Jihyeong (Jay) Jeong, M.A., is a gerontological social work researcher and doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Her research examines how aging, disability, and environmental conditions interact to shape older adults’ ability to age well at home, with a particular focus on the structural and social conditions that enable or constrain community living among older adults with disabilities. She is expected to defend her dissertation by Spring 2027.
Previous Education
M.A., Social Welfare, Cheongju University, South Korea, 2019
B.A., Social Welfare, Cheongju University, South Korea, 2017
Significant Accomplishments
During her Ph.D. program, Jihyeong has authored or co-authored 12 peer-reviewed journal articles, including publications in the Journal of Affective Disorders and the Journal of Transport & Health, and delivered 16 presentations at national and international conferences.
Her research has received support through competitive funding and professional development programs. In 2026, Jihyeong received the $32,500 MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund as Principal Investigator for her dissertation research. That same year, she was selected as a mentee for the Society for Social Work and Research’s Research, Inspire, Support, and Excel (R.I.S.E.) Seminar, a competitive program that provides structured mentoring and peer feedback to strengthen doctoral students’ dissertation research and professional development.
In 2023, Jihyeong was selected as one of 12 Pre-Dissertation Fellows by the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW), a program that provides training and mentorship to doctoral students preparing for faculty careers in gerontological social work. She also received the Grand Challenges for Social Work Award ($2,000) from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in 2024.
Research Experience
Working at the intersection of aging and disability, Jihyeong’s scholarship examines how interactions between individuals and their environments create inequities in the ability to age in place. Her research asks why some older adults remain healthy and engaged in community life while others become increasingly constrained, and where modifiable conditions may create opportunities for intervention. Her work has examined age-friendly community environments and transportation access in relation to health, as well as social support in relation to out-of-home mobility, among older adults with disabilities. Methodologically, she has experience with longitudinal and panel data analysis, causal inference, psychometrics, and qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviewing and thematic analysis.
Jihyeong’s dissertation examines the pathways through which older adults transition toward homebound status. Guided by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, she uses data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study and applies causal mediation analysis to investigate whether social participation mediates the relationship between the onset of community mobility limitations and homebound status, while accounting for a potential interaction between the onset and social participation. She also examines whether receipt of caregiving moderates this relationship. By identifying modifiable mechanisms in the pathway to homebound status, her dissertation seeks to clarify where and for whom services may intervene to help older adults remain connected to community life.
Teaching Interests and Experience
Jihyeong has independently taught Social Work Research at the MSW level in a synchronous online format in Spring 2026. She previously served as a teaching assistant for the same course in asynchronous and in-person formats in Spring 2024 and Spring 2025, respectively. Since 2025, she has delivered multiple guest lectures for MSW students in Neurodiversity-Affirming Social Work Practice. She also completed Theory and Practice of Social Work Teaching as part of her doctoral training.
Jihyeong’s teaching emphasizes social work values, student perspectives, critical reflection, and dialogic mentorship. She uses case-based examples and guiding questions to help students connect research evidence with social work practice and develop their own professional judgments. In the MSW research course she independently taught, students rated her teaching effectiveness 4.5 out of 5. Her teaching interests include social work research, quantitative methods, and courses focused on aging, disability, and social policy.
Practice Experience
Jihyeong’s practice-related experience includes disability-focused community engagement, community-based social services, and applied research. As a trainee with the Center for Disability Justice at the University of Maryland, she participates in Community Advisory Board meetings that bring together people with disabilities, clinicians, and interdisciplinary researchers. Through this role , she has gained experience with community-engaged approaches that involve people with disabilities in shaping research priorities and decisions.
Prior to her doctoral studies, Jihyeong completed a social work internship at a community child care center in South Korea, where she conducted family assessments, coordinated community support services, and worked with children from low-income and at-risk families. Following this experience, she earned a Level 1 Social Worker license in South Korea. She later worked as a researcher at the Sejong City Welfare Foundation, contributing to local government reports on aging-related issues through literature review, data management, and analysis. These experiences complement her current interest in how community and service systems shape the ability of older adults and people with disabilities to remain engaged in community life.
Additional Information
Jihyeong Jeong’s perspective on social work is informed by 15 years of lived experience as a caregiver for a family member with disabilities. She has served as an abstract reviewer for the Gerontological Society of America and as an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, including the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. She has also contributed to her academic community as a student representative to the Ph.D. Program Committee and an Orientation Week peer mentor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
Selected Publications
Jeong, J., Falvey, J. R., & Lehning, A. J. (2026). Association between transportation access and self-rated health among older adults with disabilities. Journal of Transport & Health, 51, 102386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2026.102386
Jeong, J., & Rose, R. A. (2026). The impact of disability onset on depressive symptoms: Longitudinal evidence from South Korea. Journal of Affective Disorders, 122481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2026.122481