Research Interests
Cognitive Biases in Anxious Populations
Cognitive models of anxiety propose that anxious individuals attend to, interpret, and recollect threatening information differently than non-anxious individuals. Moreover, these biases in cognitive processing are thought to be related to the onset, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety. I am interested in examining these biases, and creating new paradigms to explore how cognitive biases differ between anxious and non-anxious individuals.
Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM)
Recently, a series of studies have demonstrated that it is possible to shift interpretation and attention biases through brief computerized interventions, termed cognitive bias modification (CBM). I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting new research field, and hope to further this line of work by testing CBM paradigms with new populations, and by evaluating the clinical utility of CBM through comparing it to more traditional forms of therapy (e.g., exposure). From a theoretical perspective, this research tests the predicted causal relationship between cognitive bias change and fear reduction. Moreover, this research has high potential clinical value because, given the centrality of changing cognitive processing in current anxiety treatments. Additionally, CBM may be more palatable than traditional exposure-based procedures. Finally, CBM paradigms can be rapidly disseminated via the computer and are inexpensive given that they do not require direct therapist contact.
Postpartum Anxiety and OCD
Postpartum anxiety disorders are the most prevalent postpartum psychiatric conditions. Up to 16% of mothers experience postpartum anxiety or related disorders, such as OCD. Left untreated, perinatal anxiety and OCD are associated with numerous adverse outcomes, such as maternal depression, preterm birth, impaired fetal development, low birthweight, difficulty breastfeeding, anxiety in children, and interference with parent-infant bonding. We are developing effective and scalable prevention programs to address postpartum anxiety and OCD. Currently, we are developing and testing the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of an Internet-delivered postpartum anxiety and OCD prevention program, called “Preventing Postpartum Onset Distress”, or P-POD.
We also have fun tools, like Biopac for recording skin conductance, and Oculus Rift for virtual reality!
Recent Publications:
*=graduate student
Journal Articles:
Cognitive models of anxiety propose that anxious individuals attend to, interpret, and recollect threatening information differently than non-anxious individuals. Moreover, these biases in cognitive processing are thought to be related to the onset, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety. I am interested in examining these biases, and creating new paradigms to explore how cognitive biases differ between anxious and non-anxious individuals.
Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM)
Recently, a series of studies have demonstrated that it is possible to shift interpretation and attention biases through brief computerized interventions, termed cognitive bias modification (CBM). I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting new research field, and hope to further this line of work by testing CBM paradigms with new populations, and by evaluating the clinical utility of CBM through comparing it to more traditional forms of therapy (e.g., exposure). From a theoretical perspective, this research tests the predicted causal relationship between cognitive bias change and fear reduction. Moreover, this research has high potential clinical value because, given the centrality of changing cognitive processing in current anxiety treatments. Additionally, CBM may be more palatable than traditional exposure-based procedures. Finally, CBM paradigms can be rapidly disseminated via the computer and are inexpensive given that they do not require direct therapist contact.
Postpartum Anxiety and OCD
Postpartum anxiety disorders are the most prevalent postpartum psychiatric conditions. Up to 16% of mothers experience postpartum anxiety or related disorders, such as OCD. Left untreated, perinatal anxiety and OCD are associated with numerous adverse outcomes, such as maternal depression, preterm birth, impaired fetal development, low birthweight, difficulty breastfeeding, anxiety in children, and interference with parent-infant bonding. We are developing effective and scalable prevention programs to address postpartum anxiety and OCD. Currently, we are developing and testing the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of an Internet-delivered postpartum anxiety and OCD prevention program, called “Preventing Postpartum Onset Distress”, or P-POD.
We also have fun tools, like Biopac for recording skin conductance, and Oculus Rift for virtual reality!
Recent Publications:
*=graduate student
Journal Articles:
- Ponzini, G.*, Snider, M. D. H.*, Evey, K. J.*, & Steinman, S. A. (accepted). Women’s knowledge of postpartum anxiety disorders, depression, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
- Cleveland, C., Steinman, S. A., Patel, V., & Carr, M. (accepted). Relationship between parental intolerance of uncertainty and decisional conflict in pediatric otolaryngologic surgery. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
- Steinman, S. A., Namaky, N., Thomas, S., Meissel, E., St. John, A. T., Pham, N., Wertnz, A. J., Saunders, T., Gorlin, E. I., Arbus, S., Beltzer, M., Soroka, A., & Teachman, B. A. (accepted). Which variations of cognitive bias modification for interpretations lead to the strongest effects? Cognitive Therapy and Research.
