Yuanyuan Zhang is a first-year Ph.D. working with Dr. Na Zhang. Yuanyuan’s research interests include mindfulness, health, and well-being in the family context, as well as the application of mindfulness interventions in various domains. Specifically, she is interested in studying mindful grandparenting and relationship quality between parents and grandparents in three-generation families.

Before joining UConn for her doctoral studies, Yuanyuan worked as a research assistant at Zhejiang University, where she used mixed-methods research to verify the validity of an adapted mindfulness training program to improve the self-control of college students with academic difficulties. She obtained her master’s degree in applied psychology at East China Normal University, where she verified the effectiveness of mindful communication through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. She found that mindful communication and cooperative orientation were positively correlated, with emotion regulation strategies, particularly acceptance, playing significant mediating roles in this association. She presented this research at the International Conference on Mindfulness Asia-Pacific in 2022.

Yuanyuan was born and raised in China and is currently in her first year in the United States. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, exploring nature, and engaging in fitness routines, including jogging. Meditation is also a regular part of her life.

---