Department ofPsychology
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Michelle Newman

Michelle

Newman

Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Moore Building University Park, Pa 16802
mgn1@psu.edu
(814) 863-1148

Curriculum Vitae

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Education

Ph. D., State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook, 1992

Websites

https://newmanlabweb.wixsite.com/home

Professional Bio

Research Interest 

Michelle Newman's research focuses on the nature and treatment of anxiety disorders and depression. Dr. Newman uses cutting edge methodology to examinine the etiology and classification, individual predictors of psychotherapy outcome, and impact of brief psychotherapy with respect to these disorders. Dr. Newman is also conducting several basic experimental studies examining underlying processes related to these disorders. Further, she is examining issues relevant to health implications of anxiety disorders. Current research projects include; artificial intelligence for emotion detection, diagnostic classification, and prediction of therapy outcomes; evaluation of technologically driven mobile momentary interventions in the U.S.; assessment and classification of anxiety disorders and mood disorders; momentary assessment of symptoms and emotion in anxiety disorders; examination of the impact of psychotherapy beyond the targeted symptoms of a particular disorder; mediators and moderators of psychotherapy; emotion regulation in anxiety disorders and its relationship to therapeutic mechanisms; dysfunctional interpersonal styles in anxiety disorders.  

Some Recent publications: 

 

*means current or former graduate student.  

