As a social psychologist working at the intersection of social, educational, and clinical psychology, I study how macro-level factors such as societal narratives, ideological structures, and cultural belief systems trickle down to shape individual mental health and wellbeing. I am particularly interested in the socioeconomic determinants of psychological outcomes, and in solving the paradoxes that emerge when structural-level progress and individual-level outcomes are studied in isolation. In my current works, I draw on cross-national comparisons, large-scale register and survey data, and causal inference methods.

If you’re interested in becoming a collaborator or if you’re a student looking for a project to join, feel free to get in touch.

Research training and experiences

2022 – now: Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical, Neuro-, & Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2019 – 2022: Postdoctoral Researcher (with prof. Nienke van Atteveldt, prof. Martijn Meeter, and Dr. Brenda Jansen), Vrije Universitet Amsterdam

2014 – 2019: PhD in Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, (advisors/promotors: prof. Lydia Krabbendam and prof. Catrin Finkenauer)

2013 – 2014: Research Assistant, the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (with prof. Michael Dunn and prof. Asifa Majid)

2011 – 2013: Master of Science (Research Master) in Social Psychology (cum laude), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

2008-2010: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences (interdepartmental major, psychology, sociology, cognitive neuroscience and linguistics),  University College Utrecht (honors college of Utrecht University).

2002 – 2006: Bachelor of Arts in English Linguistics and Literature, National University of Social Sciences and Humanities of Vietnam.

On-going research projects

Project 1: Is better worse? What are the mechanisms for the gender equality paradox.

Multiple lines of research across different subfields converge on a robust but paradoxical finding: in countries with higher gender equality, women appear to have, compared to men, worse outcomes in mental health, academic anxiety, and parental burnout rates. Whereas in countries with lower gender equality, the gap is smaller. Why such an apparent paradox? Such observed effects are likely driven by multiple factors beyond gender equality measures and the causal pathways are likely complex.

Subproject 1a:

A counterintuitive but robust finding in education research is that countries with higher gender equality often display larger gender gaps in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). According to the prevalent hypothesis, as structural barriers fall, individuals simply follow their innate preferences — and those interests diverge by gender. An alternative explanation that I put forward emphasizes socialization, including cultural gender norms and economic constraints, both of which can shape adolescents’ interests and choices. Existing cross-country comparisons cannot disentangle these mechanisms, given the myriad aspects that differ between countries (Berggen & Bergh, 205). Using Dutch survey and register data, this subproject tests which account better explains the evidence — and what that means for policies aiming to close the gap.

Subproject 1b:

This subproject will focus on school well-being mental health outcomes. The competing hypotheses are as follows: 1) the prevalence inflation hypothesis—suggests that the rise in mental health issues may, in part, be due to increased public awareness and overinterpretation of mental health in high-income countries which, coincidentally, also have higher gender equality. 2) The individualism hypothesis posits that individualistic cultural values may place women under heightened levels of stress because the emphasis on individual choice can paradoxically reinforce gendered preferences in areas like career and family roles. To test these hypotheses, my collaborators, students and I are collecting survey data from multiple samples.

Project 2: Belief in meritocracy and the rise of performance pressure in Dutch secondary education

In 2001, 16% of Dutch secondary school students said they felt high pressure from their schoolwork. By 2021, that number was 47%. And girls reported more worrisome outcomes than boys. Across genders, the numers still show that it is a near-tripling in twenty years. In this project, I want to test the hypothesis that the increased belief in meritocracy might be part of the reasons for the rise in performance pressure that secondary school students are experiencing. My collaborators, students and I are collecting survey data to study this question.

 

Publications

For the most up-to-date list of my publications, please refer to my Google Scholar profile.