Prof. Xiang LI is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining PolyU, she worked as a Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prof. Li has accumulated a substantial body of research and work experience in social work and psychology. In particular, her research work centers on pressing issues in the field of child and adolescent development, including problematic internet use (e.g., cyberbullying), mental health problems (e.g., depression), and psychological assessments and evaluations. Prof. Li actively works on the curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation of Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong, Chinese mainland, and Malaysia. Through empirical studies and intervention strategies, she seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of youths with heightened psychosocial needs and to contribute to their development and well-being.

Prof. Li has participated in 24 research projects in the capacity of Principal Investigator (11 projects), Co-Principal Investigator (seven projects), and Co-Investigator (six projects). She has been awarded more than HK$27 million in funding in the past few years. As Principal Investigator, Prof. Li has succeeded in obtaining more than HK$3.5 million from one Early Career Scheme (ECS) in 2019/20, and three General Research Fund (GRF) projects in 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26.

Prof. Li’s engagement in high-quality research projects has resulted in a strong publication record. She has published more than 60 articles in academic journals, many of them appearing in high-impact journals in the fields of child development, aggressive behavior, and psychometric assessment, such as the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Development and Psychopathology, and Psychological Assessment. In addition, Prof. Li has actively collaborated with scholars from Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, and Chinese mainland, and those collaborations have led to many distinguished international works. Prof. Li has served as an editorial board member of leading academic journals, including Applied Research in Quality of Life and Child Psychiatry & Human Development. She also regularly reviews papers for many well-known journals, such as Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Journal of Affective Disorders, Computers in Human Behavior, and Children and Youth Services Review. She also serves as an external examiner of Doctoral and Master’s theses for The University of Sydney and Lingnan University.

In addition to her research, Prof. Li has a career goal of disseminating knowledge to students and facilitating their learning and thinking. She has taught psychology, leadership, and service-learning courses, and she is committed to delivering high-quality teaching and also to pursuing curriculum and pedagogy development. As a Co-Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator, Prof. Li has secured multiple grants related to teaching and learning, totaling HK$4.8 million. She serves as the Subject Coordinator of APSS1L01 Tomorrow's Leaders and as the Subject Leader of APSS2S09 Service Leadership through Serving Children and Families with Special Needs. In 2021, as a team member Prof. Li won a Gold Award (Nurturing Wellbeing & Purpose) conferred by the QS Reimagine Education Awards. In 2024, she was honored, as a team member, receiving the Departmental Best Teaching Award and the Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching.

• Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong
• Bachelor of Law in Social Work, Department of Social Work, Xiamen University