ABBY BRADEN

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
B.A. Miami University, 2006
M.S. Case Western Reserve University, 2008
Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University, 2012
Post-doctoral training: University of California, San Diego, 2012-2015  

Phone: (419) 372-9405
Email: abbym@bgsu.edu
Office: Room 248, Psychology Building
Lab Page: Finding Balance in Emotions and Eating
CV: PDF

Taking Graduate Students? Yes
Sponsoring Undergraduate Research? Yes

Research Interests:

My research focuses broadly on eating disorders and obesity. More specifically, my research agenda includes two main goals: 1) to improve the conceptualization and assessment of emotional eating behavior and 2) to develop novel behavioral interventions for overweight/obesity, with a focus on adults who engage in emotional eating. We recently completed a pilot study examining the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of a novel intervention for adults with overweight/obesity. The treatment is a group-based program that combines emotion regulation skills from dialectical behavior therapy with standard behavioral weight loss techniques. Results were promising and suggest the need for a larger, randomized trial. We are also currently collecting data for a study that uses ecological momentary assessment and a laboratory paradigm to examine emotional eating behavior among adults with overweight or obesity. We are hopeful that this study will add to the body of literature on emotional eating theory and assessment.

Selected Publications:

Braden, A. & O’Brien, W. (in press, 2020). Pilot study of a novel treatment using dialectical behavioral therapy skills for adults with overweight/obesity and emotional eating. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy.

Braden, A., *Anderson, L., *Redondo, R., *Watford, T., *Emley, E., & *Ferrell, E. (in press, 2020). Emotion regulation mediates relationships between perceived childhood invalidation, emotional reactivity, and emotional eating. Journal of Health Psychology.

Braden, A., *Ferrell, E., *Redondo, R., & *Watford, T. (2020). Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills and Behavioral Weight Loss for Emotional Eating and Obesity: A Case Study. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 1-10.

*Watford, T., Braden, A., & O’Brien, W. (in press, 2020). Resting State Heart Rate Variability in Clinical and Subthreshold Disordered Eating: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Braden, A., *Emley, E., *Watford, T., *Anderson, L., & Musher-Eizenman, D. (2019). Self-reported emotional eating is not related to greater food intake: Results from two laboratory studies. Psychology & Health, 1-18.

Braden, A., Musher-Eizenman, D., *Watford, T., & *Emley, E. (2018). Eating when depressed, anxious, bored, or happy: Are emotional eating types associated with unique psychological and physical health correlates? Appetite, 125, 410-417.

Courses Taught:

• PSYC 6640 Foundations of Clinical Psychology Assessment (graduate)
  
• PSYC 7090 Advanced Clinical and Research Practice (graduate)
  
• PSYC 7800 Health Psychology (graduate)