Psychology Ph.D. students earn NJPA awards for research

By Dr. Jim Haugh, Dr. Meredith Joppa, and Dr. DJ Angeleone, Psychology

Three Rowan University Department of Psychology doctoral students were honored by the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA).

Krista Herbert is a third-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program and a member of the Research on Anxiety and Depression (R.O.A.D.) lab. Her project is part of her doctoral dissertation and in collaboration with the Department of Family Medicine at the School of Osteopathic Medicine. The goal of the project is to examine the efficacy of mobile health (e.g., mobile apps) for individuals with depression in a primary care setting. She will be comparing two different types of mobile apps with the goal of understanding a) is such a program feasible and acceptable to patients, b) is one app more effective than the other, and c) do the apps help reduce symptoms and improve functionality. She will also explore whether matching a patient to their preferred mobile app results in greater overall clinical outcomes and adherence when compared to individuals who are randomized to an intervention.

Nicole Cantor and Ebru Yucel are the joint recipients of the NJPA Foundation Award for Research on Diversity Issues. The title of their project is “Alcohol’s Effect on Risk Perception Among Sexual Minority Females: A Laboratory Paradigm.”  Cantor is a third-year student and Yucel is a second-year student in the doctoral program. Both work in the Aggression, Substance, and Sexuality Research Team (ASSeRT) under the mentorship of Dr. D.J. Angelone and Dr. Meredith Joppa. Given the high prevalence of sexual assault among lesbian and bisexual women, and the link between alcohol use and sexual victimization, their groundbreaking work will examine factors that contribute to risk perception in an effort to enhance future sexual assault prevention interventions.