Professor Taekyoung Lee Receives Both the KFFG Outstanding Professional Proposal Award and the International Travel Scholarship at the NCFR Annual Conference in the United States

▲ Professor Taekyoung Lee of the Department of Child Psychology and Education

Professor Taekyoung Lee of the Department of Child Psychology and Education received the Outstanding Professional Proposal Award from the Korean Focus Family Group (KFFG) as well as the International Travel Scholarship at the National Council on Family Relations, held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, from November 19 to 22. His outstanding achievements in the field of parent–adolescent relationships and adolescent health development were recognized through these awards.

At the conference, Professor Lee presented a study titled “Reciprocal Influences of Parental Abuse and Neglect: Mediating Roles of Attention Problems and Psychopathology Among Korean Adolescents.”

This study, based on longitudinal data from the Korean Youth Panel Survey (KYPS), analyzed developmental relationships among adolescents’ cognitive functioning, psychopathology, and parental abuse and neglect. In particular, the study identified domain-specific developmental mechanisms through which parental abuse and neglect influence adolescents’ cognitive functioning and psychopathology, and further suggested that these mechanisms may reinforce parental abuse and neglect in return. The study attracted significant attention for reflecting the realities of parent–adolescent relationships in Korea.

According to the study’s findings, parental abuse and neglect exert different effects on adolescents’ cognitive and emotional development, and these outcomes, in turn, create a vicious developmental cycle that reinforces parental abuse and neglect. Professor Lee noted that these findings are expected to provide important evidence for developing preventive intervention strategies aimed at improving parent–adolescent relationships and addressing adolescent health issues.

This study is currently being conducted as an international collaborative project with the Family Therapy Intervention Program Research Team at the University of Miami School of Nursing and the Health Education Research Team at the University of Texas at Austin College of Education. The research will be expanded to studies on multicultural families in the future.

Meanwhile, Professor Lee is conducting research and education related to adolescent mental health and methodology within the department. He conducts research to identify longitudinal patterns of adolescent health development and to develop and evaluate intervention programs, utilizing a wide range of quantitative methodologies.

▲ (From left) KFFG (Korean Focus Family Group) Outstanding Professional Proposal Award, 

International Travel Scholarship