Sungha Kang

Assistant Professor

Click here to see how my name is pronounced.

Education

Ph.D.: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Clinical Internship: University of Illinois at Chicago Psychiatry
M.S.: University of Massachusetts Amherst
BA: University of Iowa

Research Interests

I am accepting a student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program for Fall 2024 (this application cycle).
My program of research broadly aims to address mental health disparities among children and families systemically oppressed by institutional racism. I am particularly interested in the processes by which children’s externalizing or disruptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity, defiance, delinquency) are identified, diagnosed, and treated in Black and Brown children. In doing so, I consider the interplay of contextual factors (e.g., parenting, families, schools and teachers, community violence) and systems-level factors (e.g., school districts, healthcare systems, juvenile justice systems) that contribute to the outcomes of children with externalizing behaviors. Through community-based participatory research methods, I aim to bolster community- and school-based mental health supports for children ultimately to dismantle the school-to-prison-pipeline that disproportionately affects Black and Brown youth. Through my research, I aspire to reduce disparities and increase access to adequate, culturally-sensitive, and trauma-informed mental healthcare for children and families of color in the United States.

Courses Taught

PSYC 331 Psychopathology
PSYC 432 Assessment

Publications/Research Listings

Rajesh, A., Kelly, C., Silvan, Y. A., Diehl, C. K., Obee, A. F., Wilson, M. K., Perez, V., Howard, E., Kang, S., Duong, J. B., Weiss, H., Sayegh, P., South, S. C., Manczak, E. M., Merchant, J. T., Merrill, B. M., & Eaton, N. R. (accepted). Diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and anti-racism statements by clinical psychological science programs: A mixed methods analysis of public commitments. Training and Education in Professional Psychology.

Lee, M., Kang, S., Uribe, A., Galano, M., & Harvey, E. A. (2023). Mediators and moderator of the effects of early exposure to intimate partner violence on children’s mental health. Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579423000548

Gair, S. L., Kang, S., Breaux, R. P., Khan, J. Peechatka, A., & Harvey, E. A. (2023). Development and psychometric properties of the Youth Emotions Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10051-x

Isbell, L. M., Kang, S., Barysky, G., & Quinn, G. (2022). Stigmatizing attitudes toward childhood psychopathology in parents vs. non-parents: Effects of disorder causality and treatment. PLOS ONE, 17(9): e0274185. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274185

Kang, S., Gair, S. L., Paton, M. J., & Harvey, E. A. (2022). Racial and ethnic differences in the relation between parenting and preschoolers’ externalizing behaviors. Early Education and Development, 34(4), 823-241. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2022.2074202

Arnold, D. H., Chary, M., Gair, S., Helm, A. F., Herman, R., Kang, S., & Lokhandwala, S. (2021). A randomized controlled trial of an educational app to improve preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills. Journal of Children and Media, 15(4), 457-475. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2020.1863239

Gair, S. L., Brown, H. R., Kang, S., Grabell, A. S., & Harvey, E. A. (2021). Early development of comorbidity between symptoms of ADHD and anxiety. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 49, 311-323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-020-00724-6

Kang, S. & Harvey, E. A. (2020). Racial differences between Black parents’ and White teachers’ perceptions of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48, 661-672. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00600-y

Clark, J. K., Thiem, K. C., & Kang, S. (2017). Positive stereotype validation: The bolstering effects of activating positive stereotypes after intellectual performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(12), 1630-1642. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217723324