Esther S. Chang
Esther S. Chang, PhD
Faculty - Full-Time
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.
- PhD Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California-Irvine
- MA General Psychology, Columbia University
- BA Politics and International Policy Analysis, Oberlin College
- Introduction to Psychology
- Lifespan Developmental Psychology
- Psychology of Education
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Core: Enduring Questions
- Mentoring
- Shared Agency with Parents
- Political Socialization of Youth
- Body and Weight Management
- Mother-Daughter Relationships
- 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
- 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
- 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, 65(5), 598-604.
- Chang, Esther S., ed. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Educational Psychology.* 8th ed. United States: McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.
- Chang, Esther S., and Boram Lee. “Parenting Goals and Perceived Shared and Non-Shared Agency among Kirogi Mothers of a Youth.” International Journal of Adolescence and Youth 22, no. 4 (October 2017): 470–83.
- Lemus, Daisy, Susan P. Farruggia, Gary Germo, and Esther S. Chang. “The Plans, Goals, and Concerns of Pre-Emancipated Youth in Foster Care.” Children and Youth Services Review 78 (July 2017): 48–55.
- Chang, Esther S. “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 39, no. 1 (February 2016): 209-29.
- Chang, Esther S., Chuansheng Chen, and Elizabeth Kim. “Have You Set Your Life Priorities Straight? Intergenerational Differences in Life Goals among European and East Asian Americans College Students and Their Mothers.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 46, no. 4 (September 2015): 541–55.
- 2013-present, Associate Professor of Psychology, Soka University of America
- 2007-2013, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Soka University of America