New Grant Award from the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) (September 2022)
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Dr. Hovey is an Investigator on a two-year, UG3 grant and a five-year, UH3 grant from the National Institutes of Health's NIDCR. Laura Seligman, PhD, ABPP, UTRGV Professor, is the grants' Principal Investigator; Liza Talavera-Garza, PhD, UTRGV Assistant Professor, is an Investigator; and Katelyn Villa, MS, Research Associate III at UTRGV, is Study Coordinator for the grants. The UG3 grant provides funds for the development of a one-session treatment for youth with dental phobias and the UH3 grant will provide funds to assess the effectiveness of the treatment. The findings from this clinical trial will provide vital information to the fields of Dentistry and Clinical Psychology on a cost-effective intervention to combat dental phobia in youth, which is a common and often deleterious disorder that may lead to serious short- and long-term health consequences.
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New Research Article on the Relationships between Child Abuse, Emotion Dysregulation, Self-Injury, & Suicide Ideation (September 2022)
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Dr. Hovey is an author on a new article published in Child Abuse Review. This study examined the extent to which emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between child sexual abuse and non-suicidal self-injury, and child sexual abuse and suicide ideation. The findings suggest that childhood trauma can lead to emotion dysregulation difficulties which, in turn, can increase the risk for suicide ideation. The findings highlight the need for mental health interventionists to assist childhood trauma survivors in obtaining clarity and acceptance of emotional experiences as a means to mitigate the risk for suicide ideation. To download a copy of this article, please click here.
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Presentation at the Suicide Prevention Symposium (June 2022)
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Dr. Hovey gave a presentation at the Suicide Prevention Symposium. The title of his presentation was The Influence of Adherence to Traditional Cultural Values on Family Conflict and Emotion Dysregulation in Predicting Suicide Behavior in Latina Adolescents. He presented on recent research findings that indicate that lack of adherence to traditional cultural values in female Mexican American adolescents may to lead to family conflict which, in turn, may lead to suicide behavior. The strength of the relationship between family conflict and suicide behavior depends however on how much emotional dysregulation the adolescent experiences. To download a copy of the PowerPoint slides for his presentation, please click here.
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Grand Rounds Presentation at the University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Psychiatry (February 2022) |
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Dr. Hovey presented at the University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Grand Rounds. Dr. Hovey was invited by the Department's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The title of his Grand Rounds was Mental Health Risk and Protective Factors in Latinx Individuals: Implications for Treatment and Prevention. For a copy of the PowerPoint slides for Dr. Hovey's Grand Rounds, please click here.
New Research Article on the Development of a Measure of Fearful Implicit Associations for Dental Anxiety (November 2021)
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Dr. Hovey is a co-author on a new article published in Child Psychiatry & Human Development. Although youth with dental anxiety are at increased risk for poor oral health, current dental anxiety tools are limited. This study thus assessed the psychometric properties of an implicit measure of dental stimuli, the Affective Misattribution Procedure for Dental Stimuli (AMP-D), in children and adolescents. The AMP-D was associated with dental anxiety and findings indicated that the AMP-D had high internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and good construct validity. The overall findings suggest that the AMP-D can be an an efficient and easy-to-use tool for identifying youth with dental anxiety, especially when concerns regarding self-representation may compromise the validity of self-reported dental anxiety. For a copy of this article, please click here.
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Dr. Hovey Appointed to the American Psychological Association's Commission on Accreditation (June 2021) |
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Dr. Hovey has been appointed to serve on the American Psychological Association's Commission on Accreditation (APA-CoA). The APA-CoA is the primary accreditor in the United States for educational and training programs in health service psychology. The APA-CoA is responsible for accrediting doctoral programs in Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology, internship programs in professional psychology, and postdoctoral residency programs that provide education and training in preparation for professional practice. As commissioner, Dr. Hovey will fill the APA Board of Scientific Affairs seat.
New Research Article on Racism & Discrimination Experienced by Agricultural Workers in California (June 2021)Dr. Hovey is a co-author on a new article published in Ethnicities. Through the use of focus groups, this study assessed the impact of the experience of widespread racism and discrimination on Latino/a agricultural workers and their families living in California. Participants reported being the targets of increasingly hostile behavior, including hate crimes, that they attributed to anti-immigration rhetoric during the previous administration. In response to these experiences, the participants reported that they felt an increased sense of fear and psychological distress that led them to avoid community participation. For a copy of this article, please click here.
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New Research Article on the Applicability of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide for Latino/a Trauma Victims (November 2020)
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Dr. Hovey is a co-author on a new article published in Death Studies. This study assessed the applicability of the interpersonal theory of suicide for Latino/a students who were victims of multiple experiences of trauma as a child. As predicted, the authors found that childhood polyvictimization of trauma was strongly associated with suicide ideation as an adult, and that this relationship was significantly mediated by perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. In other words, the consistent experience of trauma may erode one's sense of belonging and may create a sense of being a burden on others which, in turn, may lead to suicidal thoughts. This study is one of the first to incorporate childhood trauma into the interpersonal theory framework. The study also contributes to the burgeoning literature that assesses the interpersonal theory across cultures. For a copy of this article, please click here.
