Katherine Presnell, Assistant Professor, SMU Psychology

Katherine Presnell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

Weight and Eating Disorders Research Program

Research interests

• Etiology and maintenance of eating disorders and obesity
• Development of eating disorder prevention interventions
• Obesity prevention and treatment
• Women’s health

Broadly, my research seeks to understand sociocultural, psychological, and behavioral risk factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of eating disorders and obesity. I am particularly interested in the relationship between dieting, weight regulation, and disordered eating, as well as the functional aspects of eating. A second emphasis is the application of this research to the development of prevention interventions that reduce risk factors for these disorders and facilitate long-term healthy weight management.

Representative Publications

Stice, E., Presnell, K., Gau, J., & Shaw, H. (2007). Testing mediators of intervention effects in randomized controlled trials: An evaluation of two eating disorder prevention programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 20-32.

Stice, E., Martinez, E., Presnell, K., & Groesz, L. (2006). Relation of successful dietary restriction to change in bulimic symptoms: A prospective study of adolescent girls. Health Psychology, 25, 274-281.

Bearman, S.K., Presnell, K., Martinez, E., & Stice, E. (2006). The skinny on body dissatisfaction: A longitudinal study of adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 217-229.

Stice, E., Presnell, K., Shaw, H., & Groesz, L. (2005). Effects of a weight maintenance diet on bulimic pathology: An experimental test of the dietary restraint theory. Health Psychology, 24, 402-412.

Stice, E., Presnell, K., Shaw, H., & Rhode, P. (2005). Psychological and behavioral risk factors for onset of obesity in adolescent girls: Evidence of multiple pathways to obesity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 73, 195-202.

Presnell, K., Bearman, S.K., & Stice, E. (2004). Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls: A prospective study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36, 389-401.

Presnell, K., & Stice, E. (2003). An experimental test of the effect of weight-loss dieting on bulimic pathology: Tipping the scales in a different direction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 166-170.