Bio


Wei Yan is a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University from 2021-2023. She received her Ph.D. from Tsinghua University and got the award of “The Best Graduate Student in Beijing”. She is the author of How to Live a Flourishing Life and How to Raise a Positive Child—both books are considered as a pioneering step in bringing positive psychology to the Chinese public.

Now she is a postdoctoral research fellow at Graduate School of Education, affiliated with Geoffrey Cohen who is a professor at GSE and Psychology Department. Her research focuses on the application of positive education, aiming to benefit not only students in the cities, but also students in the rural regions and vulnerable groups. She uses mixed methods, big data, machine learning and physiological experiments to investigate the formations of positive traits and virtues, including vitality, wellbeing, leadership, values, meaning and purposes.

Currently, Dr. Yan is working on a large project involving over hundreds of cities in China aiming to apply positive psychology to K-12 Students and Teachers. Through this project, she hopes to use empirical studies to investigate the mental status of both students and teachers, and to improve their levels of vitality, mental wellbeing, and life satisfaction.

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All Publications


  • Beyond the bell: exploring the link between time allocation on extracurricular activities and academic performance in Chinese adolescents INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH Zhang, P., Wang, Y., Chen, X., Yan, W., Zhu, Y., Peng, K. 2023; 28 (1)
  • Effects of a self-affirmation intervention among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A large-scale randomized controlled trial. Applied psychology. Health and well-being Yan, W., Wang, Y., Jiang, Z., Peng, K., Cohen, G. 2023

    Abstract

    The COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by its highly contagious nature and devastating death toll, posed a dual threat to both physical and psychological well-being. As a potential intervention to alleviate the psychological impact, values-affirmation involves individuals engaging in the activity of writing about their core values. While its effectiveness in non-WEIRD (i.e. Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) populations, notably among Chinese adults, has been confirmed, it remains largely unexplored whether the intervention can promote mental health in Chinese adolescents, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study thus is to provide the first empirical evaluation of this intervention in promoting well-being and alleviating psychological distress among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 2,234 students from 112 secondary schools in China were randomly assigned to an affirmation or control condition. The study found that self-affirmation intervention improved students' life satisfaction, mental health, and self-esteem, as well as buffered a decline of their purpose in life; however, no effects were found for clinical measures of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The results suggest that self-affirmation interventions, while having limited effects on clinically relevant outcomes, can be an effective approach to boost well-being in adolescents during a major crisis, including in a more historically collectivist culture. Implications for self-affirmation theory and cultural psychology, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/aphw.12516

    View details for PubMedID 38155488

  • Assessment of Factors Associated With Mental Well-Being Among Chinese Youths at Individual, School, and Province Levels. JAMA network open Zhang, P., Yang, F., Huang, N., Yan, W., Zhang, B., Zhang, C., Peng, K., Guo, J. 2023; 6 (7): e2324025

    Abstract

    Although rapid urbanization in China provided improved economic prosperity and educational opportunities, it was associated with increased internalizing and externalizing problems among youths, with negative outcomes for mental well-being. Previous studies suggested that factors in individual, school, and regional levels were associated with mental well-being, and comprehensively examining these factors may provide evidence for policies for improving youth mental health.To investigate factors associated with mental well-being at individual, school, and province levels among Chinese youths.This cross-sectional study analyzed nationally representative data collected December 1, 2021, to January 1, 2022, from schools in China. Among 435 schools, 144 institutions had primary school students, 107 institutions had middle school students, 95 institutions had primary and middle school students, and 89 institutions had high school students. A total of 398 520 students were included.Characteristics at individual, school, and province levels.The main outcome was mental well-being, assessed by the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate individual, school, and regional disparities in mental well-being among youths.There were 398 520 participants (194 460 females [48.80%]; mean [SD; range] age, 13.78 [2.40; 9-20] years). At the school level, 352 443 students (88.44%) were in public school and 291 354 students (73.11%) were in urban schools. Drinking (coefficient = -1.08; 95% CI, -1.12 to -1.05; P < .001), smoking (coefficient = -0.89; 95% CI, -0.96 to -0.83; P < .001), and increased age (coefficient per 1-year increase in age = -0.02; 95% CI, -0.03 to -0.01; P < .001) were associated with worse mental well-being. Male sex (coefficient = 1.01; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.04; P < .001), being in a 1-child family (coefficient = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.20; P < .001), being in the Han group (coefficient vs other ethnic groups = 0.20; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.26; P < .001), a higher frequency and coverage of psychological courses (eg, ≥2/wk for all students vs none: coefficient = 1.02; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.69; P = .003), and a higher level of self-rated popularity in school (coefficient per 1-unit increase in score = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.89; P < .001) were associated with improved mental well-being. However, age (eg, age and 1 courses/2 wk for all students: coefficient per 1-year increase in age = -0.047; 95% CI, -0.089 to -0.005; P = .03) and sex (eg, female sex and ≥2 courses/wk for some students: coefficient = -0.184; 95% CI, -0.323 to -0.046; P = .009) had interactions with the association between psychological courses and mental well-being.This study found that social disparities in mental well-being existed and that various factors at different levels were associated with mental well-being among Chinese youths. These findings suggest that public mental health programs may be recommended for associated improvements in regional disparities in mental health resources.

