Mengya Xia
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Mail code: 7203Campus: Tempe
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Mengya Xia is an assistant professor in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. Her interdisciplinary work is situated at the intersection of individual-context interplay, methodology, and prevention/intervention. Her research applies innovative methods to investigate how the transactional dynamic processes between individuals and their developmental contexts foster positive development, and how to apply such knowledge and advanced methods to inform intervention for promoting individual well-being in real life. Substantively, she is interested in understanding individual positive development from a dynamic-focused, system-oriented, and strength-based perspective. Her research focuses on identifying positive assets and processes in interpersonal contexts (e.g., in family systems, friend and peer relationships, romantic relationships, and social interaction in general), and how they accumulate or change over time (e.g., momentarily, daily, yearly) and interact with broader ecological contexts (e.g., school, community, culture). Methodologically, she is interested in advanced methods for intensive longitudinal data or data with complex structure (e.g., mixture modeling, multilevel modeling, dynamic system modeling).
- Ph.D. Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 2019
- M.Ed. General Psychology, Wuhan University, 2012
- B.S. Psychology, Wuhan University, 2010
- B.E. Computer Science and Technology, Wuhan University, 2010
- Positive Development and Well-Being
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Family Systems
- Dynamics of Individual-Context Interaction
- Strengths, Competence, and Assets
- Quantitative Methods
Selected publications:
- Xia, M. & Hudac, C. M. (2023). Social Connection Constellations and Individual Well-Being Typologies: Using the Loglinear Modeling Approach with Latent Variables. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24, 1991-2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00667-x
- Xia, M., *Chen, Y., & *Dunne, S. C. (2023). What makes people feel loved? An exploratory study on core elements of love in family, romantic, and friend relationships. Family Process. https://doi.org/10.1111/FAMP.12873
- Arbel, R., Xia, M., *Ben-Yehuda, M., *Shnaider, S., *Benari, B., & Benita, M. (2023). ‘Prosociality’ in Daily School Life and Early Adolescents’ Peer Aggression: A Multilevel Latent Profile Analysis Approach. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01079-4
- Xia, M., & Xu, X. (2023). Does Authenticity Always Breed Mental Health? A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between the United State and China. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 25(1), 132-145. https://doi.org/10.1111/AJSP.12549
- Xia, M. (2022). Different Families, Diverse Strengths: Long-Term Implications of Early Childhood Family Processes on Adolescent Positive Functioning. Developmental Psychology, 58(10), 1863-1874. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001401
- Coffey, J. K., Xia, M., & Fosco, G. M. (2022). When Do Adolescents Feel Loved? A Daily Within-Person Study of Parent-Adolescent Relations. Emotion, 22(2), 861-873. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0000767
- Xia, M., Bray, B. C., & Fosco, G. M. (2022). Triadic Family Structures and Their Day-to-Day Dynamics From an Adolescent Perspective: A Multilevel Latent Profile Analysis. Family Process, 61(3), 1341-1357. https://doi.org/10.1111/FAMP.12722
- "Reciprocity of Social Connection and Well-Being: Convergence of Temporal and Neural Underpinnings of Adolescent Social Connection Quality, Quantity, and Need". 09/01/23 - 5/31/28. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD107593). Xia, M (PI), Hudac, C. (MPI). Role: Principal Investigator.
Courses
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| FAS 390 | Supervised Research Experience |
| FAS 598 | Special Topics |
| CDE 598 | Special Topics |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CDE 450 | Childhood Disorder & Fam Funct |
| FAS 390 | Supervised Research Experience |
| FAS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| CDE 590 | Reading and Conference |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| FAS 531 | Theoretical Issues Family |
| FAS 390 | Supervised Research Experience |