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Psychological Sciences

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Bahr Weiss

Professor of Psychology and Human Development, Emeritus
Visiting Foreign Professor, Vietnam National University
Senior Fellow, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health

Professor Weiss’ research focuses on child psychopathology, in particular intervention for comorbid internalizing and externalizing problems, and cultural influences on the development and treatment of psychopathology.  Particular interests include development of a model to describe factors influencing the sustainability of task-shifting mental health interventions (i.e., interventions implemented by non-mental health professionals, such as teachers or nurses) after external support is withdrawn.  Much of this work currently focuses on Vietnam and Southeast Asia, where he and his colleagues (a) have conducted the first nationally representative child mental health epidemiology survey in Vietnam in order to determine the impact of urbanization factors on the development of child psychopathology, (b) a longitudinal study, including colleagues from UCLA, UC-Davis, Vietnam National University and the Danang Psychiatric Hospital to determine how cultural factors influence the effects of stress and coping on the development of mental health symptoms in adolescents; (c) developing and evaluating a multi-province, culturally appropriate intervention for opioid addiction; (d) implementing a national monitoring system for mass psychogenic illness to identify why this phenomenon occurs in Vietnam at approximately 10 times the rate as in the U.S.; (e) development and evaluation of school-based mental health intervention infrastructure. As part of his work in Vietnam, he has been centrally involved in development of the first Ph.D. clinical psychology training program in Vietnam.

Lab Website

Representative Publications

  • Weiss, B., Nguyen, T., Trung, L.T., Ngo, V.K. & Lau, A. (2018). Tobacco smoking and antisocial deviance among Vietnamese, Vietnamese-American, and European-American adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, in press. doi: 10.1007/s10802-018-0416-8

  • Dang, M.H., Weiss, B. & Trung, L.T. (2018). Mental health literacy and intervention program adaptation in the internationalization of school psychology for Vietnam. Psychology in the Schools, 55, 941-954. doi: 10.1002/pits.22156

  • Tran, C.V. & Weiss, B. (2018). Characteristics of agencies providing services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Vietnam. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 8, 116-121. doi: 10.18178/ijssh.2018.8.4.946,  PMCID: PMC6197059

  • Weiss, B. & Pollack, A.A. (2017).  Barriers to global health development: An international quantitative survey. PLoS ONE 12(10): e0184846. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184846, PMCID: PMC5626426

  • Dang, H.M., Weiss, B., Nguyen, C.M., Tran, N. & Pollack, A. (2017).  Vietnam as a case example of school-based mental health services in LMIC: Efficacy and effects of risk status.  School Psychology International, 38, 22-41. doi: 10.1177/0143034316685595, PMCID: PMC5331614

  • Tsai, W., Nguyen, D.J., Weiss, B., Ngo, V., & Lau, A. S. (2017). Cultural differences in the reciprocal relations between emotion suppression coping, depressive symptoms and interpersonal functioning among adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45, 657-669. doi: 10.1007/s10802-016-0192-2, PMCID: PMC5274630

  • Ngoc, T.N., Weiss, B., & Trung, L.T. (2016). Effects of the Family Schizophrenia Psychoeducation Program for individuals with recent onset schizophrenia in Viet Nam. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 22, 162-166. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2016.06.001, PMCID: PMC4988340

  • Weiss, B., Dang, M., Trung, L., Nguyen, M.C., Thuy, N.T.H., & Pollack, A. (2014). A nationally-representative epidemiological and risk factor assessment of child mental health in Vietnam.  International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 3, 139-153. doi: 10.1037/ipp0000016

  • Pollack, A.A., Weiss, B. & Trung, L. (2016). Mental health and life functioning among people exposed to frequent natural disasters in central coastal Vietnam. British Journal of Psychiatry - Open, 2(3), 221-232; doi: 10.1192/bjpo.bp.115.002170, PMCID: PMC4957519

  • Lau, A, Tsai, W., Guo, S., Nguyen, D.J., Nguyen, H., Ngo, V. & Weiss, B. (2016). Adolescents' stigma attitudes toward internalizing and externalizing disorders: Cultural influences and implications for distress manifestations. Clinical Psychological Science, 4(4), 704-717. doi: 10.1177/2167702616646314, PMCID: PMC5228599

  • Yen, N.T.K., Weiss, B. & Trung, L.T. (2016). Caseness rates and risk factors for depression among Vietnamese cancer patients.  Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 23, 95-98. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2016.07.020, PMCID: PMC5160994

  • Weiss, B., Han, S., Tran, N.T., Gallop, R., & Ngo, V.K. (2014).  Test of "Facilitation" vs. "Proximal Process" moderator models for the effects of Multisystemic Therapy on adolescents with severe conduct problems Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, in press.

  • Ngo, V.K., Weiss, B., Lam, T., Dang, T., N, T. & Nguyen, M.H. (2014). The Vietnam Collaborative Care for Depression Program: Development of depression care for low / middle income nations. Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 28, 156-167. doi: 10.1891/0889-8391.28.3.156.

  • Weiss, B., Han, S., Dang, H.M. & Nguyen, C.M. (2014). The RECAP-Vietnam social skills program for grades 1 to 5. Hanoi, Vietnam: Giao Thong Van Tai Publishing House. ISBN: 978-604-76-0280-3

  • Weiss, B., Han, S., Harris, V., Catron, T., Ngo, V.K., Caron, A., Gallop, R. & Guth, C. (2013).  An independent randomized clinical trial of multisystemic therapy with non-court referred adolescents with serious conduct problems.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 1027-1039. PMCID: PMC3830634. DOI: 10.1037

  • Do, K. N., Weiss, B., & Pollack, A. (2013). Cultural beliefs, intimate partner violence, and mental health functioning among Vietnamese women. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 2, 149-163. (DOI: 10.1037/ipp0000004)
  • Weiss, B., Ngo, V.K., Dang, H.M., Pollack, A., Trung, L.T., Tran, C.V., Tran, N.T., Sang, D.L. & Do, K.N. (2012). A model for sustainable development of child mental health infrastructure in the LMIC world: Vietnam as a case example. International Perspectives in Psychology, 1, 63-77. (DOI: 10.1037/a0027316)
  • Weiss, B., Nguyen, C.M. & Dang, H.M. (2012).  Prevalence of mental health problems in adolescents in northern Vietnam.  Vietnamese Journal of Social Sciences, 28, 34-40. ISSN: 1859-0098.
  • Dang, H.M, Weiss, B., Pollack, A. & Nguyen, M.C. (2011). Adaptation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV) for Vietnam. Psychological Studies, 56, 387-392. DOI: 10.1007 / s12646-011-0099-5
  • Weiss, B., Dang, H.M., Ngo, V., Pollack, A., Sang, D., Lam. T.T., Nguyen, M.L.T., Le, H.N., Tran, N., Tran, C. & Do, K. (2011). Development of clinical psychology and mental health resources in Vietnam. Psychological Studies, 56, 185-191. PMID: 21785513 (DOI: 10.1007 / s12646-011-0078-x). 
  • Ellis, M., Weiss, B., Han, S. & Gallop, R. (2010). The influence of parental factors on therapist adherence in MST. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 857-868.
  • Weiss, B., Tram, J.M., Weisz, J.R., Rescorla, L. & Achenbach, T.M. (2009). Differential symptom expression and somatization in Thai vs. American children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 987-992.