Esther S. Chang
Esther S. Chang, PhD
Esther Chang came to Soka University in 2007 after earning a PhD in Psychology and Social Behavior from UCI. Her dissertation study developed a theoretical framework for understanding cross-cultural differences and similarities in parent-adolescent relationships.
Esther Chang’s teaching and research interests at Soka are in Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Psychology of Education, and Cross-Cultural Psychology.
The best way to reach Esther is to book an appointment with her online.
- Oberlin College, B.A., 1995 (Politics and International Policy Analysis)
- Columbia University, M.A., 2000 (General Psychology)
- University of California-Irvine, Ph.D., 2007 (Psychology and Social Behavior)
- Introduction to Psychology
- Lifespan Developmental Psychology
- Psychology of Education
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Capstone in Psychology
- Advanced Topics in Psychology (Evolutionary Psychology, Cultural Genomics).
- Mentoring
- Shared Agency with Parents
- Political Socialization of Youth
- Body and Weight Management
- Mother-Daughter Relationships
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
- Lee, J., Miller, L., & Chang, E. S. (2006). Religious identity among Christian Korean American adolescents. Psychological Reports, 98, 43-56.
- Lee, J., Chang, E. S., & Miller, L. (2006). Ethnic-religious status and identity formation: A qualitative study of Korean American Christian youth. Journal of Youth Ministry, 5, 9-40.
- Chang, E.S., Chen, C., Greenberger, E., Dooley, D., & Heckhausen, J. (2006). What do they want in life?: The life goals of a multi-ethnic, multi-generational sample of high school seniors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 321-332.
- Germo, G., Chang, E.S., Keller, M., & Goldberg, W.A. (2007). Child sleep arrangements and family life: Perspectives from mothers and fathers. Infant and Child Development, 16, 433–456.
- Lench, H. & Chang, E.S. (2007). Belief in an unjust world: When beliefs in a just world fail. Journal of Personality Assessment, 89, 1-10.
- Heckhausen, J. & Chang, E.S. (2009). How ambition can help overcome social inequality in the transition to adulthood. Research on Human Development, 6, 235-251.
- Chang, E.S., Heckhausen, J., Greenberger, E., & Chen, C. (2010). Shared agency with parents for educational goals: Ethnic differences and implications for college adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1293-1304. doi: 10.1007/s10964-009-9488-7
- Chang, E.S., Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Heckhausen, J., & Farruggia, S.P. (2010). Non-parental adults as social resources for adolescents in the transition after high school. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 1065-1082. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00662.x
- Chang, E.S. & Greenberger, E. (2012). Parenting satisfaction at midlife among European and Asian American mothers with a college-enrolled child. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 3, 263- 274. doi: 10.1037/a0026555
**This is a publication of the American Psychological Association.** - Chang, E.S. (2013). Negotiating family obligations and educational goals among college-enrolled youth on Jeju Island, Korea. Journal for Research on Adolescence, 23, 25-34.
- Heckhausen, J., Chang E.S., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. (2013). Striving for Educational and Career Goals During the Transition After High School: What is Beneficial? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1385-1398. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9812-5
- Chang, E.S., Chen, C., & Kim, E. (2015). Have You Set Your Life Priorities Straight? Ethnic and Intergenerational Differences in Life Goal Priorities. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 46, 541- 553.
- Chang, E.S. (2016). Kirogi women’s psychological well-being: The relative contributions of marital quality, mother-child relationship quality, and youth’s educational adjustment. Journal of Family Issues. doi: 10.1177/0192513X16632265
- Chang, E.S. & Lee, B. (2016). Parenting goals and perceived shared and non-shared agency among kirogi mothers of a youth. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. doi: 10.1080/02673843.2016.1245149
- Lemus, D., Farruggia, S.P., Germo, G.R., & Chang, E.S. (2017). The plans, goals, and concerns of pre- emancipated youth in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 78, 48-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.05.003
- Shao, J.*, Chang, E.S., & Chen, C. (2018). The relative importance of parent-child dynamics and minority stress on the psychological adjustment of LGBs in China. Journal of Counseling Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000281
**This is a publication of the American Psychological Association. ** - Chang, E.S. & Germo, G. (2021). Generativity and shared agency with foster youth for education. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.
