I am broadly interested in how psychosocial processes impact motivation, problem solving, and health outcomes in the context of chronic illnesses like diabetes and cancer. My dissertation has been funded by Dexcom and the National Institutes of Health, and focuses on the role of time-varying psychosocial factors like mood, stress, and discrete social interactions in predicting real-time blood glucose and health behaviors among people with diabetes. I use intensive longitudinal data collected from ecological momentary assessments and digital health devices, like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), to answer these questions. Ultimately, my goal is to better our understanding of how these social and emotional factors impact motivation, behavior, and physiological outcomes, and to inform just-in-time interventions aimed at easing the burden of managing diabetes.
Read some of my recent publications:
Helgeson, V.S., Horner, F. S., Reis, H., Niezink, N. M. D., Libman, I. (In press) Peer interactions and health among youth with diabetes: An ecological momentary assessment. Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001393.
Horner, F.S., Helgeson, V. (2023). Effects of Positive Affect and Stress on HbA1c: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1-11. Download
Horner, F.S., & Helgeson, V. S. (2022). Actor and Partner Effects of Positive Affect on Communal Coping. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Download
Helgeson, V., Naqvi, J.B., Zajdel, M., Horner, F.S. (2022). Communal Coping Manifested in Daily Life: A Focus on Gender. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(4), 1023–1042. Download
Moreno, P. I., Horner, F.S., Burg, J. S., Gradishar, W., Thomas, J. L., Victorson, D., & Penedo, F. J. (2022). Study design and protocol for an online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention tailored for women living with metastatic breast cancer. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 25, 100870. Download
Helgeson, V., Horner, F.S., Naqvi, J. 2021. Partner Involvement in Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management: A Mixed Methods Investigation. Diabetes Spectrum, 35(1), 102–110. Download
You can download my current CV here.