Student Spotlight Award Recipient - Duckhyun Jo

Congratulations to Duckhyun Jo on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for February 2024!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

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Learn more about Duckhyun Jo

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

My scholarly works are firmly rooted in the framework of Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS), a systematic and pragmatic approach to the understanding of human behavior. My research program focuses on three key strategic areas. First, my research has centered on understanding the process of change within the CBS. Over the past few years, I have concentrated on assessing the conceptual and psychometric validity of various measures within the CBS. I have applied both traditional and modern test theory techniques to establish validity evidence for recently developed measures. Furthermore, I have investigated the roles of each process in various contexts, such as eating disorders and mood disorders. Second, I have examined potential risk and protective factors for mental health within diverse populations. Hawai‘i, due to its racial diversity, has provided an ideal environment for my research, and I have recently expanded the understanding of this population within the framework of the CBS. Finally, my interest extends to the application of innovative modalities in intervention sciences. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, novel forms of psychotherapy have gained widespread adoption, and I have conducted research on the effectiveness of metaverse psychotherapy. My ultimate goal is to explore the effects of psychotherapies informed by CBS within newly developed platforms, such as the metaverse or virtual reality.

Autobiography:

I am currently a fourth-year doctoral student pursuing clinical psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. My academic focus centers on understanding the intricate, dynamic, and transdiagnostic aspects of psychological flexibility. To achieve this, I am keen on employing diverse methodologies, including item response theory, network analysis, and mixed-effect modeling. My educational background includes a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a master's degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, both earned from Korea University. Additionally, I have accumulated over five years of experience in Sri Lanka, Laos, and Thailand, actively contributing to international development initiatives aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Outside my academic pursuits, I relish spending quality time with my family, exploring the beautiful landscapes of Hawaii, particularly its picturesque mountains and beaches.

Future goals:

I aspire to pursue a career as a clinical researcher in an academic setting to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of CBS.

Publications:

11. Im, S., Jo, D., & Lee, S. (Accepted). Exploring the Impact of Therapeutic Presence on Working Alliance in Metaverse Counseling. Counseling Psychologist

10. Jo, D., Seong, B., & Yang, E. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Psy-flex scale: A validation study in a community sample in Korea. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. 30, 70-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.09.004

9. Jo, D., Im, S., Suh, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2023). The Personalized Psychological Flexibility Index (PPFI): An Item Response Theory Analysis with Racially Diverse College Students. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10076-2

8. Jo, D. & Kim, H. (2023). Network Analysis of Depressive Symptoms in South Korean Adults: Similarities and differences between women and men. Current Psychology, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04824-6

7. Jo, D., Woo, S., & Yang, E. (2022). Role of Family Acculturation Stress in Career Development Among Adolescents From Multicultural Families in Korea. Journal of Career Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453221131362

6. Spencer, S. D., Jo, D., Hamagami, F., Antonio, M., Qinaʻau. J., Masuda, A., & Hishinuma, E. (2022). A Preliminary Psychometric Validation of Contextual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Informed Measures with Racially and Ethnically Diverse Adults. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 25, 61-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.06.004

5. Nakamura, L., Jo, D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mental Health Help-Seeking Experience and Attitudes in Asian American, Multiracial American, and White. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling 44(3), 432-452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-022-09470-4

4. Jo, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mindfulness as a Moderator of the Relationship between Engaged Living and Depression in Emerging Adulthood. Mindfulness, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01831-9

3. Jo, D., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2022). Mindfulness attenuates the positive association between disordered eating cognition and disordered eating behavior in a sample of college women. Current Psychology, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00969-w

2. Jo D., & Yang E. (2019). The role of awareness and cognitive fusion with food craving in the relationship between depression and binge eating. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 13, 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.08.001

1. Son Y. M., Woo S., Jo D., & Yang E. (2018). The role of relationship quality on social media in college-to-work transition of Korean college students: The longitudinal examination of intimacy on social media, social capital, and loneliness. Japanese Psychological Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12234