CDHA affiliate Jooyoung Kong, Associate Professor in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been selected to receive the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award from the Boston College School of Social Work. The award recognizes her research leadership and lasting contributions to understanding how early life trauma shapes health, well-being, and family relationships across the lifespan.
Professor Kong’s work examines the effects of adverse childhood experiences, including how they influence caregiving dynamics later in life. Using both qualitative interviews and large-scale longitudinal data from studies such as the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and MIDUS, she explores how adults who experienced abuse or neglect in childhood navigate caring for aging parents. Her research reveals both the emotional complexities and the resilience found in these caregiving relationships, highlighting the ways people find meaning and self-acceptance while carrying the weight of difficult histories.
Her commitment to genuinely understanding participants’ voices and experiences through her interview-based approach defines her work and mentorship. In addition to her ongoing research, she has mentored students who are expanding the study of trauma and caregiving into new areas such as palliative care and intergenerational support.
Kong will be formally recognized for this achievement on November 10, 2025, at the Boston College School of Social Work’s annual Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration.
CDHA congratulates Professor Kong on this well-deserved honor and celebrates her continued contributions to the study of trauma, caregiving, and resilience.