- Giacobbi, P.R., Jr., Symons-Downs, D., Haggerty, T., Stanislav, P., Long, D. L., Clemmer, M., Steinman, S. A., Olfert, M. D., Kinnamon, K., Rao, N., Staggs, H., Hulsey, T., Adjeroh, D. (accepted, pending minor revisions). Evaluation of guided imagery delivered through a mobile health application to address multiple health behaviors with pregnant women. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health.
- Ponzini, G.* & Steinman, S. A. (accepted). Mnemonic discrimination and social anxiety: the role of state anxiety. Cognition and Emotion.
- Wright, C. D.*, Tiani, A. G.*, Billingsley, A. L.*, Steinman, S. A., Larkin, K. T., & McNeil, D. W. (accepted). A framework for understanding the role of psychological processes in disease development, maintenance, and treatment: The 3P-Disease Model. Frontiers in Psychology.
- Steinman, S. A., Portnow, S., Billingsley, A. L.* & Teachman, B. A. (accepted). Threat and benign interpretation bias might not be a unidimensional construct. Cognition and Emotion.
- Pagliaccio, D., Middleton, R., Hezel, D., Steinman, S. A., Snorrason, I., Gershkovich, M., Campeas, R., Pinto, A., Van Meter, P., Simpson, H. B., Marsh, R. (accepted). Task-based fMRI predicts response and remission to exposure therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
- Spears, S. K.*, Montgomery-Downs, H., Steinman, S. A., Duggan, K., & Turiano, N. A. (2019). Sleep: A pathway linking personality to mortality risk. Journal of Research in Personality, 81, 11-24.
- Linkovski, O., Wheaton, M., Zwerling, J., Odgeral, X., van Roessel, P., Filippou-Frye, M., Lombardi, A., Wright, B., Steinman, S. A., Simpson, H. B., Lee, F., & Rodriguez, C. (2019). Exploring brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism and extinction-based treatment outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A pilot study. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 39(1), 91-93.
- Dryer-Oren, S., Edwards, C.*, Teachman, B. A., Clerkin, E. M., & Steinman, S. A. (2019). Believing is seeing: Changes in visual perception following treatment for height fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 62, 1-6.
- Wootton, B. M., Steinman, S. A., Czerniawski, A., Norris, K., Baptie, C., Diefenbach, G., Tolin, D. F. (2018). An evaluation of the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic bibliotherapy program for anxiety and related disorders: Results from two studies using a benchmarking approach. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 42, 565-580.
- Hallion, L. S., Steinman, S. A., Diefenbach, G. J., & Tolin, D. F. (2018). Psychometric Properties of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and its Short Forms in Adults with Emotional Disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 539.
- Hallion, L. S., Steinman, S. A., Kusmierski, S. N. (2018). Difficulty concentrating in generalized anxiety disorder: An evaluation of incremental utility and relationship to worry. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 53, 39-45.
- Kalanthroff, E., Steinman, S. A., Schmidt, A. B., Campeas, R., & Simpson, H. B. (2018). Piloting a personalized computerized inhibitory training program for individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 87(1), 52-54.
- Tolin, D. F., Gilliam, C., Wootton, B., Bowe, W., Bragdon, L., Davis, E., Hannan, S. E., Steinman, S. A., Worden, B., & Hallion, L. S. (2018). Psychometric properties of a structured diagnostic interview for DSM-5 anxiety, mood, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Assessment, 25(1), 3-13.
- Steinman, S. A., Billingsley, A. L.*, Edwards, C. B.*, Snider, M. H.*, & Hallion, L. S. (accepted). Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. In J. Maddux and B. Winstead (Eds.), Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding (Fifth Edition). Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
- Edwards, C. B.*, Billingsley, A. L.*, & Steinman, S. A. (accepted). Anxiety Disorders. In D. L. Segal (Ed.), Diagnostic Interviewing (Fifth Edition). Springer.
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