Wan-Ling Tseng, PhD
Assistant ProfessorCards
About
Titles
Assistant Professor
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
Dr. Wan-Ling Tseng is an Assistant Professor at the Yale Child Study Center. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Tseng is committed to a long-term career as a developmental affective neuroscientist conducting innovative and collaborative research focused on irritability and related symptoms. Her research program, currently funded by her NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2), aims to delineate mechanisms and predictors of chronic irritability across multiple levels of analysis from neural circuits, physiology, behaviors, social experiences (e.g., peer interactions), to familial and environmental factors and across development. In addition to the New Innovator Award, Dr. Tseng’s work has been recognized by other prestigious awards and organizations including the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), Society of Biological Psychiatry Travel Award, Career Development Institute for Bipolar Disorder, NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence, NIMH OFT Trainee Travel Award, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Travel Award, Doris Duke Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists, and Charles H. Hood Foundation Child Health Research Award.
Appointments
Child Study Center
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral fellowship
- National Institute of Mental Health (2019)
- PhD
- University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development (2012)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Adolescent Development; Aggression; Anger; Anxiety; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Child Development; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Frustration; Functional Neuroimaging; Irritable Mood; Mood Disorders; Neuroimaging
Public Health Interests
Child/Adolescent Health; Global Health; Maternal & Child Health; Mental Health
Publications
2025
Drift‐Diffusion Modeling of Attentional Shifting During Frustration: Associations With State Frustration and Trait Irritability
Bellaert N, Castagna P, Deveney C, Crowley M, Tseng W. Drift‐Diffusion Modeling of Attentional Shifting During Frustration: Associations With State Frustration and Trait Irritability. Depression And Anxiety 2025, 2025 DOI: 10.1155/da/1618163.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDrift diffusion model parametersTrait irritabilityFrustrative nonrewardDrift-diffusion modelAssociated with individual differencesLatent cognitive processesMechanisms of irritabilityModel of attentionMechanism-based interventionsAnxiety disordersCognitive mechanismsIndividual differencesCognitive processesImpairment symptomsNonrewardClinical levelYoung adultsHealthy adult populationTraitsAP metricNonfrustrationIrritationFrustrationMoodAnxiety
2024
Associations Between Neighborhood Resources and Youths’ Response to Reward Omission in a Task Modeling Negatively Biased Environments
Brown B, Nguyen L, Morales I, Cardinale E, Tseng W, McKay C, Kircanski K, Brotman M, Pine D, Leibenluft E, Linke J. Associations Between Neighborhood Resources and Youths’ Response to Reward Omission in a Task Modeling Negatively Biased Environments. Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2024, 64: 463-474. PMID: 38763411, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.05.011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchChildhood Opportunity IndexPaper self-identifiesNeighborhood resourcesAbstractText Label="DIVERSITY &Functional magnetic resonance imagingAbstractText Label="METHOD" NlmCategory="METHODS">Ethnic groupsReward omissionBlocked goalsNeurobiological levelMood disordersNeurodevelopmental trajectoriesLocal processing modeMental healthReduced connectivityDiverse sampleInvestigate associationsControl networkNeighborhood featuresQuantify accessProvincial hubsPromote sexRewardOpportunity IndexMagnetic resonance imagingAssociations between trauma exposure and irritability within the family unit: a network approach
Cotter G, Morreale K, Valdegas A, Fish M, Beebe R, Grasso D, Stover C, Tseng W. Associations between trauma exposure and irritability within the family unit: a network approach. Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry 2024, 65: 1501-1512. PMID: 38710637, DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13998.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPost-traumatic stress disorderTrauma-exposed childrenTrauma exposureIntimate partner violencePediatric irritabilityTrauma historyPost-traumatic stress disorder severityPost-traumatic stress disorder symptomsTreatment of irritabilityAdulthood trauma exposureChild trauma exposurePrevalence of irritabilityParent self-reportConnecticut Department of ChildrenParental intimate partner violenceReduce intimate partner violenceFamily unitPTSD severityParental psychopathologyPsychotherapy interventionsStress disorderChild irritabilityPsychiatric symptomsDepartment of ChildrenAssessed pre-interventionHow are irritability and anhedonia symptoms linked? A network approach
Sistiaga S, Tseng W, Zhang L, Rossignol M, Bellaert N. How are irritability and anhedonia symptoms linked? A network approach. Journal Of Clinical Psychology 2024, 80: 1552-1567. PMID: 38497904, DOI: 10.1002/jclp.23679.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMajor depressive disorderReward typeSymptoms of major depressive disorderContext of Major Depressive DisorderDimensional Anhedonia Rating ScaleReward processing dysfunctionBrief Irritability TestSymptoms of irritabilityAnhedonia symptomsReward processingDepressive disorderDepression severityProcessing dysfunctionAnhedoniaRating ScaleHedonic responsesExperimental paradigmMultifaceted symptomsRewardEffort dimensionsSymptomsComplex associationsMultiple dimensionsIrritationDepressionIrritability in Youths: A Critical Integrative Review
