Cultivating Connections: Dr. Sothy Eng’s Journey in Mindfulness, Social Capital, and Family Resilience in Cambodia
Research Focus
Sothy Eng, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Human Development and Family Science within the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
His research focuses on Cambodian families, particularly parenting, family relationships, and youth development. His work on Cambodian families has provided him with the opportunity to expand on traditional measures of social capital by examining sociocultural and psychosocial dimensions, such as fatalistic beliefs, gender role attitudes, and relational mechanisms. Fatalistic beliefs, for example, influence whether individuals perceive agency in their social connections, while gender role attitudes shape access to and expectations within social networks.
Mindfulness and CEMR Framework
Dr. Eng has also integrated mindfulness into his research and teaching, developing the Critical Empathetic and Mindful Relations (CEMR) framework to enhance interpersonal connections and resilience.
During his sabbatical, he spent two weeks as a Buddhist monk at Kol Tor Teung Pagoda, a temple in the suburbs of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This immersive experience allows him to better understand mindfulness as a daily practice among monks and its applications in promoting self-awareness and relational harmony. This knowledge has further contributed to the development of his CEMR theory.
Dr. Eng has extended his research to explore how this theory can be applied to strengthening relationships between parents and children in the parenting arena, as well as improving dynamics between employers and employees in workplace settings.
As a monk during his monkhood, Dr. Eng spoke on a panel about promoting healthy relationships among family members. This forum was hosted by Save the Children, Cambodia, and the discussion highlighted his unique perspective on parenting and healthy child development. Click this link for the recording.
Community Engagement and Social Capital
Beyond research and teaching, Dr. Eng applies social capital principles in community programming, such as the Home Garden Network (HGN) program he founded. HGN uses a network of individual families or friends to develop edible home gardens for one family’s home at a time for everyone within the network to enjoy.
Across research, teaching, and programming, Dr. Eng’s work aims to advance social capital theory as both a conceptual and applied framework, making its mechanisms more tangible and measurable in education and community development.
Fun Fact
Outside of his academic and community endeavors, Sothy is passionate about photography (Facebook Page) and enjoys capturing moments that reflect the vibrancy of life and culture. His resolution for 2025 is to do more for the community and continue his mindfulness practices.