- Chang, E.S., Shane, J., Villarreal, B., & Heckhausen, J. (2022). Shared agency for occupational goals with parents, romantic partners, and important non-parental adults. Frontiers in Psychology, section: Developmental Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.902288 **Note. Edited by: Kai S. Cortina
- Shao, J., Chang, E.S., & Tsong, Y., Chen, C., & Borelli, J.L. (2023). The mother-daughter shared agency in weight management scale (SAWMS): Development, validation, and implications for body dissatisfaction. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00747-6
- Davis, A.* & Chang, E.S. (under review). News media use and positive attitudes toward refugees: The relative importance of discussions with mothers, fathers, and peers among high school youth.
Works in Progress
- Bui, H., Chang, E.S., Shane, J., & (in progress). Occupational support from developmental network members.
- Chang, E.S., Davis, A. *, Shao, J.*, & Chen, C. (in progress). Political socialization via news media consumption and discussions with parents and peers.
- Chang, E.S. (in progress). Life goals before and during the pandemic.
- Dogan, A., Greenberger, E., Chen, C., & Chang, E.S. (unpublished manuscript). Social support within the "best friend" relationship: Implications for well-being.
- Germo, G. & Chang, E.S. (unpublished manuscript). The Relative Significance of Perceived Warmth and Acceptance from Peers, Mothers, and Fathers on Psychological Adjustment in a Multi-Ethnic Sample of College-Enrolled Youth.
Current Projects
Culture and Beauty Standards. Currently designing a cross cultural study of body and facial satisfaction. Key variables of interest are culture, hostility towards self, body dissatisfaction, mother-daughter relationship quality, mother’s body dissatisfaction, and their relative relations to depression and eating disorder.
INVITED PRESENTATIONS
Culture and the transition to adulthood. Soka University of America, March 2007.
Preparing for lift-off: Ethnic differences and similarities in the transition to adulthood. Department of Psychology and Sociology, California Polytechnic University at Pomona, February 2007.
Shared Agency between youth and parents in the transition to adulthood. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, January 2010.
Hopes and dreams for foster youth: Now what? Court-Appointed Special Advocates Conference, Mariner’s Church, June 9, 2018.
Collaborations: What they really are and why they are important for leaders in education. Graduate School of Soka University of America, February 2019.
Political socialization of youth’s attitudes towards refugees via discussion with parents and peers. Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College of CUNY Graduate Center, September, 2021.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
*Denotes graduate or undergraduate student co-author
Farruggia, S.P., Chang, E.S., Gil-Trejo, L., Heckhausen, J., Greenberger, E., & Chen, C. The role of important non-parental adults in adolescent school connectedness and academic achievement. Poster presented at biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Tampa, April, 2003.
Chang, E.S., Keller, M., Brown, S., & Germo, G. Relations between sleep arrangements and maternal employment to preschoolers’ independence. Poster presented at the biennial meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Phoenix, April, 2004.
Farruggia, S.P., Germo, G., & Chang E.S. Ethnic differences in the role of very important non-parental adults (VIPs) in adolescent educational outcomes. Poster presented at biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Baltimore, March, 2004.
Chang, E.S., Gil-Trejo, L., & Heckhausen, J. Ethnic variations in young adult life goals. Poster presented at biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Baltimore, March, 2004.
Chang, E.S., Gil-Trejo, L, Heckhausen, J., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. High school seniors’ occupational aspirations in a multi-ethnic sample: Individual and social context-related differences. Poster presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Atlanta, April, 2005.
