Dr. Joyce Chang

Education

Dr. Joyce Chang received her doctorate in Human Development and Family Sciences and her master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Psychology, Women's Studies, & Statistics) from Oregon State University. Before beginning her career at the University of Central Missouri, she taught at universities in Oregon and Washington.

Dr. Chang’s primary research interests are high-risk behaviors, relationship development, and the impact of technology on families. Dr. Chang has collaborated with international colleagues and taught/lectured in Sweden, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. 

Publications

Chang, I. J., & Walker, S. (2025). Navigating the digital frontier: Implications for the practice of family life education. In W. M. Fleming & M. J. Walcheski (Eds.), Family life: The practice of family science (2nd ed., pp. 265-276). National Council on Family Relations Publishing.

Edwards-Bianchi, A., Chang, I. J., & Knox, D. (2025). The Impact of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests on emerging adults’ views on racism and racial Identity: A mixed methods analysis. Social Sciences, 14(9), 555. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14090555

Chang, I. J., Welch, T. S., Knox, D., Likcani, K., Tsay, A. C. (2025). Outsourcing love, companionship, and sex: Robot Acceptance and Concerns.  Sexes, 6 (2),  https://doi.org/10.3390/sexes6020017

Knox, D., Schacht, C., & Chang, I. J. (2023). Choices in Relationships (14 th ed.). Sage Publishing.

Tallichet, S. E., Perkins, E. B., Chang, I. J, Long-Mills, E., Knox, D. (2023). Love me, love my Dog: Cohabitation, dogs, and romantic relationships among college students. 
Human-Animal Interactions, https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2023.0030

McDaniel, B.T., Gullo, N., Kaiser, Z., Reining, L., Chang, I. J., Drouin, M. (2023). School-issued devices for home use in kindergarten through 5th grade and parent perceptions of child Learning, behavior, and conflict. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/3240832                        

Presentations

You, H. K. & Chang, I. J. (2025, November 19-22). What is your teaching impact: Invisible labor of college instructors [Paper presentation]. The Annual Conference of the National 
Council of Family Relations, Baltimore, MD.

Gasser, M., Hooton, B., Welch, T., & Chang, I. J. (2025, November 19-22). Click, connect, cope: How motivation shapes social media’s impact [Poster presentation]. Annual Conference 
of the National Council of Family Relations, Baltimore, MD.

Edwards-Bianchi, A., Chang, I. J., & Knox, D.  (2025, November 19-22). “Some People Just Click”: Black college students’ perceptions of chemistry in romantic relationships [Poster presentation]. The Annual Conference of the National Council of Family Relations, Baltimore, MD.

Riffle, D., Griffith, L., Chang, I. J., Perkins, E., & Knox, D. (2025, November 19-22). Reciprocity In undergraduate romantic relationships [Poster presentation]. The Annual Conference of the National Council of Family Relations, Baltimore, MD.

Riffle, D., Holbrook, W., Chang, I. J, Perkins, E., & Knox, D.  (2025, November 19-22). Navigating the non-binary gender identity: A study of perceptions and acceptance  [Poster presentation]. The Annual Conference of the National Council of Family Relations, Baltimore, MD.

Perkins, E., Knox, D., Chang, I. J., & Ritter, L. J. (2025, March 23–25). Sexual regret among undergraduates [Poster presentation]. Annual Conference of the National Social Science Association, Las Vegas, NV.

Knox, D., & Chang, I. J. (2024, June 12-15). How much of romantic chemistry is due to sexual attraction? [Poster presentation]. Annual conference of AASECT, St.  Louis, MO. 

Tsay, A. C., Chang, I. J., & Knox, D. (2023, November 8-11 ). The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Today’s fertility app. [Paper presentation].  Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Orlando, FL.

Awards

Dr. Chang is a legacy member of the National Council on Family Relations and has received awards and recognitions for excellence in teaching, research, service, and advisement from universities and professional organizations. Dr. Chang is also the 2026 Byler Award Recipient.