & Wang, Y. (2016). Parental acculturative stressors and adolescent adjustment through interparental and parent-child relationships in Chinese American families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 1466-1481. doi:10.1007/s10964-016-0441-2
7. Hou, Y., Kim, S. Y., Wang, Y., Shen, Y., & Orozco-Lapray, D. (2015). Longitudinal relationships between discrimination and ethnic affect or depressive symptoms among Chinese American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 2110-2121. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0300-6

Education

Ph.D., Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 2014-2018

M.Phil., Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010-2012

B.S., Psychology, Southwest University (China), 2005-2009