Dr. Chen is a professor at Penn GSE. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA, Div. 7), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He has received a Scholars Award from the William T. Grant Foundation, an Eastern Scholars Award from Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning, China, and several other awards for his scientific work. He is currently the president of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD).

Research Interests and Current Projects

Dr. Chen’s research focuses on children and adolescents’ socioemotional functioning and its role in social, school, and psychological adjustment from a contextual-developmental perspective. He is interested in the developmental processes of social competence, shyness-inhibition, and aggression, and dispositional/biological and socialization factors that are involved in the processes. He has conducted, in collaboration with his international colleagues, a series of longitudinal projects in Chinese, North American, and several other societies. The projects are based largely on a theoretical framework he has developed concerning how cultural values are involved in two fundamental systems of socioemotional functioning, social initiative, and self-control, during development. The projects have tapped (1) the joint and interactive contributions of early temperamental characteristics and parenting practices to human development in changing social, economic, and cultural contexts, and (2) the role of social interactions and relationships in mediating and moderating contextual influences on development. In addition, his team has conducted several studies of adjustment experiences, including the difficulties and strengths, of different generations of Asian children and adolescents in North America.

Publications

Featured Books

Socioemotional Development in Cultural Context

Selected Publications

Chen, X. (2018). Culture, temperament, and social and psychological adjustment. Developmental Review, 50, 42-63.

Chen, X., Fu, R., Liu, J., Wang, L., Zarbatany, L., & Ellis, W. (2018). Social sensitivity and social, school, and psychological adjustment among children across contexts. Developmental Psychology, 54, 1124-1134. doi:10.1037/dev0000496

Chen, X., Li, D., Liu, J., Chen, H., & Zhao, S. (2016). Judgments of damage to public versus private property in Chinese children at different historical times. Developmental Science, 21

Chen, X., Lee, J., & Chen, L. (2018). Culture and peer relationships. In W. M. Bukowski, B. Laursen, & K. H. Rubin (eds.), Handbook of Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups. New York, NY: The Guilford Press, pp. 552-570.

Ellis, W., Zarbatany, L., Chen, X., Kinal, M., & Boyko, L. (2018). Peer groups as a context for school misconduct: The moderating role of group interactional style. Child Development, 89, 248–263.

Zhao, S., & Chen, X. (2018). Maternal involvement in children's leisure activities in rural China: Relations with adjustment outcomes. Journal of Family Psychology 32, 71-80.

Chen, X. (2017). Socioemotional development across cultures. In M. D. Sera, M. Maratsos, & S. M. Carlson (eds.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology, Vol. 38.Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 275-298.

Chen, X., & Liu, C. (2016). Culture, peer relationships, and developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti (ed.), Developmental Psychopathology, Wiley, pp. 723-769.

Chen, X., Liu, J., Ellis, W., & Zarbatany, L. (2016). Social sensitivity and adjustment in Chinese and Canadian children. Child Development, 87, 1115–1129.

Zhao, S., Chen, X., Zarbatany, L., & Ellis, W. (2016). Affiliation with socially withdrawn groups and children's social and psychological adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44, 1279–1290.

Chen, X., Chen, H., Li, D., Wang, L., & Wang, Z. (2015). Early childhood reticent and solitary-passive behaviors and adjustment outcomes in Chinese children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 1467–1473.

Chen, X. (2015). Exploring the implications of social change for human development: Perspectives, issues, and future directions. nternational Journal of Psychology, 50, 56–59

Chen, X., & Schmidt, L. (2015). Temperament and personality. In M. E. Lamb & R. M. Lerner (eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, Vol. 3. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 152–200.

Yang, F., Chen, X., & Wang, L. (2015). Shyness-sensitivity and social, school, and psychological adjustment in urban Chinese children: A four-wave longitudinal study. Child Development, 86, 1848–1864.

Chen, X., Wang, L., Li, D., & Liu, J. (2014). Loneliness in Chinese children across contexts. Developmental Psychology, 50, 2324–2333.

Chen, X., Zhang, G., Liang, Z., Zhang, M., Way, N. Yoshikawa, H. et al. (2014). The association between 5-HTTLPR gene polymorphism and behavioral inhibition in Chinese toddlers. Developmental Psychobiology, 56, 1601–1608.