Chang, E.S. & Heckhausen, J. Letting go: Ethnic variations in the structure and function of compensatory secondary control. Paper presented at the symposium, “Primary and secondary control striving in different cultures: Comparisons across nations and across ethnic groups in the United States” at the biennial meetings of the Society for the Study of Human Development, Asilomar-Pacific Grove, October, 2005.
Heckhausen, J. & Chang, E.S. Developmental regulation in German and American adolescents during the transition after high school. Paper presented at the symposium “Youth’s agency and social relationships during major transitions: Influences for better or worse” at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Francisco, March, 2006.
Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Chang, E.S., & Farruggia, S.P. Non-parental adults as social resources for late adolescents in transition: A one-year longitudinal study. Paper presented at the symposium “Youth’s agency and social relationships during major transitions: Influences for better or worse” at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Francisco, March, 2006.
Haase, C.M., Heckhausen, J., Poulin, M., & Chang, E.S., Individual control striving and adaptive development during the school-to-work transition: Findings from two longitudinal studies in Germany and the US. Poster presented at Marbach Germany, March, 2007.
Chang, E.S. & Heckhausen, J. Cultural differences in shared agency with parents during the transition to adulthood. Paper presented at the symposium “Culture, ethnicity and the transition to adulthood” at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Boston, March, 2007.
Tan, E., Chang, E.S., Chung, W.Y., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. Parenting through the college years: A comparison of Asian and European American mothers and fathers. Poster presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Boston, March, 2007.
Chang, E.S., Greenberger, E., & Chen, C. Parenting satisfaction at midlife: A comparison of East Asian and White-European mothers of college students. Poster presented at the annual adult development symposium of the Society for Research in Adult Development, Boston, March, 2007.
Heckhausen, J., Chang, E.S., & Lessard, J. Developmental regulation in German and American adolescents during the transition from school to work. Paper presented at the 13th European Conference on Developmental Psychology, Jena, Germany, August, 2007.
Suzuki, F.*, Low, X.*, Shimura, Y.* & Chang, E.S. Not Happy to Decide by Myself: Cultural Differences and Similarities in College Students' Decision -Making with Parents. Poster presentation presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association. Irvine, CA, April, 2008.
* This presentation was selected by the WPA Program Review Committee for the 2008 Western Psychological Foundation Student Scholarship Award and was described as "one of the most outstanding papers received this year."
Tsuchiya, K.* & Chang, E.S. I have a lot of things to do!: Educational Time Management and College Student Health. Poster presentation presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Irvine, 2008.
Chang, E.S. & Heckhausen, J. Shared Agency in regulating educational goals between college students and parents. Paper presented at the symposium “Parents’ Influences and Individual Agency in Adolescent Self-Regulation: Differences Across Domains and Ethnic Groups” at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Denver, April, 2009.
Makiuchi, H.*, Ogawa, Y.*, & Chang, E.S. If you’re really my friend you would leave me alone, I’m not into school!: Correlates of depressive symptomatology and peer agency among older youth. Poster presentation presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, April, 2009.
Suzuki, F*. & Chang, E.S. Not happy to decide by myself: Cultural differences and similarities in college student's decision-making with parents. Paper presented at 8th Biennial Conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology, New Delhi, 2009.
Dmitrieva, J. & Chang, E.S. Minority Youth Achievement: Testing beyond the general trends. Co-Chair for symposia at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Montreal, Canada, March, 2011.
Chang, E.S. & Greenberger, E. Ethnic differences in life goals between parents and college-enrolled youth. Paper presented at the symposia “Minority Youth Achievement” at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Montreal, Canada, March, 2011.
Germo, G. & Chang, E.S. The unique associations of maternal, paternal, and peer warmth on psychological well-being during college. Poster presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development, Seattle, Washington, April, 2013.
Germo, G. & Chang, E.S. Flourishing in Emerging Adulthood: The Importance of Peer Warmth. Poster presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Austin, Texas, April, 2014.
