Research
Current Areas of Focus
Motivation and Goals
Our research is focused on the ways in which individuals think about and pursue their important personal goals (a process called self-regulation) and the role of motivational factors in cognition, affect, and behavior. We are particularly interested in how these constructs influence, and are influenced by, depression. In addition to trying to gain knowledge about these basic processes, we are also interested in applying that knowledge clinically - that is, to help treat depression through motivationally-based approaches to psychotherapy such as self-system therapy.
Mental Health Stigma and Identity
Members of the DTRP lab are currently working on a project examining aspects of mental health stigma as well as how people incorporate their mental health status into their sense of "self." This project was inspired by (1) conversations with many different students about their own observations of stigmatizing attitudes toward mental health problems within their families or communities and (2) listening to clients talk about how they perceive their mental health problems in relation to their identity (who they are and who they want to be). We are excited about this new addition to our research agenda!
Recent Presentations
Society for Clinical Psychology 2024, Atlanta
Badillo-Winard, E. & Eddington, K.M. Measuring mental illness identity using an adapted measure of illness identity. Poster.
Eddington, K.M., Badillo-Winard, E., Strickland, S., Stein, G., Falgas, I., & Alegria, M. Training and supervision of community health workers in a culturally adapted, empirically-based mental health intervention. Paper presentation.
Rubacka, J., Poindexter, C., Eddington, K.M., & Stein, G. Addressing suicidality in a CHW-delivered intervention. Poster.
Strickland, C. & Eddington, K.M. The role of rural religiosity in predicting help seeking attitudes. Poster.
White, M., & Eddington, K.M. Multiple goals and well-being: A novel approach to analyzing and quantifying goal diversity. Poster presented at the Society for Clinical Psychology Annual Conference, February, 2024. Poster.
ABCT Conference 2023, Seattle
Eddington, K.M., Stein, G., Little, J., Poindexter, C., Falgas, I., & Alegria, M. Training CHWs to increase the mental health workforce for underserved groups: Preliminary outcomes for Latinx adults. Symposium paper.
ADAA Conference 2022, Denver:
White, M., & Eddington, K.M. Goal adjustment and depression as longitudinal predictors of COVID-19 impact and stress. Poster.
Badillo-Winard, E., & Eddington, K.M. Examining a novel measure of mental health disability identity and behaviors. Poster.
Selected Publications
Silvia, P., Harper, K., Eddington, K.M., Kwapil, T. (in press). Self-reflection, insight, and mood disorder symptoms: evaluating the short form of the self-reflection and insight scale with clinical interviews and self-reports. Current Psychology.
Silvia, P.J., Eddington, K.M., Maloney, K., Harper, K.L., Lunsford, J., & Kwapil, T.R. (2021). Self-report measures of anhedonia and approach motivation weakly correspond to anhedonia and depression assessed via clinical interviews. Personality and Individual Differences.
Harper, K., Eddington, K.M., & Silvia, P.J. (2020). Perfectionism and causal attribution: An experience sampling approach. Journal of Research in Personality, 87, 1-7.
Harper, K. & Eddington, K.M., Lunsford, J.L., & Hoet, A. (2019). Perfectionism and the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in daily life: A brief report. Journal of Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000310
Majestic, C.M., & Eddington, K.M. (2019). The impact of goal adjustment and caregiver burden on psychological distress among caregivers of cancer patients. Psycho-oncology, https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5081
Hoet, A. , Burgin, C., Eddington, K.M., & Silvia, P.J. (2018). Reports of therapy skill use and their efficacy in daily life in the short-term treatment of depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 42(2), 184-192.
Strauman, T.J., & Eddington, K.M. (2017). Treatment of depression from a self-regulation perspective: basic concepts and applied strategies in self-system therapy. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(1), 1-15.
Note: This paper was selected as a Springer Nature Groundbreaking Article in their Change the World, One Article at a Time initiative.
Eddington, K.M, Burgin, C.J., Silvia, P.J., Fallah, N., Majestic, C., & Kwapil, T.R. (2017). The effects of psychotherapy for major depressive disorder on daily mood and functioning: A longitudinal experience sampling study. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(2), 266-277.
Eddington, K.M., Silvia, P.J., Foxworth, T. E., Hoet, A. S., & Kwapil, T.R. (2015). Motivational deficits differentially predict improvement in a randomized trial of self-system therapy for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. doi: 10.1037/a0039058
Eddington, K.M., Dozois, D., Backs-Dermott, B. (2014). Evaluation of the internal consistency, factor structure, and validity of the Depression Change Expectancy Scale (DCES). Assessment, 21(5), 607-617.