Whitney Livingston

Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services

Psychology

Whitney Livingston is a fifth-year student pursuing her Combined Clinical/Counseling Psychology PhD. Whitney is a Presidential Doctoral ResearchFellow, working under the mentorship of Drs. Rebecca Blais and Jamison Fargo. She earned her Psychology B.A. from American University and completed a two-year post baccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. She has 18 published journal articles with h- and i10-index scores of 9, each. Her research focuses on military sexual harassment/assault and mental health outcomes of sexual dysfunction, PTSD, depression, and suicide risk in military veterans. This research specifically examines pathways through which these factors relate in order to identify targets for prevention and intervention. Her 2-study dissertation includes (1) a meta-analysis of the association of military sexual harassment/assault and suicide risk, extending the literature by exploring facets of risk, including ideation, plan, and attempt, as well as identifying key moderators of this association, and (2) an empirical study that examines a novel model of suicide not yet tested in military samples. This model builds on extant literature by exploring the role of military sexual harassment/assault as a key predictor. This latter study is critical and timely as current suicide theories do not adequately predict risk in military samples.