IU Kokomo: Christina Downey, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Director, IU-SEEK

Psychology

Christina Downey, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director, IU-SEEK
Department of Psychology
Office: KO 234
Phone: (765)-455-9385
E-mail: downeyca@iuk.edu

Courses Taught:

General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Experiential Engagement in Community Psychology, Helping Skills and Ethics, Health Psychology, Senior Seminar (Child Psychopathology), Practicum in Psychology, Independent Research in Psychology

What is IU-SEEK?

IU-SEEK is a peer-mentorship program that I direct for academically-talented freshmen at IU Kokomo. This year-long program helps incoming students integrate academically and socially into IU Kokomo, and helps channel these students into other valuable learning experiences on our campus (such as the Honors Program, club/activity involvement, or major-specific initiatives).

Areas of Research Interest:

The roles of cognition and personality on positive and negative health behavior; Conceptualizations of health and measurement of lay theories; Eating disturbance and disorder, and issues of female body image; Perfectionism, and other personality variables in relation to psychopathology; Multicultural issues in mental health and wellness behaviors

Selected Publications:

Downey, C. A., and Chang, E. C. History of Cultural Context in Positive Psychology: We Finally Come to the Start of the Journey. In J. T. Pedrotti and L. M. Edwards (Eds.), Perspectives on the Intersection of Multiculturalism and Positive Psychology. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Downey, C. A., and Chang, E. C. (in press). Positive psychology: Current knowledge, multicultural considerations, and the future of the movement. In F. Leong (Ed.), APA Handbook of Multicultural Psychology.

Chang, E. C., & Downey, C. A. (2012). Handbook of Race and Development in Mental Health. New York: Springer Publishing.

Chang, E. C., Ivezaj, V., Downey, C. A., Kashima, Y., & Morady, A. R. (2008). Complexities of measuring perfectionism: Three popular perfectionism measures and their relations with eating disturbances and health behaviors in a female college student sample. Eating Behaviors, 9, 102-110.

Downey, C. A., & Chang, E. C. (2007). Perfectionism and eating disturbances in female college students: Considering the role of negative affect and body dissatisfaction. Eating Behaviors, 8, 497-503.

Chang, E. C., Downey, C. A., & Lin, E. Y. (2006). Pursuing the path to a more perfect future: On causes, correlates, and consequences of perfectionism. In L. J. Sanna & E. C. Chang (Eds.), Judgments Over Time: The Interplay of Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors. New York: Oxford University Press.

Chang, E. C., Downey, C. A., & Salata, J. L. (2004). Social problem solving and positive psychological functioning: Looking at the positive side of problem solving. In E. C. Chang, T. J. D’Zurilla, & L. J. Sanna (Eds.), Social Problem Solving: Theory, Research, and Training. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Biography:

Dr. Downey received her B.A. in Psychology with Highest Distinction from Purdue University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her dissertation research received an Honorable Mention for the 2008 Martin E. P. Seligman Positive Psychology Graduate Research Award. She joined the IU Kokomo faculty in the fall of 2007, and was given the opportunity to create and lead IU-SEEK in the Fall of 2008. She maintains a personal blog on teaching psychology at www.dailypsychologylesson.wordpress.com.