PhD - Developmental Psychology
McMaster University - 2017
Alva Tang
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Developmental changes in social-emotional development; Individual differences and social-contextual factors; Mental and physical health
Professional Preparation
BSc - Psychology
University of Toronto - 2012
University of Toronto - 2012
Research Areas
My research focuses on understanding how individual differences in social and emotional development shape mental health. I have conducted interdisciplinary studies that investigate individual differences linked to children's and adolescents’ temperament (e.g., shyness) and exposures to early adversities (e.g. child maltreatment and neglect). This work aims to identify neural, biological, and social processes (e.g., neural correlates in processing social information, friendships, health behaviors) that alter risk and resilient trajectories to enhance our understanding of developmental risk factors and ability to implement prevention strategies. To do this work, my research lab uses multiple neural and behavioral measures (e.g., EEG, lab observations) in experimental and observational studies.Publications
Wade, M., Parker, V., Tang, A., Fox, N.A., Zeanah, C.H., & Nelson, C.A. (2024). Linking caregiving quality during infancy to brain activity in early childhood and later executive function. Developmental Science. DOI: 10.1111/desc.13517 - publications
Tan, E., Tang, A., Debnath, R., Humphreys, K., Zeanah, C.H., Nelson, C.A., & Fox, N.A. (2023). Resting brain activity in early childhood predicts IQ at 18 years. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 63, 101287. - publications
Tang, A., Ertel, K., Keen, R., Beyer, L., Eckert, N., Mita, C., Pintro, K., Ozukono, S., Yazawa, A., & Slopen, N. (2023). Parent-child separation and cardiometabolic outcomes and risk factors in adulthood: A systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 152, 106084. - publications
Kim, H. H., +Keen, R., Tang, A., Denckla, C., & Slopen, N. (2023). Longitudinal patterns of childhood homelessness and early adolescent trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behavior. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 77(4), 216-223. - publications
Tang, A., Harrewijn, A., Benson, B., Haller, S.P., Guyer, A.E., Perez-Edgar, K., Stringaris, A., Ernst, M., Brotman, M.A., Pine, D.S., & Fox, N.A. (2022). Striatal activity to reward anticipation as a moderator of the relation between early behavioral inhibition and changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry, 79(12), 1199-1208. - publications
Zeytinoglu, S., Tang, A., Zeanah, C.H., Nelson, C.A., Almas, A., & Fox, N.A. (2022). Effects of foster care intervention and caregiving quality on the bidirectional development of executive functions and social skills following institutional rearing. Developmental Science, e13309.
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Bas-Hoogendam, J., 50+ Contributors from individual sites, & Pine, D.S. (In press). Structural brain correlates of childhood inhibited temperament: An ENIGMA-Anxiety mega-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
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- publications
Tang, A., Fox, N.A., Slopen, N. (2022). Examination of early childhood temperament of shyness and social avoidance and associations with cardiometabolic health in young adulthood. JAMA Network Open, 5(1), e2144727-e2144727.
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Appointments
Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [2022–Present]
University of Texas at Dallas [2022–Present]
Post Doctoral Fellow
University of Maryland [2017–2022]
University of Maryland [2017–2022]
Adjunct Instructor
Catholic University of America [2021–2022]
Catholic University of America [2021–2022]