Ed Psych researchers and international scholars author outstanding paper presented at the China National Health Education Conference on August 19, 201

A paper authored by Department of Educational Psychology graduate students, faculty and their colleagues in China has been selected as one of 20 “Outstanding Papers” highlighted at the China National Health Education Conference in Xi’an, China on August 19, 2016.

The paper, titled “Drinking, Depression, and Suicide Intentions Among Chinese Adolescents” is authored by Jia Pu, a graduate of the Cognition, Learning and Development program in Educational Psychology, and will appear this year in the Chinese Journal of Disease Control and Prevention. The paper is co-authored by Lanyan Ding, graduate student in CLD-EDPS, Duane Shell and Ian Newman, professors in Educational Psychology, and Ling Qian, Professor in the China Center for Health Education, Ministry of Health, Beijing. The data gathering in China was facilitated by Yulin Zhang MD MS. Zhang was an international visiting scholar supported by the Ford Foundation, International Education Fellowship Program, whose UNL semester was hosted by the UNL Nebraska Prevention Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (EDPS) in 2006.

Alcohol use by high school students is not as common in China as in the United States, and drinking alcohol plays a very different role in Chinese culture. Suicide, however, is a significant national concern in China. This study identified depression and drinking behaviour as significantly related to suicide intentions. The clear identification of drinking as an early indicator of possible mental health concerns is useful to people developing mental health programs and suicide prevention programs.

Jia Pu completed her MA in Educational Psychology in 2009. She earned a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 2012. After graduating she received an Academy Health Fellowship from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute. In 2014, Dr. Pu was promoted to Researcher at PAMFRI.