  1. Bogaert, L., Segura-Vargas, M. A., Dunn, B. D., Hallford, D. J., Newman, M. G. & Raes, F. (in press). Dampening of positive affect serves an emotional contrast avoidance function: Preliminary evidence from an adult community sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology. PMID: 41212762 https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.70060  
  1. Vázquez, M. M.*, Fowler, L. A.*, Grammer, A. C., Zhu, Y., Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Lipson, S. K., Shah, J., Eisenberg, D., Newman, M. G., Taylor, C. B., & Wilfley, D. E. (in press). Disparities in mental health symptoms among sexual and gender diverse subgroups in a national sample of college students. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. PMID: 40693689 PMCID: PMC12221272 https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000714  
  1. Swisher, V. S. & Newman, M. G. (2026). Thought suppression worsens mood and obsessions but improves them subsequently: First evidence of a contrast avoidance effect for the maintenance of thought suppression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 104961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2026.104961  
  1. Llera, S. J., Zainal, N. H. & Newman, M. G. (2026). Development and validation of the eight item Contrast Avoidance Questionnaire-General Emotion Scale (CAQ-GE-8): An item-response theory analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 118, 103109 PMID: 41512712 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2026.103109 
  1. Zainal, N. H.* & Newman, M. G. (2026). Who engages? Machine learning insights into digital mindfulness-based intervention for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 399, 120963. PMID: 41422949 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120963  
  1. Swisher, V. S. & Newman, M. G. (2026). Why compulsions persist: An ecological momentary assessment study of the reinforcement of compulsions. Journal of Affective Disorders, 394(pt. A), 120530. PMID: 41283928 PMCID: PMC12676908 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120530  
  1. Matsumoto, N., Tsuto, H., Llera, S. J., & Newman, M. G. (2026). Why do people feel anxious and worried? Development of the Japanese version of the Contrast Avoidance Questionnaire. 不安と心配はなぜ生じるのか？――日本語版コントラスト回避質問紙の作成―. Japanese journal of psychology, advpub, 96.24227. https://doi.org/10.4992/jjpsy.96.24227 
  1. Howe, C. P., Baik, S. Y., D’Adamo, L., Kouveliotes, M., Pan, Z., Monocello, L., Firebaugh, M. L., Eisenberg, D., Newman, M. G., Wilfley, D. E. & Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E. (2025). Examining prevalence and presentations of eating disorders across racial/ethnic groups in a national, population-based sample of college students. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 58(6), 1165-1177. PMID: 40152153 PMCID: PMC12140885 https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24427 
  1. Zainal, N. H.*, Eckhardt, R., Rackoff, G. N.*, Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Rojas-Ashe, E. Taylor, C. B., Funk, B., Eisenberg, D. Wilfley, D. E. & Newman, M. G. (2025). Capitalizing on natural language processing (NLP) to automate the evaluation of coach implementation fidelity in guided digital cognitive-behavioral therapy (GdCBT). Psychological Medicine, 55, e106, 1–13. PMID: 40170669 PMCID: PMC12094662 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725000340 
  1. Zainal, N. H.*, Tan, H. H., Hong, R. Y. & Newman, M. G. (2025). Prescriptive predictors of mindfulness ecological momentary intervention for social anxiety disorder: Machine learning analysis of randomized controlled trial data. JMIR Mental Health, 12, e67210. PMID: 40359509 PMCID: 12117280 https://doi.org/10.2196/67210   
  1. Rackoff, G. N. & Newman, M. G. (2025). Using machine learning to predict uptake to an online self-guided intervention for stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress and Health, 41(2), e70032. PMID: 40261245 PMCID: PMC12013697 https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.70032   
  1. Baik, S. Y.* & Newman, M. G. (2025). Why do individuals with generalized anxiety disorder and depression engage in worry and rumination? A momentary assessment study of positive contrast enhancement. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 111, 102982. PMID: 39947018 PMCID: PMC12054337 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.102982 (Winner of the 2025 Outstanding Publication by a Graduate Student Award, Penn State, Department of Psychology.)  
  1. Basterfield, C.* & Newman, M. G. (2025). Development of a machine learning-based multivariable prediction model for the naturalistic course of generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 110, 102978. PMID: 39904097 PMCID: PMC11875880 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.102978  
  1. Rackoff, G. N.*, Zhang, Z. Z.*, & Newman, M. G. (2025). Chatbot-delivered mental health support: Attitudes and utilization in a sample of U.S. college students. Digital Health, 11, 1-9. PMID: 37436950  PMCID: PMC10784405 https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241313401   
  1. Soto, J. A., Albrecht Soto, S. L.*, Perez, C. R., Rodríguez, C. P. & Newman, M. G. (2025). Examining the effectiveness of positive reappraisal in the context of discrimination. Emotion, 25(1), 247-258. PMID: 39347746 PMCID: PMC11729464 https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001422  Pdf 
  1. Swisher, V. S.* & Newman, M. G. (2025). Contrast avoidance as a diagnostic feature of OCD: A receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis of the Contrast Avoidance Questionnaires. Journal of Affective Disorders, 368, 734-740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.09.117 PMID: 39299593 PMCID: PMC11729464 Pdf 
  1. Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Rackoff, G. N.*, Shah, J., Strayhorn, J. C., D’Adamo, L., DePietro, B., Howe, C. P., Firebaugh, M. L., Newman, M. G., Collins, L. M., Taylor, C. B., & Wilfley, D. E. (2024). Effects of chatbot components to facilitate mental health services use in individuals with eating disorders following online screening: An optimization randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 57(11), 2204-2216. PMID: 39072846 PMCID: PMC11560741 https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24260 Pdf 
  1. Zainal, N. H.,* & Newman, M. G. (2024). Treatment as a moderator and executive function as a mediator of the effect of a mindfulness ecological momentary intervention for generalized anxiety disorder. Psychological Medicine, 54(13), 3715–3728. PMID: 39402796 PMCID: PMC11536110 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724001958  Pdf 
  1. Calderon, A.*, Baik, S. Y.*, Ng, M. H. S.*, Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Eisenberg, D., Wilfley, D. E., Taylor, C. B. & Newman, M. G. (2024). Machine learning and Bayesian network analyses identifies psychiatric disorder associations with insomnia in a national sample of 31,285 treatment-seeking college students. BMC Psychiatry, 24, 656. PMID: 39367432 PMCID: PMC11452987 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-06074-7 
  1. Van Doren, N.*, Zhu, Y.*, Vázquez, M. M.*, Shah, J., Grammer, A. C., Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Eisenberg, D., Wilfley, D. E., Taylor, C. B., & Newman, M. G. (2024). Racial and ethnic disparities in barriers to mental health treatment in U.S. college students. Psychiatric Services, 75(9), 839-846. PMID: 38807580 PMCID: PMC11537208 https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230185iu v0-1QZCJV       I* 
  1. Baik, S. Y.*, Shin, K. E.*, Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Eisenberg, D., Wilfley, D. E., Taylor, C. B. & Newman, M. G. (2024). The relationship of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, parental education, financial hardship and comorbid mental disorders with quality of life in college students with anxiety, depression or eating disorders.  Journal of Affective Disorders, 366, 335–344. PMID: 39173926 PMCID: PMC11444337 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.098   
  1. LaFreniere, L. S.* & Newman, M. G. (2024). Savoring changes novel positive mindset targets of GAD treatment: Optimism, prioritizing positivity, kill-joy thinking, and worry mediation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 177, 104541. PMID: 38640622 PMCID: PMC11096009 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2024.104541 
  1. Zainal, N. H.* & Newman, M. G. (2024). Which client with generalized anxiety disorder benefits from a mindfulness ecological momentary intervention versus a self-monitoring app? Developing a multivariable machine learning predictive model. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 102, 102825. PMID: 38245961 PMCID: PMC10922999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102825  
  1. Zainal, N. H.,* Tan, H. H., Hong, R. Y. & Newman, M. G. (2024). Is a brief mindfulness ecological momentary intervention more efficacious than a self-monitoring app for social anxiety disorder? A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 104, 102858. PMID: 38657408 PMCID: PMC11411489 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102858 
  1. Zainal, N. H.* & Newman, M. G. (2024). Mindfulness enhances cognitive functioning: A meta-analysis of 111 randomized controlled trials. Health Psychology Review, 18(2), 369–395.  PMID: 37578065 PMCID: 10902202 https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2023.2248222 

 

Labs

Laboratory for Anxiety & Depression Research

Primary Investigator:

Program Areas:

Adult Clinical
Clinical