Dr Wendy Li is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Research in College of Healthcare Sciences at James Cook University, Australia. A/Prof Li is the Founding Chair of the AusAsian Mental Health Research Group (AMHRG) . She founds and leads the Mindfulness Lab at JCU (ML@JCU). A/Prof Li is a qualified MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) teacher certified by Brown University. A/Prof Li has won external and internal grants worth more than $400,000 in the research fields of mental health (veteran, migrants, international students and refugees), ageing, migration and problem gambling. She also collaborates with researchers in China on research into Chinese mental health through her appointments of an Adjunct Professor of Shanxi University and Taiyuan Psychiatric Hospital.

A/Prof Li was a recipient of New Zealand Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship. She was one of the five recipients of the JCU Rising Stars Early Career Researcher Leadership Program in 2012.  She was awarded a Research Performance Award by Faculty of Arts, Education and Social Sciences in 2012 in recognition of her research excellence. A/Prof Li served as Deputy Managing Editor of the JCU-owned Journal of Tropical Psychology, and serves as an Associate Editor of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology and Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, and guest editor for Frontiers of Psychology.

A/Prof Li's primary research methodology training in China was on quantitative research. After she migrated to New Zealand in 2003, through her clinical work as a counsellor, A/Prof Li found qualitative research was fascinating and employed it in both her Masters (Research) and PhD research. A/Prof Li is interested in using quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods methodologies to investigate social, cultural and psychological determinants (e.g., socioeconomic status, filial piety, mindfulness, and personality) for mental health. She is also interested in using cross-cultural indigenous approach to exploring indigenous compatibility across cultures.

A/Prof Li has been active in voluntary sectors for many years in Australia and New Zealand. She was the founding Chairperson of the Hamilton Chinese Golden Age Society of New Zealand and President of the Townsville Chinese Club, a Committee Member of Townville Sisters Cities Program and a Member of the Inclusive Community Advisory Committee for the Townsville City Council.

Teaching

• PY2018: Intercultural Psychology and Cross Cultural Communication (Level 2; TSV)
• PY3108: Personality Psychology (Level 3; TSV)

Interests

Research

• Mental health and wellbeing (COVID-19 and mental health , mindfulness and mental health, ageing and mental health, migrant/refugee mental health)
• Personality and applied social psychology (Big-five personality, cross-cultural indigenous psychology, intergroup relations, discrimination, social inclusion/exclusion, job satisfaction)
• Quantitative research (systematic review, meta-analysis, measurement invariance, mediation, moderation, structural equation modelling) and qualitative research (narrative, thematic analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis， grounded theory, case study approach)
• Mindful and healthy ageing (art in mindful ageing, palliative care education, healthy ageing and good death)

Experience

• 2019 to present - Associate Professor, James Cook University (Australia)
• 2015 to 2018 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Australia)
• 2011 to 2014 - Lecturer, James Cook University (Australia)
• 2009 to 2011 - Researcher/Teaching Fellow, University of Waikato (New Zealand)
• 2004 to 2007 - Counsellor/Researcher, Asian Services at the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (New Zealand)
• 1999 to 2002 - Senior Lecturer, Guangdong Women’s Polytechnic College (China)

Research Disciplines

• Clinical and health psychology (5203)
• Social and personality psychology (5205)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Public health (2004)

Awards

• 2017 - James Cook University Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
• 2017 - James Cook University Inclusive Practice Award
• 2015 - Certificate of Appreciation from Townsville City Council for my contribution to the Townsville Sister City Program
• 2013 - Appreciation Award for my service to the Townsville community by the Townsville Intercultural Centre
• 2012 - Research Performance Award by Faculty of Arts, Education and Social Sciences, JCU
• 2012 - James Cook University Rising Stars Early Career Researcher Leadership Program
• 2009 - Best paper at the Annual Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Graduate Conference, University of Waikato, New Zealand
• 2008 - Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship by the New Zealand Tertiary Education Committee
• 2007 - First Prize of the Social Research Post Graduate Poster Competition at the 3rd New Zealand Social Policy, Research and Evaluation (SPRE) conference