Chen, X., Yang, F., & Wang, L. (2013). Relations between shyness-sensitivity and internalizing problems in Chinese children: Moderating effects of academic achievement. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 825–836.

Chen, X. (2012). Culture, peer interaction, and socioemotional development. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 27–34.

Chen, X., Huang, X., Wang, L., & Chang, L. (2012). Aggression, peer relationships, and depression in Chinese children: A multi-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 1233–1241.

Chen, X., & Li, D. (2012). Parental encouragement of initiative-taking and adjustment in Chinese children from rural, urban, and urbanized families. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 927–936.

Chen, X., Zhang, G., Chen, H., & Li, D. (2012). Performance on delay tasks in early childhood predicted socioemotional and school adjustment 9 years later: A longitudinal study in Chinese children. International Perspectives in Psychology, 1, 3–14.

Chen, X., Wang, L., & Cao, R. (2011). Shyness-sensitivity and unsociability in rural Chinese children: Relations with social, school, and psychological adjustment Child Development, 82, 1531–1543.

French, D. C., Chen, X., Chung, J., Li, M., Chen, H., & Li, D. (2011). Four children and one toy: Social interactions of Chinese and Canadian children with a limited resource. Child Development, 82, 830–841.

Chen, X., & Rubin, K. H. (Eds., 2011). Socioemotional Development in Cultural Context. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Chen, X. (2010). Socioemotional development in Chinese children. In M. H. Bond (ed.), Handbook of Chinese Psychology, Oxford University Press, pp. 37–52.

Silbereisen, R., & Chen, X. (Eds., 2010). Social Change and Human Development: Concepts and Results. Sage.

Chen, X., Chen, H., Li, D., & Wang, L. (2009). Early childhood behavioral inhibition and social and school adjustment in Chinese children: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 80, 1692–1704.

Chen, X., Wang, L., & Wang, Z. (2009). Shyness-sensitivity and social, school, and psychological adjustment in rural migrant and urban children in China. Child Development, 80, 1499–1513.

Chen, X., Chang, L., Liu, H., & He, Y. (2008). Effects of the peer group on the development of social functioning and academic achievement: A longitudinal study in Chinese children. Child Development, 79, 235–251.

Chen, X. & French, D. (2008). Children’s social competence in cultural context. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 591–616.

Chen, X. & Tse, H. C. (2008). Social functioning and adjustment in Canadian-born children with Chinese and European backgrounds. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1184–1189.

Chen, X., DeSouza, A., Chen, H., & Wang, L. (2006). Reticent behavior and experiences in peer interactions in Canadian and Chinese children. Developmental Psychology, 42, 656–665.

Chen, X., French, D., & Schneider, B. (Eds., 2006). Peer Relationships in Cultural Context. Cambridge University Press.

Chen, X., Cen, G., Li, D., & He, Y. (2005). Social functioning and adjustment in Chinese children: The imprint of historical time. Child Development, 76, 182–195.

Liu, M., Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., Zheng, S., Cui, L., Li, D., Chen, H., & Wang, L. (2005). Autonomy- vs. connectedness-oriented parenting behaviors in Chinese and Canadian mothers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 489–495.

Chen, X., He, Y., De Oliveira, A. M., Lo Coco, A, Zappulla, C., Kaspar, V., Schneider, B., Valdivia, I. A., Tse, C. H., & DeSouza, A. (2004). Loneliness and social adaptation in Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese and Italian children. Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 1373–1384.

Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., Liu, M., Chen, H., Wang, L., & Li, D., Gao, X., Cen, G., Gu, H., & Li, B. (2003). Compliance in Chinese and Canadian toddlers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 428–436.

Chen, X., Hastings, P., Rubin, K. H., Chen, H., Cen, G., & Stewart, S. L. (1998). Childrearing attitudes and behavioral inhibition in Chinese and Canadian toddlers: A cross-cultural study. Developmental Psychology, 34, 677–686.

News & Media

In the Media

East and West may be reshaping each other's parenting

Individualist values from Europe and the US are transforming parenting globally, but East Asian values are also migrating the other way, says Xinyin Chen.

Child & Family Blog | February 6, 2017