Research Interests:
Dr. Song's primary research interest is adolescent and young adult decision-making as it pertains to risk behaviors. Her current research involves work on:
- Tobacco use initiation, continuation, and cessation
- Risk factors for sex initiation
- Relationship between perceptions, attitudes, and risk behaviors
- Predictors of health-related perceptions and attitudes
- Risk communication efficacy
- Ethnic differences in risk behaviors
- Longitudinal methodology
School:
School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts
Bylaw 55 Unit:
Psychology
Recent Success:
Co-Primary Investigator on $3 Million grant NCI Grant Examining the Effect of Tobacco Advocacy at the State Level
Author for the last Surgeon General’s report on adolescent tobacco use (2012)
Community Affiliations:
American Public Health Association
HSRI's Translational Research Group
Memeber of HSRI Executive Committee
Graduate Courses:
Health Disparities and Health Risk Behaviors
Undergraduate Courses:
Health Disparities and Personality Psychology
Graduate Student Research:
Smoking risk perceptions in adolescents and young adults
Eating and exercise behaviors
Current Graduate Students:
2
Past Research Topics:
Personailty Profiling
Area Of Expertise:
Tobacco Use
E-Cigarettes
Poly-Substance Abuse
UnHealthy Eating Patterns
Beliefs on Risks, Benefits, and Consequences Associated with Behaviors
Cultural Factors Affecting Health DIsparities
Field of Study:
Health Psychology; Psychological Epidemiology
Year Joined UC Merced:
2008
Post Doc School:
UCSF
Hometown:
West Bloomfield, MI
Member Website:
Current Funding Needs:
Funding to support research staff to facilitate participant recruitment and data collection
Current Research Focus:
Understanding processes and developing the means to inform individuals, from teens to policy makers, to make better decisions that impact their health. Current research focuses specifically on:
- Adolescent and Young Adult Risk Behaviors
- Health Disparities in Health Behavior
