Research at our Lab
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Elliot, K., Nabulsi, E.H., Sims-Rhodes, N., Dubre, V., Barena, E., Yuen, N., Morris,
M.E., Sass, S.M., Kennedy, B., & Singh, K.P. (2024). Modality and terminology changes
for behavioral health service delivery during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.
Frontiers in Psychiatry.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1265087
Kennedy, B., Sims-Rhodes, N., Avendano, J., Mathew, J., O’Brien, K., Chek, C.,
& Sass, S.M. (2024). Resilience, mindfulness, anxiety, and depression within a dual-continua
model of mental health approach. Journal of Happiness and Health, 10, 11-18.
https://doi.org/10.47602/johah.v4i1.54
Kirby, L.A.J., Zolkoski, S., O’Brien, K., Mathew, J., Kennedy, B.R., & Sass, S.M.
(2023). Examining staff and faculty work–life balance and well-being using the dual
continua model of mental health during COVID-19. Journal of Happiness and Health, 3(1), 34–48.
https://dx.doi.org/10.47602/johah.v3i1.31
Thomas, C., Zolkoski., S., & Sass, S.M. (2022). Investigating the psychometric properties
of the Social Emotional Learning Scale. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 47 (3), 127-136.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508420984522
Pavlov, Y. G., Adamian, N., Appelhoff, S., Arvaneh, M., Benwell, C., Ph.D., Beste,
C., … Sass, S.M., … Mushtaq, F. (2021). #EEGManyLabs: Investigating the Replicability
of Influential EEG Experiments. Cortex, 144, 213-229.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.03.013
Carver, K., Ismail, H., Reed, C., Hayes, J., Alsaif, H., Villanueva, M., & Sass,
S.M. (2021). High levels of anxiety and psychological well-being in college students:
A dual factor model of mental health approach. Journal of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing, 5(1), 32-41. https://journalppw.com/index.php/JPPW/article/view/94
Zolkoski, S. M., Aguilera, S.E., West, E., Miller, G., Holm, J., Sass, S.M., & Stocks,
E. (2021). Teacher perceptions of skills, knowledge, and resources needed to promote
social and emotional learning in rural classrooms. The Rural Educator, 41(3), 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v41i3.1098
Zolkoski, S. M., Holm, J., West, E., Ismail, H., Kennedy, B. R., Votaw, A., Miller,
G. J., Stocks, E., & Sass, S. M. (2021). Social and emotional learning in rural schools:
Parent Perspectives. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 57(1), 43-46.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2021.1851587
Sass. S.M., & Zolkoski, S. (2020). School-based mindfulness program and anxiety prevention
in eighth graders: A randomized pilot study. Diversity, Social Justice & the Educational Leader.
https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/dsjel/vol4/iss1/5/
Letkiewicz, A.M., Silton, R.L., Mimnaugh, K.J., Miller, G.A., Heller, W., Fisher,
J., & Sass, S.M. (2020). Childhood abuse history and altered attention to emotional
stimuli in adults. Psychophysiology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13627
Sass, S.M., Early, L.M. Long, L., Burke, A., Gwinn, D., & Miller, P (2019). A
brief mindfulness intervention in at-risk university students and changes in depression
symptoms, nonjudgment, and processing of emotional and neutral stimuli. Mental Health & Prevention, 13, 58-67.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2018.12.002
Popov, T., Westner, B., Silton, R.L., Sass, S.M., Spielberg, J.M., Rockstroh, B.,
Heller, W., & Miller, G.A. (2018). Time course of brain network reconfiguration supporting
inhibitory control. Journal of Neuroscience, 38, 4348–4356.
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2639-17.2018
Sass, S.M., Evans, T.C., Xiong, K., Mirghassemi, F., Tea, R., & Tran, H. (2017).
Attention training to pleasant stimuli in anxiety. Biological Psychology, 122, 80-92.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.03.003
SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPTS
Estrada, S., Kennedy, B., Sass, S., Barena, E., O’Brien, K., Ihionkhan, P., Thomas,
C. (2024). Factor structure and Rasch Analysis of the COVID Stress Scale: Evaluating competing
factor models introduction [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Psychology, University of Texas
at Tyler.
RECENT GRANTS
Sarah Sass, co-investigator (with PI Ramona Grad and Co-investigators Christopher
Thomas and Staci Zolkoski), 2023-2025. Children’s spirituality: risk for PTSD and
emotional intelligence. Total award amount: $57,817.
Sarah Sass, co-investigator (with PIs Karan Singh, and Co-investigators Nelly Yuen
and Dennis Combs), Health Care Services Corporation, UT Health Campus, 2020-2024.
(joined 8/2022-8/2024). Examining the social, physical, and economic cost of health
conditions in Northeast Texas. Total award amount: $999,990.
Sarah Sass, principal investigator, University of Texas at Tyler Office of Sponsored
Research Grant, 2020-2021 (changed to 2021-2023 due to Covid). Neural mechanisms of
positive visual search training in anxious adults. $7,500
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference New York, 2022
Kennedy, B., O’Brien, K., Mathew, J., Sass, S. (2022) Well-being indicators, Anxiety, and Depression in the Midst of Societal Crisis: An
application of the Dual Factor Model of Mental Health [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference,
New York, United States. https://www.abct.org/2022-convention
Society for Psychological Research New Orleans, 2023
Obrien, K., Mathew, J., Kennedy, B. R., Ihionkhan, P., Avendano, J., Coleman, J.,
Gua, K., Sims-Rhodes, N., Boynton, H., Brooks, J., Kyser, K., Hulsman, E., Lopez,
C., Curry, S., Hicks, C., Boone, L., Weeks, S., Sass, S. (2023). An event-related potential examination of the emotion attention blink task. Society for Psychophysiological Research, New Orleans, United States.
POSTERS IN PREPARATION
Mathew, J., O’Brien, K., Ihionkhan, P., Sass, S. (2024). Attentional Processing of Emotional Stimuli in the Visual Search Task [Poster in preparation]. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Tyler.