Xiaohui Sophie Li, Ph.D. CFLE, AFC®

Associate Professor, School of Family and Consumer Sciences

Professor Li has taught a variety of courses at Northern Illinois University including Family Financial Planning, Management of Human and Family Resources, Introduction to Family Relationships, and Asian American Families. She is an author and co-author of peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters, and presents her research at both national and international professional conferences.

Professor Li has served on the editorial board for the Journal of Family and Economic Issues since 2016. She is also a long-time reviewer for several other journals in our field including Family Relations, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, as well as proposal reviewer for conferences held by National Council on Family Relations.

Dr. Li’s research interests center around family process and dynamics and its impact on marital relationship and child development. She has studied both premarital and marital couples in Chinese and American cultures. Some of her studies focus on highly distressed groups including migrant children and families, firefighters, and survivors of natural disasters and epidemic disease to examine the role of family resilience, resourcefulness, and social support on their mental health and functionality.

In recent years, she has been focusing on studying emerging adults for their financial competency and marital relationships through the lens of intergenerational socialization and transmission. Her work aims to provide supportive information and guidance to marital and family counselors and therapists, financial coaches and counselors, social workers and policy makers.

Dr. Li is also a Certified Family Life Educator and Accredited Financial Counselor. She provides life, behavioral and personal finance counseling and coaching to individuals, couples and families, as well as consultation on family dynamics and consumer behaviors to organizations.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Family Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 2013
  • Master of Education in Health and Clinical Psychology, Beijing Normal University, 2008
  • Bachelor of Economics, China Agricultural University, 2005
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