About Me

Family Processes with a Focus on Father Involvement that Support Children's Wellbeing

One of my research areas focuses on the underlying family processes with a focus on father involvement that support children's wellbeing, especially children from low-income, unmarried, ethnic and race minority families. For example, my dissertation, Family Processes Underlying Economic Insecurity, Father Involvement, and Child Outcomes in Low-Income Families, examines the links between low family income, material hardship, interparental conflict, father engagement, and children’s socioemotional outcomes. This work is funded by the Administration for Children and Families (Children's Bureau), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (90PR0009). I use data from the Building Strong Families project, which includes a large and racially diverse sample of low-income families with young children. My work in this area includes:

• Lee, S. J., Pace, G. T., Lee, J. Y., & Altschul, A. (under review). Parental relationship status as a moderator of the associations between mothers’ and fathers’ conflict behaviors and early child behavior problems. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. (Impact Factor: 3.064)

• Lee, J. Y., Volling, B. L., & Lee, S. J. (2020). Testing the father-child activation theory: A replication study with low-income unmarried parents. Psychology of Men & Masculinities (Special Issue on Fathering: New Perspectives, Paradigms, and Possibilities). Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/men0000301 (Impact Factor: 1.926)

• Lee, J. Y., Pace, G.T., Lee, S. J., & Altschul, I. (2019). The associations of constructive and destructive interparental conflict to child well-being among low-income families. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0886260519835872 (Impact Factor: 3.064)

• Lee, J. Y., Volling, B. L., Lee, S. J., & Altschul, I. (2019). Longitudinal relations between coparenting and father engagement in low-income residential and nonresidential father families. Journal of Family Psychology, 34(2), 226-236. doi:10.1037/fam0000612 (Impact Factor: 2.231)

• Volling, B. L., Stevenson, M. M., Safyer, P., Gonzalez, R., & Lee, J. Y. (2019). In search of the father-infant activation relationship: A person-centered approach. Monographs of the Society of Research in Child Development, 84(1), 50–63.doi:10.1002/mono.12404

• Lee, J. Y., Ortega, R. M., Ortega, M. B., & Twine, S. L. (under review). Working with alleged male perpetrators of child maltreatment: Use of a parenting observation protocol. Social Work. (Impact Factor: 1.667)

• Lee, J. Y. (in press). Child welfare reform: The role of federal court oversight in child protective service workers’ caseloads. Child Abuse Review. (Impact Factor: 1.206)

• Klika, J. B., Lee, S., & Lee, J. Y. (2019). Prevention of child maltreatment. In J. B. Klika & J. R. Conte (Eds.), The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment, Fourth Edition (pp. 235-251). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Lee, J. Y., Grogan-Kaylor, A. C., Lee, S. J., Ammari, T., Lu, A., & Davis-Kean, P. (2020). Stay-at-home mothers’ and fathers’ discipline-related tweets. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(3), 817-830. doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01691-3 (Impact Factor: 1.016)

• Lee, J. Y., Gilbert, T., Lee, S. J., & Staller, K. M. (2019). Reforming a system that cannot reform itself: Child welfare reform by class action lawsuits. Social Work, 64(4), 283-291. doi:10.1093/sw/swz029 (Impact Factor: 1.667​)

Clinical Social Work Practice Using Technology

This area of research focuses on using technology, including mobile devices and apps to engage in clinical social work practice. I explore both standalone and add-on programs to support existing interventions. This is an area of growing interest given the recent transition to teletherapy in my clinical practice in response to COVID-19. My work in this area thus far includes:

• Lee, S. J., Walsh, T. B., & Lee, J. Y. (2019). Mobile technology in social work practice. In L. Goldkind, L. Wolf, & Freddolino, P. P. (Eds.), Digital social work: Tools for practice with individuals, organizations, and communities (pp.54-71). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Lee, J. Y., & Harathi, S. (2015). Using mHealth in social work practice with low-income Hispanic patients. Health & Social Work, 40(4), 1-4. doi:10.1093/hsw/hlv078 (Impact Factor: 1.115)

My teaching philosophy is focused on student-centered learning by using activities that allow them to leverage their individual curiosities and interests. Practicing student-centered learning also means recognizing individual differences in students for whom I create an inclusive and a welcoming learning environment by carefully considering how my students’ varied backgrounds and social identities shape their learning experiences. I incorporate the broader student-centered learning philosophy into three specific teaching goals: (1) critical thinking; (2) strong writing skills; and (3) interdisciplinary collaboration and communication. Students leave my classes with the ability to think critically about social and racial justice issues, write clearly and cohesively, and work collaboratively across professions and disciplines on behalf of the client populations of their interest.

I use ample clinical examples derived from my own practice experience, as well as focus on introducing evidence-informed interventions and best practices with children and families. I am prepared to teach both macro and micro/clinical social work, as well as introductory and advanced methodological and statistical courses. I value teaching and supporting a diverse body of students and creating an inclusive learning environment. I am committed to social work education at the undergraduate and graduate levels and look forward to applying my student-centered learning philosophy and teaching goals to all my classes.

Sole Instructor

• Interpersonal Practice with Individuals, Families,  and Groups (Syllabus)

Teaching Assistant

• Attachment Theory in Clinical Practice with Adults
• Poverty & Place: Case Studies of Detroit and Flint

Alex Lu, PhD Student, University of Michigan

• Social Justice in Social Work Research PhD Poster Award
• Research projects involving child maltreatment and child welfare
• Research project involving father engagement and father-friendly parenting interventions 

Muzi Lin, MS, University of Michigan

• Honors thesis in psychology
• Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program 
• Research project involving father engagement and father-friendly parenting interventions

• Research projects involving child maltreatment and child welfare 

• Research project involving father engagement and father-friendly parenting interventions

• Michigan Research and Discovery Scholars
• Research project involving father engagement and father-friendly parenting interventions