Leibenluft E, Allen L, Althoff R, Brotman M, Burke J, Carlson G, Dickstein D, Dougherty L, Evans S, Kircanski K, Klein D, Malone E, Mazefsky C, Nigg J, Perlman S, Pine D, Roy A, Salum G, Shakeshaft A, Silver J, Stoddard J, Thapar A, Tseng W, Vidal-Ribas P, Wakschlag L, Stringaris A. Irritability in Youths: A Critical Integrative Review. American Journal Of Psychiatry 2024, 181: 275-290. PMID: 38419494, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20230256.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAttention deficit hyperactivity disorderPathophysiology of irritabilityResponse to frustrationParent management trainingTreating psychological problemsDeficit hyperactivity disorderAutism spectrum disorderPrevalence of irritabilityAssociated with impairmentDiverse longitudinal sampleAssociated with increased risk of anxietyRisk of anxietyYouth irritabilityAnxiety disordersTreating irritabilityHyperactivity disorderBehavior problemsSpectrum disorderDevelopmental trajectoriesAssess irritabilityPsychological problemsLongitudinal sampleImpact of cultural contextTranslational findingsSuicideA Social Process Model of forms of aggression and victimization and internalizing problems
Kawabata Y, Tseng W. A Social Process Model of forms of aggression and victimization and internalizing problems. Journal Of Family Trauma Child Custody & Child Development 2024, ahead-of-print: 1-18. DOI: 10.1080/26904586.2024.2310559.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPeer rejectionInternalizing problemsPeer victimizationPhysical aggressionEffects of physical aggressionOne-year longitudinal dataSerial mediation modelAt-risk youthPhysical victimizationRelational victimizationSocial process modelRelational aggressionPublic elementary schoolsVictimsMediation modelDifferential interventionAggressionTaiwanese schoolsElementary schoolSchool yearIndirect effectsSchoolPrevention programsLongitudinal dataPeerPre-scan state anxiety is associated with greater right amygdala-hippocampal response to fearful versus happy faces among trait-anxious Latina girls
Díaz D, Tseng W, Michalska K. Pre-scan state anxiety is associated with greater right amygdala-hippocampal response to fearful versus happy faces among trait-anxious Latina girls. BMC Psychiatry 2024, 24: 1. PMID: 38167015, PMCID: PMC10759434, DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05403-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsState anxietyTrait anxietyHappy facesEmotion processingLatina girlsImplicit emotion processingNon-anxious youthHigh trait anxietyFearful facial affectFearful facesEmotional valenceFacial affectNeural correlatesIndividual differencesBrain activationBrain responsesNeural activationReduced engagementCommunity sampleAnxietyInteractive effectsHigh levelsGirlsMethodsThe present studySystematic differences
2023
Can peripheral psychophysiological markers predict response to exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy in youth with severely impairing irritability? A study protocol
Grasser L, Erjo T, Goodwin M, Naim R, German R, White J, Cullins L, Tseng W, Stoddard J, Brotman M. Can peripheral psychophysiological markers predict response to exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy in youth with severely impairing irritability? A study protocol. BMC Psychiatry 2023, 23: 926. PMID: 38082431, PMCID: PMC10712194, DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05421-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapyCognitive behavioral therapyPhysiological arousalBehavioral therapyAffective Reactivity IndexMultiple baseline trialClinical Global Impression ScaleAnger-inducing stimuliPeripheral physiological indicatorsIndividual differencesPsychophysiological markersPerson changesExposure sessionsMultilevel modelingPsychophysiological indicatorsHR/HRVInitial evidenceMental healthReasons youthReactivity indexYouthAppropriate Institutional Review BoardTreatment mechanismsGlobal Impression ScaleCourse of treatmentPeer functioning difficulties may exacerbate symptoms of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder and irritability over time: a temporal network analysis
Bellaert N, Morreale K, Tseng W. Peer functioning difficulties may exacerbate symptoms of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder and irritability over time: a temporal network analysis. Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry 2023, 65: 809-821. PMID: 37859512, PMCID: PMC11026298, DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13911.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderPositive social interactionsPeer functioningADHD symptomsIrritability symptomsHyperactivity disorderSocial interactionChild ADHD symptomsSocial-emotional skillsPelham Rating ScaleNegative social environmentsPeer rejectionPeer acceptancePeer nominationsSocial impairmentNovel longitudinal approachPhysical bullyingCommunity samplePoor peerPhysical victimizationInattentionMutual friendshipsLongitudinal associationsTemper outburstsFrequent temper outbursts8.1 Irritability and Trauma Exposure Within the Family System: A Network Approach
Tseng W. 8.1 Irritability and Trauma Exposure Within the Family System: A Network Approach. Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2023, 62: s336. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.07.675.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Impact of Reward and Frustration on Early Attention: Associations with Irritability in Young Adults
HIC ID2000031088RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date10/31/2023Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 25 yearsComprehensive Therapy for Irritability in Teenagers with Autism Study
HIC ID0102012121RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2025Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge11 years - 16 yearsCBT for Anxiety in Children With Autism
HIC ID1211011144RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date06/30/2020Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge8 years - 14 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News
News
- October 31, 2024Source: Yae Daily News
Six Yale researchers receive NIH ‘High-Risk, High-Reward’ awards
- October 30, 2024Source: Knowable Magazine
Severe irritability in children and teens: A new understanding
- October 09, 2024Source: Yale News
Six Yale Researchers Receive NIH ‘High-Risk, High-Reward’ Awards
- July 02, 2024
Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health to Fund Research by Steele, Tseng
Get In Touch
Contacts
Academic Office Number
Mailing Address
Child Study Center
PO Box 207900, 230 S Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06519
United States