Wonjung Oh, Ph.D.

Research Focus

My research program investigates the development of social and emotional functioning from early childhood through adolescence. I examine how individual characteristics, social interactions, close relationships, and socio-cultural contexts shape developmental pathways, with particular attention to the mechanisms through which these influences operate. A central aim of my work is to understand not only how, but also why these factors serve as risks or sources of resilience in guiding developmental trajectories. Specifically, I study pathways leading to adaptive functioning (e.g., social competence, self-regulation, positive relationship qulity) as well as maladaptive functioning (e.g., social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, aggression, dysregulation) during major normative transitions, including the birth of a child or sibling, entry into kindergarten, and the transitions from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, and into adolescence. 
Prior to joining the faculty at Texas Tech University, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology and the Women and Infants Mental Health Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I earned my Ph.D. in Human Development and a Graduate Certificate (doctoral minor equivalent) in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation from the University of Maryland, College Park. I also hold a B.S. and M.A. in Child and Family Studies from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. 

Areas of Expertise

• Social and emotional development from early childhood through adolescence 

• Relationship networks: peer and family relationships; parenting (mothers and fathers); sibling relationships 

• Developmental pathways toward adaptive and maladaptive functioning (e.g., social behavior, self-regulation, mental health, and relationships) 

• Risk and resilience across family and school transitions (e.g., perinatal/postpartum transitions, parenthood, birth of a child, school readiness, and school transitions and adjustment) 

• Socio-cultural contexts: race and ethnicity; cross-cultural studies; cultural specificity and commonality in social-emotional development 

• Longitudinal, multi-level, and innovative quantitative methods; observational methods 

Selected Publications

* Denotes Student Collaborator 

*Armer,  J. S.,  Oh, W., Davis, M., Issa, M., Sexton,  M.B., & Muzik, M. (2024). Post-traumatic change and resilience after childhood maltreatment: Impacts on maternal mental health over the postpartum period. Journal of Affective Disorders.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.010 

Volling, B. L., Oh, W., Gonzalez, R., Bader, L., & Tan, L. (2023). Changes in children’s attachment security to mother and father after the birth of a sibling: Risk and resilience in the family. Development and Psychopathology, 35 (3), 1404-1420. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579421001310 

Bowker, J. C., Sette, S., Ooi, L. L., Bayram-Ozdemir, S., Braathu, N., Bølstad, E., Castillo, K. N., Dogan, A., Greco, C., Kamble, S., Kim, H. K., Kim, Y., Liu, J., Oh, W., Rapee, R. M., Wong, Q. J. J., Xiao, B., Zuffianò, A., & Coplan, R. J. (2023). Cross-cultural measurement of social withdrawal motivations across 10 countries using multiple-group factor analysis alignment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 47 (2), 190–198. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254221132774 

Oh, W., Kim, H., Park, S., Mastergeorge, A. M., & Roggman, L. (2022).Maternal and paternal insensitivity, adaptive engagement, and school readiness skills among economically disadvantaged children: A dynamic approach. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 58, 220-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.09.003 

Oh, W., Bowker, J., Kim, H., Santos, A., Ribeiro, O., Guedes, M., Freitas, M., *Song, S., & Rubin, K. H. (2021).Distinct profiles of relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends and socio-emotional functioning in early adolescence: A cross-cultural study. Child Development, 92 (6), 1154-1170.  https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13610  

[received the Open Access Publication Initiative Award, OVPR,Texas Tech University] 

Oh, W., Song, J.,Gonzalez, R., Volling, B. L., & Yu, T. (2017). Developmental trajectories of children’s withdrawal after the birth of a sibling. Monographs of theSociety for Research in Child Development, 82 (3), 106–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12314 

Oh, W., Muzik, M., McGinnis, E., Hamilton, L., Menke, R., & Rosenblum, K. L. (2016). Comorbid trajectories of postpartum depression and PTSD among mothers with childhood trauma history: Course, predictors, processes and child adjustment. Journal of Affective Disorders, 200, 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.037 

Oh, W., Volling, B. L., & Gonzalez, R. (2015). Trajectories of children’s social interactions with their infant sibling in the first year: A multidimensional approach. Journal of Family Psychology, 29 (1), 119-129. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000051 

Oh, W., Rubin, K. H., Bowker, J. W., Booth-LaForce, C. L., Rose-Krasnor, L., & Laursen, B. (2008). Trajectories of social withdrawal from middle childhood to early adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36 (4),553-566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9199-z 

Links

Google Scholar:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=3KIzzYoAAAAJ

Research Lab Website:

Child Development and Relationships Lab