Heather N Rasmussen

• PhD University of Kansas
• Faculty Member at University of Kansas

Given the known detrimental effects of poor sleep on an array of psychological and physical health processes, it is critical to understand the factors that protect sleep, especially during times of stress when sleep particularly suffers. Positive affect (PA) arises as a variable of interest given its known associations with health and health behavi...

This chapter provides an overview of a broad definition of culture, and discusses the dynamic and fluid nature of culture. Past theoretical models conceptualized human behavior and functioning from a deficit viewpoint and failed to address culture. Current frameworks not only focus on a balance between deficient and optimal functioning, but also ar...

Purpose. Child maltreatment is a devastating social problem with far-reaching negative consequences. The child abuse and neglect prevention field has expanded to measuring protective factors against child abuse to demonstrate outcomes and better engage families. The Protective Factors Survey (PFS) was developed in response to this transition and me...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the internal structure of a self-report measure of multiple family-level protective factors against abuse and neglect and explore the relationship of this instrument to other measures of child maltreatment. For the exploratory factor analysis, 11 agencies from 4 states administered the Protective Factors...

Prior research links optimism to physical health, but the strength of the association has not been systematically evaluated. The purpose of this study is to conduct a meta-analytic review to determine the strength of the association between optimism and physical health. The findings from 83 studies, with 108 effect sizes (ESs), were included in the...

This article discusses how self-regulatory models can be used to understand people's response to health threats. The article begins with a general discussion of the principles and assumptions of self-regulatory models of behavior. Two distinct lines of research are then presented addressing two important processes of adaptive self-regulation. First...

This article focuses on growth-promoting aspects in the environment, and the authors propose a strength-based, dynamic model of person-environment interaction. The authors begin by briefly discussing the typical recognition of contextual variables in models that rely on the concept of person-environment fit. This is followed by a review of recent a...

Multicultural training at internship sites is a critical component in the preparation of doctoral-level psychologists, so the quality of this training is of the utmost importance. In the following study, the authors examine multicultural training from the perspective of predoctoral interns and training directors at counseling center sites that offe...

Six studies regarding forgiveness are presented. The Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), a self-report measure of dispositional forgiveness (with subscales to assess forgiveness of self, others, and situations) was developed and demonstrated good psychometric properties. Forgiveness correlated positively with cognitive flexibility, positive affect,...

For many, anxiety regarding the internship application process begins shortly after the excitement of graduate school acceptance subsides. The predoctoral internship is a curriculum requirement in all accredited doctoral programs in psychology, typically occurring during the penultimate or final year of doctoral training. It is not uncommon for stu...

The evolution of positive psychological science is predicated on sound measurement of strengths, healthy processes, and fulfillments. The vital balance in research can be achieved by developing diverse means of measuring positive aspects of the human experience. In this introductory chapter, we will briefly address conceptual issues related to iden...

The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, we review the current environmental assessments in terms of history, key concepts, and models. We examine three environmental contexts--home, school, and work. We try to critically evaluate the literature in a manner that highlights the measurement of individuals' qualities and aspects of their environ...

It is imperative that researchers pay close attention to the influences of culture on mental health, and acknowledge a cultural context of illness and change when designing prevention programming. Researchers E. V. Cardemil, K. J. Reivich, and M. E. P. Seligman (2002) and D. L. Yu and M. E. P. Seligman (2002) have made attempts at adapting the exis...

Posted 5/8/2002. It is imperative that researchers pay close attention to the influences of culture on mental health, and acknowledge a cultural context of illness and change when designing prevention programming. Researchers E. V. Cardemil, K. J. Reivich, and M. E. P. Seligman (see record 2002-14077-001) and D. L. Yu and M. E. P. Seligman (see rec...

Psychology after World War II became a science largely devoted to healing. It concentrated on repairing damage using a disease model of human functioning. This almost exclusive attention to pathology neglected the idea of a fulfilled individual and a thriving community, and it neglected the possibility that building strength is the most potent weap...

Examines cognitive, philosophical, emotional, and interpersonal frameworks that can be used to understand and foster healthy functioning. The authors also discuss a diversity of specific coping approaches. This critical review of literature places positive psychology in a multicultural context and identifies the diverse psychological strengths of i...