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Xiyao Liu, PhD

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Social Work

Xiyao Liu is a Postdoctoral Fellow in social welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research interests encompass areas such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), child and adolescent developmental outcomes, racial and ethnic disparities, poverty, and intersectionality. Following her internship with the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services, where she was involved in initial assessment and quality improvement, her research focuses on the intersection between ACEs, race/ethnicity, and poverty. Xiyao holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) from both the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She earned her PhD in Social Welfare from UW-Milwaukee.

Education:

  • PhD, Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2025
  • MSW, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2022
  • MSW, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2017
  • Bachelor of Management, Labor and Social Security, South-Central Minzu University, 2016

Research Interests:

  • Adverse Childhood Experiences
  • Health disparities
  • Social determinants of health
  • Risk and resilience
  • Intersectionality

Publications:

  • Liu, X., Hu, M., Varline, J., Yang, H., Bo, A., & Mersky, J. P. (2026). The Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Adult Mental Health Across Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Economic Status in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380261433022
  • Beckert, T. E., Plummer Lee, C., Albiero, P., Liu, X. (2025). Cultural patterns of psychosocial development in late adolescence: A latent profile approach across the U.S., Italy, and Taiwan. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 30:1, 2543932. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2025.2543932
  • Hendricks, B. A., Liu, X., & Kavanaugh, M. S. (2025). Assessing health-related quality of life among young carers: A cross-country comparison. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2025.2484012
  • Mersky, J. P., Plummer Lee, C., Bacalso, E., & Liu, X. (2025). Reexamining the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale-36 (EBPAS-36) in a US sample of trauma-focused treatment providers. Implementation science communications, 6(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-025-00702-3
  • Mersky, J. P., Plummer Lee, C., Liu, X. (2025). Advancing the study of adverse adult experiences: A validation study of the adult experiences survey. Journal of Family Violence, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-025-00817-0
  • Plummer Lee, C., Mersky, J. P., & Liu, X. (2024). Postpartum anger among low‐income women with high rates of trauma exposure. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 38(1), 124-134. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23109
  • Mersky, J. P., Plummer Lee, C., Liu, X. & Janczewski, C. E. (2023). Impact of a family treatment court on child permanency and safety. Child Abuse & Neglect, 146, 106512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106512
  • Romain Dagenhardt, D. M., Liu, X., Richards, J., & Mersky, J.P. (2024). Family treatment courts and the COVID-19 pandemic: Barriers and facilitators to program implementation, client engagement, and recovery. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 209278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2023.209278

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)