
Wei-Ju Chen
Assistant Professor, Graduate Program Head
Department of Psychology
Dr. Wei-Ju Chen is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Graduate Program Head for the Psychology Master's Program. She has a great passion for interdisciplinary research on minority health disparities, stress and coping, emotion, genomics, autism spectrum disorders, and cancer prevention.
Education and Training
- Postdoc, Texas A&M University, 2017–2019
- Ph.D. in Psychology with Health Psychology Concentration (Minors: Quantitative Methods; Cognition and Perception), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017
- M.A. in Psychology, San José State University, 2012
- B.S. (summa cum laude) in Psychology, San José State University, 2010
Certifications
- Community Health Worker Instructor, Certificate #505, TX, since 2017
- Community Health Worker, Certificate #9384, TX, since 2019
Recent Publications
- Chen, W., Nelson, A. M., Johnson, H. B., & Fleming, R. (2021). Effects of self-affirmation on emotion and cardiovascular responses. Stress and Health, 37(2),201-212. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2986
- Chen, W., Zhang, Z., Wang, H., Tseng, T., Ma, P., & Chen, L. (2021). Perceptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) etiology among parents of children with ASD. (Special Issue: Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 6774. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136774
- Chen, W., Zhao, S., Stelzig, D., Nimmons, K. M., Dhar, S. U., Eble, T. N., Martinez, D., Yeh, Y., & Chen, L. (2021). Family health history-based cancer prevention training for community health workers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 60(3), e159-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.09.019
- Zhao, S., Chen, W., Dhar, S., Eble, T., Kwok, O., & Chen, L. (2021). Pursuing genetic testing for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What do parents think? Journal of Genetic Counseling, 30(2), 370-382. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1320
- Barton-Weston, H., Chen, W., Fike, D., Griffiths, R., Soukup, G., & Chen, L. (in press). Evaluation of a mandatory theory-based physical activity course on motivation among predominantly Hispanic college students. Journal of American College Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1926259
Research Interests
Psychophysiological Research on Well-being
My research in psychological and physiological well-being involves:
- studying the complex links among physiological arousal, emotion, and perceived emotional experience
- examining the effects of coping on physiological responses during and subsequent to induction of stress or emotion, as well as its long-term impacts
- assessing the connections between value affirmation and positive psychology
Health Disparities among Underserved and Marginalized Populations
I am interested in conducting innovative and timely research on minority health disparities, including:
- exploring new technologies and methods that can contribute to cancer prevention education and health disparities research
- further specifying predictors of physical and psychological health among different underserved or marginalized populations to develop culturally appropriate models for health disparities research
- assessing as well as disseminating education and interventions to address cancer disparities among underserved populations
Links to Other Pages
ResearchGate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wei_Ju_Chen4
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=yQ9K3W8AAAAJ
Courses
- PSYC 4307 Health Psychology
- PSYC 3304 Experimental Psychology
- PSYC 3104 Experimental Psychology Laboratory
- PSYC 3386 Human Sexuality
- PSYC 6302 Research Methodology
- PSYC 6314 Advanced Statistics: Regression
- Accepting:
- Master’s Thesis Students
- Graduate Research Assistants
- Undergraduate Research Assistants
- Independent Study or Undergraduate Research Program Students
Last Updated: 08/05/2021