Mukumoto, K.*, Jafari, N.*, Ohkawa, A.* & Chang, E. S. Shared Agency between Youth and Important Nonparental Adults. Poster presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon, April, 2014.
Jafari, N.*, Ohkawa, A.*, Mukumoto, K.*, & Chang, E. S. The Adaptiveness of IWAH among College-Enrolled Youth. Poster presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon, April, 2014.
Chang, E.S., Lee, B.*, Kim, Y.*, Kim, M.J.* Kirogi Mothers’ Psychological Adjustment: Does Youth’s Educational Adjustment and Feelings of Parental Sacrifice Matter? Poster presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon, April, 2014.
Chang, E.S. The role of marital quality, parent-child relationship quality, and youth’s educational adjustment for kirogi mothers’ psychological adjustment. Poster presented at the inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science, Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 2015.
Chang, E.S. & Lee, B*. “I just want my child to be happy”: Parental Academic Socialization among Kirogi Mothers of a Youth. Poster presented at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, NYC, May, 2015.
Germo, G.R. & Chang, E.S. Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Factors Associated with Formal Mentors’ Educational Aspirations and Expectations of Foster Youth. Poster presented at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, May, 2016.
Shao, J.* & Chang, E.S. Chinese LGBs psychological well-being: Do minority stress and filial piety matter? Poster to be presented at the meetings of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Portland, Oregon, January, 2017.
Shao, J.* & Chang, E.S. Psychological Adjustment of Chinese LGB Individuals: Effects of Minority Stress and Perceived Social Support from Friends and Family. Poster presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Sacramento, April, 2017.
* This presentation was selected by the WPA Program Review Committee for the 2017 Western Psychological Foundation Student Scholarship Award.
Shao, J.*, Kawasaki, S.*, & Chang, E.S. Where is the Future?: Life Goals of Chinese LGB young adults. Poster presented at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Sacramento, April, 2017.
Chang, E.S. & Germo, G. Court-Appointed Special Advocates’ Goals and Perceptions of Shared Agency with Foster Youth’s Educational Goals. Paper presented at the symposia: “Barriers to and Benefits from Community Involvement: A Motivational Perspective” at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston, May, 2017.
Chang, E.S. & Tsong, Y. Eating Disorder and What Parents Can Do. Poster presented at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, May, 2018.
Germo, G. & Chang, E.S. Formal Mentors' Self-Articulated Life Goals for Youth in Foster Care. Poster presentation at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, May, 2018.
Chang, E.S., Shane, J., Varvak, A., & Davis, A.* Gender Differences in Occupational Goal Pursuit between College-enrolled Emerging Adults and their Social Partners. Poster presented at the biennial meetings of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Gold Coast, Australia, July, 2018.
Shao, J. *, Zhu, Y., Lee, Y., Chang, E. S., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. Perceived parental acceptance of Chinese LGBQ young adults: Plans, negotiations, and resistance. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, San Francisco CA, August, 2018.
Shao, J. *, Chang, E. S., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. Negotiating marriage and marital plans among Chinese LGBQ young adults. Poster presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Conference, Pittsburgh PA, June, 2018.
Shao, J. *, Zhu, Y., Chen, H., Chang, E. S., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. The importance of marriage equality for Chinese LGBQ young adults. Poster presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Conference, Pittsburgh PA, June, 2018.
Shao, J.* & Chang, E.S. "It's my own life": Negotiating parental support and acceptance among Chinese LGBQ young adults. Poster presented at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, November, 2018.
Davis, S.* & Chang, E.S. Parental and Peer Correlates of Hookup Culture Attitudes and Sexual Habits among College Students. Poster presented at annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Pasadena, CA, April, 2019.
Grant-Dreher, E. *, Davis, A.*, Setterstrom, E. *, Gonzales, T. * & Chang, E.S. Breaking the spell: Susceptibility to persuasion and group psychological abuse. Poster presented at annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Pasadena, CA, April, 2019.
