About me

Hello! My name is Junyi Gong, and I am a rising Junior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Economics. I used to be a computer major, but I found that I prefer communicating with people much more than with computers, so now I do psychology! I am so glad that I am able to participate in this interdisciplinary community provided by the Brackenridge Fellowship.  

My project

Over the summer I plan to conduct my research on ADHD full-time under the guidance of Dr. Kennedy. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic disorder including difficulty with concentration, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD often persists into adulthood with associated symptoms and impairment, with a prevalence of 4.4% among U.S. adults. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is an especially challenging period for young adults with ADHD, due to increasing independence and responsibilities of adulthood. As a result, young adults with ADHD are particularly vulnerable to experiencing interpersonal impairment, including relationship difficulties, educational underachievement, and problematic substance use due to ADHD.

Benefit finding is known as the ability to find benefits from negative circumstances, it also refers to the efforts individuals make to view challenging life events from a positive perspective. In my study, I would like to investigate the relation between benefit-finding and the use of strategies to manage ADHD among young adults (18-21 years old). 50 participants diagnosed with ADHD will complete 21 days Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), a brief smartphone-based survey multiple times throughout the day.

There is a great need to identify ways to enhance young adults’ use of effective strategies that help them manage symptoms of ADHD through their daily lives. If the relation between benefit-finding and the use of more coping strategies is found, it is possible to develop these observations into interventions that ultimately improve the frequency of using strategies to manage ADHD, which leads to improvements on people’s ability to positively appraise stressful situations and the well-being of ADHD groups.

My original plan was to work with Dr.Kennedy in her lab, recruiting participants, conduct interviews, and analyze data under Dr.Kennedy’s guidance. However, under current situation, I am negotiating with Dr.Kennedy to change our format to literature review or to analyze a smaller study (15 participants) using Dr.Kennedy’s previous data.

Professional goals and Brackenridge Fellowship

In the future, I plan to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology, and to work both as a researcher and a clinical psychologist. The Brackenridge Fellowship is a great opportunity for me to work with scholars from different disciplines with diverse backgrounds in the community. I am excited to learn new perspectives about my project, and I am looking forward to discuss my project with other scholars and to see how people in the community from other disciplines could impact my work. Lastly, communication skills and critical thinking skills are essential for any type of science. I am sure the exchange of knowledge and perspectives is mutually beneficial, and I believe this process will greatly improve my skills, as well as to help me reach a deeper understanding of scientific research from this large network of scholars.