I am a faculty member in the areas of Counseling Psychology and Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics in the Department of Psychology and in Asian American Studies in the Department of American Studies. My research centers on the process and outcome of cultural socialization and its relevance to the development, well-being, and mental health of various Asian American populations, including immigrants, refugees, adoptees, and American-born. I am particularly interested in aspects of culture, ethnicity, and race that function as risk or protective factors of mental health. Studied topics include intergenerational family conflicts, perceived discrimination, ethnic identity development, acculturation and enculturation, acquisition of race-specific coping strategies, and culture-specific parenting beliefs and practices. I currently have a 5-year NIMH grant to investigate discrimination as a post-adoption risk factor and ethnic identity as a protective factor in the mental health of Korean adopted children.
Lee, R.M., & Miller, M.J. (in press). History and Psychology of International Adoption. In A. Alvarez and N. Tewari (Eds), Asian American Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Lee, R.M., Noh, C.Y., Yoo, H.C., & Doh, H.S. (2007). The psychology of diaspora experiences: Intergroup contact, perceived discrimination, and the ethnic identity of Koreans in China. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13, 115-124.
Lee, R.M., Grotevant, H.D., Hellerstedt, W.L., Gunnar, M.R., & The International Adoption Project Team† (2006). Cultural socialization in families with internationally adopted children. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 571-580.
Lee, R.M., Yoon, E., & Liu-Tom, H-T.T. (2006). Structure and measurement of acculturation/enculturation for Asian Americans: Cross-cultural validation of the ARSMA-II. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 39, 42-55.
Lee, R.M., Su, J., & Yoshida, E. (2005). Coping with intergenerational family conflict among Asian American college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 389-399.
Lee, R.M. (2005). Resilience against discrimination: Ethnic identity and other-group orientation as protective factors for Korean Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 36-44.
Lee, R.M., & Yoo, H.C. (2004). Structure and measurement of ethnic identity for Asian American college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 263-269.
Lee, R.M. (2003). The transracial adoption paradox: History, research, and counseling implications of cultural socialization. The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 711-744.
