Merve Balkaya-Ince

My research centers on the dynamic interplay between culture, context, and human development, with a primary focus on the positive development and well-being of ethnic-racial and religious minority children, adolescents, and their families. I am particularly passionate about employing cutting-edge research methods and using advanced data-analytic tools to investigate developmental processes at various levels (intra– and inter-individual) and various timeframes, ranging from a few hours to years. A central theme in my research is to uncover the specific elements and underlying mechanisms through which culture shapes human development, moving beyond viewing culture as solely a macro-level influence. 

I have two lines of research, including (1) my work on Muslim American adolescents’ development and (2) collaborative cultural and cross-cultural studies on other populations, as described in detail below: 

Muslim American Adolescents’ Development

My research primarily focuses on Muslim American adolescents who belong to the fastest-growing religious group in the United States. Not only are they underrepresented but they are also misrepresented in psychological studies with an excessive focus on risk, terrorism, and radicalization. I am dedicated to shifting this focus toward studying cultural assets and positive indicators of Muslim adolescents’ development in an attempt to redress social inequalities. My research employs strength- and community-based approaches that are centered on uplifting Muslim youth’s voices and can be translated into interventions and other translational work.  

Grants

2022 – 2025                                                                                                                          Principal Investigator

Using an Islamic Community Approach to Cultivate Virtues in the Face of Marginalization among Muslim Youth, grant from the John Templeton Foundation #62353

Total project funding: $1,160,872

Co-Principal Investigator: Madiha Tahseen

Advisors: Sameera Ahmed, Sarah A. Schnitker, Karen Melton, Quaisar Abdullah, Osman Umarji, Aneesah Nadir

2021                                                                                                                                           Primary Investigator

Ramadan Experience Sampling Study funded as part of the Character Strength Interventions in Adolescents: Engaging Scholars and Practitioners to Promote Virtue Development project by the John Templeton Foundation #61221 (PIs: Sarah A. Schnitker & Ben Houltberg)

Total project funding: $45,000

Co-Investigators: Sarah A. Schnitker, Osman Umarji, Madiha Tahseen

Representative Publications

• Balkaya-Ince, M., Cheah, C. S. L., Gürsoy, H.^*, & Amer, M. (2024). Time-varying and gender differences in religious socialization and associations with Muslim American adolescents’ religious identity. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000517
• Gürsoy, H.^*, Cheah, C. S. L., & Balkaya-Ince, M. (2024). What helps Muslim American youth to thrive? The role of maternal promotion of volitional functioning and religiosity in their civic engagement. Youth & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X241261985
• Balkaya-Ince, M., Tahseen, M., Umarji, O., & Schnitker S. A. (2023). Does Ramadan serve as a naturalistic intervention to promote Muslim American adolescents’ daily virtues? Evidence from a three wave experience sampling study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2023.2169631
• Cheah, C. S. L., Gürsoy, H.^*, & Balkaya-Ince, M. (2021). Parenting and social identity contributors to character development in Muslim American adolescents. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 81, 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.01.002
• Balkaya-Ince, M., Cheah, C. S. L., Kiang, L., & Tahseen, M. (2020). Exploring daily mediating pathways of religious identity in the associations between maternal religious socialization and Muslim American adolescents’ civic engagement. Developmental Psychology, 56(8), 1446–1457. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000856
• Balkaya, M., Cheah, C. S. L., & Tahseen, M. (2019). The mediating role of multiple group identities in the relations between religious discrimination and Muslim‐American adolescents’ adjustment. Journal of Social Issues in Special Issue “To Be Both (and More): Immigration and Identity Multiplicity”, 75(2), 538–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12326

Recent Talks

• Balkaya-Ince, M. (2024, April). Religious journey to flourishing: Muslim American adolescents’ character and well-being before, during, and after Ramadan. Symposium organized at the APA Division 36 Mid-Year Conference.
• Balkaya-Ince, M. (2024, March). Unpacking Muslim American adolescents’ compassion and generosity in real-time within the context of Ramadan. Invited talk presented at the Philanthropy Research Workshop of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in Indianopolis, IN.
• Balkaya-Ince, M. (2023, November).“There’s unity in commUNITY”: Community approaches to study Muslim American adolescents’ character development.Invited talk presented at the Community Psychology Colloquium at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Balkaya-Ince, M. (2023, May). How can religion facilitate Muslim American adolescents’ virtue development? Keynote talk on virtue science and Ramadan virtues presented at the Building Blocks of Tarbiyah Convening in San Diego, CA.
• Balkaya-Ince, M. & Schnitker, S. A. (2023, April).Does Ramadan serve as a naturalistic intervention for daily character development among Muslim American adolescents? Evidence from a three-wave experience sampling study. Flash talk presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
• Balkaya-Ince, M. (2023, February). “Religion can be good for Muslim youth, too!” Unpacking the role of religion in Muslim American Adolescents’ Virtue Development. Invited talk presented at the Religion and Spirituality Preconference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA.

Cultural and Cross-Cultural Work on the Development of Other Study Populations

In addition to my mine line of work with Muslim American adolescents, I have a broader interest in diversifying and contextualizing psychological sciences beyond WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) research populations. To achieve this goal, I actively collaborate with researchers conducting cultural and cross-cultural studies across various fields.

Representative Publications

• Balkaya-Ince, M., Tahseen, M., & Schnitker, S. A. (conditional acceptance). Moving towards a conceptually sound and contextualized approach of Positive Psychology to uplift minority youth. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology.
• Balkaya-Ince, M., Schnitker S. A. (2022). Advantages of using Multilevel Modeling approaches for the Many Analysts Religion Project. Religion, Brain & Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2022.2070264
• Hoogeveen, S., Sarafoglu, A., Wagenmakers, E.-J., Balkaya-Ince, M., Schnitker, S. A., …. (2022). A many- approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being, Religion, Brain & Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2022.2070255
• Gao, D., Hart, C. H., Cheah, C. S. L., Balkaya, M., Vu, K. T. T.M & Liu, J.(2021). Chinese American children’s temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization as moderated by maternal praise. Journal of Family Psychology, 35(5),680-690. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000831

Balkaya, M., Cheah, C. S. L., Yu, J., Hart, C. H., & Sun, S. (2018). Maternal encouragement of modest behavior, temperamental shyness, and anxious withdrawal linkages to Chinese American children’s social adjustment: A moderated mediation analysis.Social Development, 27(4), 876-890. http://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12295