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.24025

    View details for PubMedID 37462971

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10354672

  • Mindfulness Practice versus Physical Exercise in Enhancing Vitality. International journal of environmental research and public health Yan, W., Jiang, Z., Zhang, P., Liu, G., Peng, K. 2023; 20 (3)

    Abstract

    Vitality is important for subjective well-being and performance, which makes strategies for its enhancement an important research issue. While prior research showed that mindfulness practice and physical exercise are both effective at enhancing vitality, no study has compared their efficacy. This study aimed to address this issue. Seventy-one Chinese adults participated in the study and were randomized to one of the intervention groups, i.e., mindfulness practice or physical exercise. The mindfulness practice group completed guided mindfulness trainings, while the physical exercise group completed self-chosen aerobic trainings for seven days. The levels of vitality and its four factors at three time points (baseline, post-intervention, 7-day follow-up) were measured and compared. Compared with physical exercise, mindfulness practice showed stronger effects in enhancing vitality and maintaining the improvements. The findings suggest that guided mindfulness practice is more effective than self-chosen aerobic physical exercise at enhancing vitality and maintaining its improvements.

    View details for DOI 10.3390/ijerph20032537

    View details for PubMedID 36767929

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9916355

  • Detecting the risk of bullying victimization among adolescents: A large-scale machine learning approach Computers in Human Behavior Yan, W., Yuan, Y., Yang, M., Zhang, P., Peng, K. 2023
  • Self-control protects Tibetan adolescent orphans from mental problems: A mediating role of self-esteem JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE Zheng, M., Peng, K., Yan, W., Lin, Y., Ni, Z., Zhang, P. 2022; 94 (2): 253-263

    Abstract

    Orphans are usually adopted by eligible families or raised by the government and organizations mutually. Although their basic needs are taken care of, the absence of parents in life makes orphans face higher risks of mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, leading to lower levels of self-esteem and happiness. Previous studies have shown that self-control may have an effect on improving self-esteem; thus, it could become a way to protect mental health. Building on the structural equation model, the current study tested the possible effects of self-control on levels of self-esteem and mental problems among Tibetan orphans.Participants were 143 adolescents from age 16 to 22 years (Mage  = 18.77, 54.8% female) from an institutionalized orphanage in Tibet and they completed questionnaires measuring self-esteem, self-control, and clinical symptoms (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised).Self-control was negatively associated with psychological illness through improved self-esteem. The present study suggested that self-control was a protective factor for the mental health of adolescent orphans through influencing the levels of self-esteem. Limitations and future directions were discussed.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jad.12025

    View details for Web of Science ID 000754755400001

    View details for PubMedID 35353423

  • Excellence and Vitality: A Study on the Positive Qualities of Chinese Entrepreneurs Studies in Science of Science Yan, W., Xiao, X., Yan, F. 2022
  • A Review of School Principal Leadership Research: A Comparison between Chinese and Western Perspectives Journal of National Academy of Education Administration Yan, W. 2022
  • The Theoretical Construction and Measurement of Vitality in the Chinese Cultural Context Chinese Social Psychological Review Yan, W., Zhang, P., Jiang, Z., Liu, G., Peng, K. 2022
  • Children's Characters: Positive Psychology for Parents Peng, K., Yan, W. 2021
  • The Effects of a Cross-Cultural Psychology Course on Perceived Intercultural Competence TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY Wei, Y., Spencer-Rodgers, J., Anderson, E., Peng, K. 2021; 48 (3): 221-227
  • The werther effect revisited: Do suicides in books predict actual suicides? POETICS Chen, Y., Yan, F., He, G., Yan, W. 2020; 81
  • Bidirectional associations between Tibetan Buddhism and vertical space Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Guan, F., Xu, Z., Zhang, B., Yan, W., Peng, K. 2020
  • Better choice, better health? Social integration and health inequality among international migrants in Hangzhou, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Fan, X., Yan, F., Yan, W. 2020
  • How to Live a Positive Life Peng, K., Yan, W. 2020
  • Identity grafting and management of Chineseness among Chinese Singaporeans Tsinghua Sociological Review Yan, W. 2020