Sandra Yu Rueger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology | Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL, UNITED STATES
Dr. Rueger focuses on risk and resilience factors related to stress adaptation, the treatment of depression, and alcohol disorders.
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Biography
I am licensed as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist with experience in a wide range of mental health settings, including psychiatric medical centers, community mental health centers, a church-based counseling center, and private practice. As a clinician, I specialize in cognitive-behavioral therapy for mood and anxiety disorders, couples therapy, and family therapy with children and adolescents using empirically-supported approaches. As a researcher, I aim to add to the scientific understanding of risk and resilience factors related to stress adaptation, and inform clinical practice in the prevention and treatment of depression and alcohol use disorders. What I enjoy most about being at Wheaton College is the opportunity to mentor students. It is a privilege to walk beside these amazing young men and women on their path of growth and learning, and support them in their preparation for what God has for them in the future. When not working, I love spending time with family and friends, playing games, eating good food, and just laughing and sharing life together. Oh, and I keep meaning to start working out again.
Education (7)
Northern Illinois University: Ph.D., Clinical Psychology 2010
Predoctoral Internship, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, 2010 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Substance Abuse, The University of Chicago, 2011
Wheaton College: M.A., Clinical Psychology 1989
Northwestern University: B.A., Psychology 1985
Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago: Predoctoral Internship 2010
The University of Chicago: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Substance Abuse 2011
State of Illinois: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#166000356) 1995
State of Illinois: Licensed Clinical Psychologist (#071008856) 2014
Areas of Expertise and Research Interests (5)
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Depression
Family Therapy
Clinical Psychology
Alcohol Abuse
Professional Affiliations (4)
- American Psychological Association
- Society for Research on Child Development
- Association for Psychological Science
- Research Society on Alcoholism
Links (1)
Media Appearances (1)
Clients, therapists say culture plays key role in mental health treatment
Daily Herald
2017-05-22
The collectivist nature of some cultures can deter people from seeking treatment, says Sandra Yu Rueger, a psychologist and professor in Wheaton College's clinical psychology doctoral program who is researching mental health among Korean Americans. People think, "If I were to seek out help, not only does that mean there's something wrong with me, but there's something wrong with my family -- or my parents didn't do their job," Yu Rueger said...
Presentations and Event Appearances (5)
Fostering Church-Psychology Collaborations to Address the Mental Health Needs of Asian Americans
Annual Conference of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies Chicago, IL
2017-03-30
Reaching Faith-Based Communities with Empirically Supported Treatments for Adolescent Depression
Annual Conference of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies Chicago, IL
2017-03-30
Effects of friend support and friend characteristics on depression in early adolescent boys and girls
Annual Conference of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies Chicago, IL
2017-03-30
Attributional style for positive events, self esteem and depression in early adolescence
Annual Conference of the American Psychological Association Toronto, Canada
2015-08-06
Asian American drinking motives during adolescence.
Poster presented at the annual meeting of Research Society on Alcoholism San Antonio, TX.
2015-06-20
Academics and Published Research (2)
Courses Taught
- Family Theory and Therapy - Research and Statistics II: Research Methods - Substance Abuse - Advanced Topics in Clinical Psychology: Motivational Interviewing - Advanced Topics in Clinical Psychology: Meta-Analysis - Practica Seminar group - Family Systems Theory and Counseling (M.A. program) - Collaborative Research – Research Lab Section (B.A. program)
Research
My research interests focus on individual differences in responses to stress, and the risk and resilience factors related to adaptive coping and persistence in the face of negative events. I am particularly interested in vulnerabilities related to pessimistic thinking patterns and the protective role of social relationships, especially during life transitions. I also have interests in the development and testing of psychometrically sound assessment instruments used in research, and synthesizing knowledge from previous research using meta-analytic strategies I also continue to collaborate at the University of Chicago in the Clinical Addictions Research Lab on alcohol-related risk and resilience factors, especially in underserved minority populations. The newest project under development is focused on collaborating with churches and social service agencies to better understand psychosocial and familial risk and protective factors in youth from Korean and Chinese origins. Dr. Rueger directs the Youth Risk and Resilience Lab.
Grants and Fellowships (5)
Asian-American acculturation and health in Korean-American adolescents: A pilot study
Wheaton College Psychology Department Faculty Research Grant
Funding: $4,500
Asian-American acculturation and health in Korean-American parents: A pilot study
Diversity and Justice Initiative Grant, Wheaton College
Funding: $1,000
Coping motives for alcohol use in Asian American youth
Wheaton College Aldeen Faculty Development Grant
Funding: $3,550
Alcohol Stimulation and Sedation in Binge Drinkers. Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-related Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA Grant #R01 AA013746-S)
Funding: $101,408 total direct costs
Attributional style and parental support as risk and protective factors to depression: A longitudinal follow-up into young adulthood
Wheaton College Aldeen Faculty Development Grant
Funding: $2,520
Select Articles, Chapters, Reviews, and Other Publications (7)
A meta-analytic review of the association between perceived social support and depression in childhood and adolescence
Psychological Bulletin
Rueger, S. Y., Malecki, C. M., Pyun, Y., Aycock, C., & Coyle, S.
2016
Parental monitoring moderates the relation between radio exposure and adolescent substance use: Preliminary findings from a national survey.
Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse
Smith, L., *Aycock, C., *Hook, K., Chen, P., & Rueger, S. Y.
2017-04-21
Media exposure is a risk factor and parental monitoring is a protective factor against adolescent alcohol and tobacco use. Music-related media, however, are underexplored. The National Survey of Parents and Youth was utilized to examine music-related media as a risk factor and parental monitoring as a protective factor for alcohol and cigarette use. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that music exposure was related to higher levels and parental monitoring was related to lower levels of substance use. Parental monitoring attenuated the effect of radio exposure on alcohol and cigarette use. Further investigation of music, parental monitoring, and adolescent substance use is needed.
Indirect effects of attributional style for positive events on depressive symptoms through self-esteem in early adolescence
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Rueger, S. Y., & George, R.
2016
Differences in subjective response to alcohol in heavy and light drinking Chinese men versus Caucasian-American men
Addiction
Rueger, S. Y., Hu, H. X., McNamara, P., Cao, D. C., Hao, W., & King, A. K.
2014
Stability and change in perceived support from adults in the development of depressive symptoms during the transition to middle school
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Rueger, S. Y., Chen. P., Jenkins, L. N., Choe, H. J.
2014
Validation of the Brief Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (B-BAES)
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
Rueger, S. Y. & King, A. K.
2013
A self-administered web-based Timeline Followback procedure for drinking and smoking behaviors in young adults
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Rueger, S. Y., Trela, C. J., Palmeri, M., & King, A. K.
2012