Fellowships

• 2013 - Research Fellow of The Cairns Institute, JCU

Memberships

• 2021 - Society of Mental Health Research
• 2021 - Associate Editor of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology
• 2021 - The Society of Australasian Social Psychologists (SASP)
• 2018 - Associate Editor of the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology
• 2017 - Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the Asian Association of Social Psychology
• 2014 - Network Member of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford
• 2011 - The Asian Association of Social Psychology
• 2010 - Task Force on Indigenous Psychology (Division 32, Society of Humanistic Psychology, APA)
• 2009 - International Society of Critical Health Psychology
• 2014 to 2020 - President of the Townsville Chinese Club
• 2014 to 2020 - Committee Member of the Townsville Sister City Committee
• 2008 to 2010 - Founding Chairperson of the Hamilton Chinese Golden Age Society of New Zealand

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Astridge B, Li W, McDermott B and Longhitano C (2023) A systematic review and meta-analysis on adverse childhood experiences: Prevalence in youth offenders and their effects on youth recidivism. Child Abuse and Neglect, 140.
• Fisher V, Li W and Malabu U (in press) The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental health, HbA1C, and mindfulness of diabetes patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Applied psychology: health and wellbeing,
• Li W, Miller D, Leow T, Heward C, Li Y, Yang F and Yu H (2023) The relationship between mindfulness and mental distress in Chinese people during the COVID-19 pandemic: Moderating effects of infection severity of region and mediating effects of resilience and self-efficacy. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 17.
• Chhabra J, Li W and McDermott B (2022) Predictive factors for depression and anxiety in men during the perinatal period: a mixed methods study. American Journal of Men's Health, 16 (1).
• Nkem A, Topp S, Devine S, Li W and Ogaji D (2022) The impact of oil industry-related social exclusion on community wellbeing and health in African countries. Frontiers in Public Health, 10.
• Huang X, Liu Q, Li W, Wu L and Yan A (2021) Effects of magnanimous therapy on emotional, psychosomatic and immune functions of lung cancer patients. Journal of Health Psychology, 26 (7). pp. 1096-1108
• Li W, Singh S and Keerthigha C (2021) A cross-cultural study of filial piety and palliative care knowledge: moderating effect of culture and universality of filial piety. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.
• Li W, Li Y, Yu H, Miller D, Rouen C and Yang F (2021) Mental health of Chinese people during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with infection severity of region of residence and filial piety. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.
• Li W, Chhabra J and Singh S (2021) Palliative care education and its effectiveness: a systematic review. Public Health, 194. pp. 96-108
• Li W, West C and Xie G (2021) The reflective risk assessment model of professional quality of life in Chinese nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 29 (4). pp. 767-775
• Li W, Hung M and Hodgetts D (2021) From a stranger to a 'one-of-us' ally: a new Confucian approach to community allyship. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18 (4). pp. 550-570
• Xue G, Li W and McDermott B (2021) Professional quality of life as potential mediators of the association between anxiety and depression among Chinese health-care clinicians. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 56 (2). pp. 83-96

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 106+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Wendy Li from 1997 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Embodied Practice for clinicians working with trauma. An exploration of embodied movement and trauma sensitive yoga to support managing burn out and compassion fatigue. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The impact of stress and trauma on refugee mental health: Building resilience through understanding stress neurobiology of refugees (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Becoming a Defence member: A Qualitative Study into Construction of the Defence Identity and its impact on Mental Health (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• The Efficacy of Tabletop Gaming for Improvement of Mental Health and Self-Concepts (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• The Relationship Between Workplace Incivility and Perceptions of Patient Safety in Australian Hospitals: Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship and Intervention/Prevention (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The impact of mental health and associated factors on international students? dropout intentions ? a case for Australian universities (Masters , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Self-reported discrimination and self-reported health among humanitarian migrants in Australia: A longitudinal investigation (Masters , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Pornography's influence on men's sexual relationships and attitudes toward women (2019, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Risk factors for paternal depression and anxiety in the perinatal period (2022, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Long distance commuting into Australian regions: its determinants and impacts on wellbeing in the region and social capital's capacity to mediate those impacts (2018, PhD , Associate Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.

• Li, W. (2020) COVID-19 and mental health in a community sample in China. James Cook University
• Li, W. (2020) Mental health and wellbeing of Chinese university students in the time of COVID-19 crisis. James Cook University
• Cheong, W. (2016) Role of sleep and napping in cognition among older adults. James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.