Davis, A.* & Chang, E.S. News Consumption and Youth Acceptance of Refugees: The Mediating Role of Discussions with Mothers, Fathers, and Peers. accepted for presentation at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA, January, 2020 (cancelled due to COVID19 pandemic).
Sherpa, C.* & Chang, E.S. Self-efficacy and academic achievement among female university students in the US, Spain, and Nepal. Individual Paper accepted for presentation at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, October, 2020. [Virtual Format]
Chang, E.S. (Chair). Attitudes towards immigrants as people: Social and developmental approaches to understanding acceptance. Symposium conducted at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, October, 2020. [Virtual Format]
• Zhang, E.J. Resource or Culture, the Price You are not Willing to Pay for Migrants: A Study of Westerners in Shanghai
• Ao, Xiang & Hogg, M. We are Less Groupy as They are Coming: How Entitativity Threat Shapes Americans’ Attitudes towards Immigration
• Davis, A. & Chang, E.S. Influence of News Consumption and Discussions on Acceptance of Refugees among High School Youth
Germo, G., Shane, J. & Chang, E.S. The four subtypes of the Court Appointed Special Advocates. Paper presented at the symposium “Promoting Optimal Context for Foster Care Youth” accepted for presentation at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA, January, 2021.
Shao, J.*, Chang, E.S., Tsong, Y. & Chen, C. Ethnic differences in disordered eating: The role of maternal expectations and perceived overinvolvement in weight management. Individual Paper accepted for presentation at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA, January, 2021. cancelled due to COVID19 pandemic).
Sherpa, C.* & Chang, E.S. Masculinity, femininity, and androgyny: Which is more important for leadership engagement? Poster presentation at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, April, 2021. [Virtual Format]
Bui, H. *, Ngyuen, A.,* & DeMelo, W.,* & Chang, E.S. Potential Effect of Mothers’ Occupational Shared Agency on Occupational Goal Stress: The Mediating Role of Selective Secondary Control Strategies. Poster presentation at the annual meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon, April, 2022.
Bui, H. * & Chang, E.S. Perceived occupational social support from developmental networks: Who is most important for occupational goal engagement and satisfaction? Poster presentation at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, Illinois, May, 2022.
Shao, J., Chang, E.S., Davis, A., & Chen, C. Ethnic differences in family and peer contexts for political engagement during college. Flash Talk presented at Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA, March 2023.
Shao, J., Chang, E.S., Chen, C. Maternal expectation on weight and daughters’ disordered eating: Ethnic differences and the mediating role of perceived agency with mothers. Individual paper presented for presentation at Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA, March 2023.
Bui, H.*, Uruma, T.*, & Chang, E.S. Did the COVID-19 lockdown change college students’ life goals?: A comparison of self-articulated life goals between two cohorts 2009 and 2021. Poster presented at Poster Blitz at the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA, March 2023.
- Assistant Professor of Psychology, Soka University of America, 2007 – 2013
- Associate Professor of Psychology, Soka University of America, 2013 – 2017
- Professor of Psychology, Soka University of America, 2017-present
- 2001 Martha Newkirk Fellowship Endowment, UCI
- 2002-2007 Summer Research Support, School of Social Ecology, UCI
- 2004-2006 Outstanding Social Ecology School Mentor Award, UCI
- 2004 Travel & Tuition Award, Advanced Training Institute in Structural Equation Modeling (American Psychological Association in Hawaii)
- 2005 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship, Honorable Mention
- 2006 School of Social Ecology Dean’s Dissertation Data Gathering Award, UCI
- 2007 School of Social Ecology Dean’s Dissertation Writing Fellowship, UCI
- 2007 Ford Foundation Diversity Dissertation Fellowship, Honorable Mention
- 2013 Pacific Basin Research Center, Summer Research Fellowship, SUA
- 2019 Faculty Merit Award, SUA