Projects
Department of Defense
Increasing help-seeking among active military service members
This project aims to develop and evaluate an efficient and comprehensive help-seeking intervention (Be A Depression Lifeline) targeted to early career military service members. The development of the intervention is guided by empirical research—such as mistargeted communication, self-distancing, and positive emotion infusion. The goal of the project is to increase help-seeking among early-career military members with depression, to reduce self-stigma and public stigma, and to increase the willingness of fellow service members to provide social support.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Survey and research methods consulting
The goals of the Survey Design Research Lab are to consult on surveys, research approaches for measuring various constructs, and produce best practice reports on a myriad of survey methods. Currently, the Survey Design Research Lab is compiling a best-practice report on survey response sets. The report aims to compile empirical research on different response sets such as double-barreled items, grids and metrics, check-all-that-apply questions, and slang words within surveys.
HCA Healthcare
Physician Wellness Research
The physician wellness research (PWR) lab aims to employ psychological theories to increase physician wellness and reduce physician burnout. In collaboration with HCA Healthcare, research conducted by the PWR lab is heavily inspired by self-determination theory, the job demands-resources model, models of well-being, and various other social-psychological theories.
The Handbook of Mental Health Communication
Considerations for optimising and safeguarding mental health messaging
The Handbook of Mental Health Communication provides timely and authoritative coverage of the impact of message-based mental health promotion. Edited by Drs. Marco Yzer and Jason T. Siegel, the handbook contains 33 chapters, synthesizing scholarship from multiple domains including public health, psychopathology, and mass communication. The Handbook underscores that understanding communication effects on mental health outcomes begins with recognizing how people experiencing mental illness process relevant information about their own mental health.
Stigma and Health
Special Issue
Anti-stigma campaigns and interventions have successfully improved acceptance across various demographics; however, adverse unintended effects such as introducing new stigmas, increasing self-stigma, or inadvertently harming the very groups they aim to support have been documented. Despite good intentions, these risks are often overlooked. Recognizing this, Stigma and Health is launching a special issue to explore, prevent, and measure the unintended consequences of anti-stigma efforts, encouraging research across diverse stigmatized populations and health-related campaigns.
Motivation Science
Special Issue
Over the past five decades, psychological reactance theory has influenced multiple disciplines, including psychology and communication science. A special issue in Motivation Science aims to advance psychological reactance theory research by exploring its motivational aspects, boundary conditions, and broader outcomes beyond anger and resistance. Psychological reactance theory remains highly relevant, with a growing body of research and frequent mentions in academic and popular media. Its intuitive appeal, especially in discussions about public health mandates, underscores its ongoing significance in understanding human behavior.