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New Research Findings Presented at the Behavioral & Social Oral Health Sciences Summit (October 2020)
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Dr. Hovey and colleagues presented new research findings at the Behavioral and Social Oral Health Sciences Summit. These findings support a theoretical model proposed by Seligman, Hovey, et al. (2017), in which individuals with high fear of pain are more vulnerable to experiencing dental conditioning events as aversive experiences. Because dental events may be more salient to individuals with high fear of pain, these individuals are more susceptible to fear conditioning, which in turn may lead to dental anxiety. For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
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How to Manage Anxiety & Distress Related to COVID-19 (May 2020)
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The Anxiety Disorders Association of American (ADAA) has created a "Managing COVID-19 Anxiety" resource webpage, which they update daily. This webpage provides helpful tips and strategies for coping with anxiety around the coronavirus and health anxiety. Please click here to access the ADAA's resource page. Similarly, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has created a "Resources for Mental Health and COVID-19" webpage, which they update regularly. This page lists informational, supportive, and counseling resources for COVID-19 and mental health. Please click here to access the Hogg Foundation's resource page.
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Laura D. Seligman, PhD, ABPP, Elected as President of the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) (December 2019) |
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Laura D. Seligman, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, has been elected by ABCT members to serve as president of ABCT. Congratulations to Dr. Seligman for this well-deserved honor. She joins the list of distinguished scholars who have served as president of ABCT, including numerous pioneers and leaders in the field of clinical psychology. Please click here for a story on Dr. Seligman published in UTRGV's The Rider.
New Research Article on Latino/a Parents' Treatment Preferences for Their Children's Anxiety (December 2019)
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Laura D. Seligman, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Dr. Hovey have a new article entitled "Latino and Non-Latino Parental Treatment Preferences for Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders" published in Child Psychiatry and Human Development. Their study compared Latino/a and non-Latino/a parents' preferences for parental involvement and perceptions of burdens in cognitive behavior treatment (CBT) for youth anxiety. They found that Latino/a parents and non-Latino/a parents did not differ in their perceptions of parental treatment involvement. However, they found that Latino/a parents did report greater concerns about the feasibility of obtaining CBT for their child's anxiety. They conclude that cultural adaptations of CBT for child anxiety should focus on decreasing the burdens associated with treatment rather than increasing parental involvement. For a copy of this article, please click here.
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New Research Findings Presented at the Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) (November 2019) |
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Dr. Hovey and colleagues presented two sets of new research findings at the recent ABCT convention. The first study they presented examined factors that help explain the relationship between obesity and suicide behavior in young Latina adults. In specific, their findings suggest that in young Latina adults, obesity can lead to an increase in sleep problems, health problems, and dissatisfaction with personal appearance and that these, in turn, may lead to an increase in suicidal ideation. Although previous research found that Latina women are more accepting of their body image and size compared to non-Latina women, Dr. Hovey and colleagues' findings suggest that obesity and body image are indeed important determinants of mental health in Latina women. For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
In the second study they presented, Dr. Hovey and colleagues used longitudinal data to parse the relative influences of depression and insomnia on suicidal ideation in young adults. Their findings indicate that insomnia does not have a direct influence on suicidal ideation -- rather, insomnia's association with suicidal ideation is through depression. Their overall findings strongly suggest that insomnia is a clinically meaningful intervention point and clinicians should thus assess for insomnia in the presence of depression and suicidal ideation. For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
In the second study they presented, Dr. Hovey and colleagues used longitudinal data to parse the relative influences of depression and insomnia on suicidal ideation in young adults. Their findings indicate that insomnia does not have a direct influence on suicidal ideation -- rather, insomnia's association with suicidal ideation is through depression. Their overall findings strongly suggest that insomnia is a clinically meaningful intervention point and clinicians should thus assess for insomnia in the presence of depression and suicidal ideation. For a copy of this presentation, please click here.
Featured Speaker at the Rio Grande Valley Mental Health Coalition Conference (September 2019) |
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Dr. Hovey was a featured speaker at the annual Rio Grande Valley Mental Health Coalition conference. The title of his talk was Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide Behavior in Latino/a Individuals: Implications for Treatment and Prevention. Dr. Hovey discussed some of his past and current work on suicide risk in Latino/a individuals, including new findings on (1) the influence of cyberbullying on suicide behavior, (2) obesity and suicide risk in young Latina adults, and (3) the influence of Latin cultural values on suicide behavior in Latina adolescents. For a copy of the PowerPoint slides for Dr. Hovey's presentation, please click here.