Christopher C. Cushing
- Associate Professor
- Associate Scientist
Contact Info
Biography —
Dr. Christopher Cushing earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Kansas, under the mentorship of Dr. Ric Steele, with an APA-Accredited Internship specializing in Behavioral Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
In 2012 Dr. Cushing joined the faculty of the Clinical Psychology Program, in the Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University at the rank of Assistant Professor. After two years at OSU, he accepted an invitation to rejoin the Clinical Child Psychology Program at the University of Kansas as faculty. Dr. Cushing is active in the fields of pediatric psychology and health psychology serving on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, and American Psychologist.
Research —
Dr. Cushing's program of research aims to deliver on the promise of digital technology to understand and improve pediatric health behavior. The long-term goal of this work is to use digital technology to improve the physical and mental health of children and their families by influencing key behaviors such as diet, physical activity, and sleep. In working toward this goal recently, his work has focused on developing digital assessment tools and research methodologies capable of fully harnessing the potential and novel impact of digital technologies. The core of what he does is to use smartphones and sensors to gather and make inferences using a large number of data points from a given individual (in addition to leveraging group-level data). He also has an interest in measure development, and have collaborated with several groups to help develop clinical tools to assess pediatric Health-Related Quality of Life.
Teaching —
Dr. Cushing teaches courses and mentors students in the Clinical Child Psychology Program and the Departments of Applied Behavioral Science and Psychology at the University of Kansas. He will be accepting applications this fall for a new graduate student for the 2019-2020 academic year. In years when Dr. Cushing is accepting applicants, those interested in: 1) individual differences research; 2) health behavior such as physical activity, diet, medication adherence, or sleep; and 3) development and testing of digital interventions for self-management or health promotion. The deadline for applications is December 1, 2021.
Selected Publications —
Bejarano, C. M., & Cushing, C. C. (2018). Dietary motivation and hedonic hunger predict palatable food consumption: An intensive longitudinal study of adolescents. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 52, 773-786. doi:10.1093/abm/kax051
Fedele, D. A., Cushing, C. C., Fritz, A., Amaro, C. M., & Ortega, A. (2017). Mobile health interventions for improving health outcomes in youth: A meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 171, 461-469. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.0042
Cushing, C. C. (2017). eHealth applications in pediatric psychology. In M. C. Roberts & R. G. Steele (Eds.), Handbook of Pediatric Psychology 5th ed. (pp. 201-211). ISBN: 9781462529780
Cushing, C. C., Mitchell, T. B., Bejarano, C. M., Walters, R. W., Crick, C. J., & Noser, A. E. (2017). Bidirectional associations between psychological states and physical activity in adolescents: A mHealth pilot study. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 42, 559-568. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsw099 (Refereed)
Brannon, E. E., Cushing, C. C., Crick, C. J., & Mitchell, T. B. (2016). The promise of wearable sensors and ecological momentary assessment measures for dynamical systems modeling in adolescents: A feasibility and acceptability study . Translational Behavioral Medicine, 6(4), 558-565. DOI:10.1007/s13142-016-0442-4
Brannon, E. E., & Cushing, C. C. (2015). A systematic review: Is there an app for that? Translational science of pediatric behavior change for physical activity and dietary interventions. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 40. DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jsu108
Cushing, C. C., Peugh, J. L., Brode, C. S., Inge, T. H., Benoit, S. C., & Zeller, M. H. (2015). Longitudinal trends in food cravings following roux-en-y gastric bypass in an adolescent sample. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 11(1), 14-18. DOI:10.1016/j.soard.2014.05.035
Cushing, C. C., Jensen, C. D., Miller, M. B., & Leffingwell, T. R. (2014). Motivational interviewing for adolescent health behavior: A meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82(6), 1212-1218. DOI:10.1037/a0036912
Cushing, C. C., Walters, R. W., & Hoffman, L. (2014). Aggregated N-of-1 randomized controlled trials: Modern data analytics applied to a clinically valid method of intervention effectiveness . Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 39, 138-150. DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jst083
Cushing, C. C., Brannon, E. E., Suorsa, K. I., & Wilson, D. K. (2014). Systematic review and meta-analysis of health promotion interventions for children and adolescents using an ecological framework. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 39(8), 949-962. DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jsu042
Cushing, C. C., & Suorsa, K. I. (2014). Intensive treatments for pediatric obesity: An acceptability analogue study . ChildrenΓÇÖs Health Care, 43(3), 169-185. DOI:10.1080/02739615.2013.837823
Cushing, C. C., Benoit, S. C., Peugh, J. L., Reiter-Purtill, J. Inge, T. H., & Zeller, M. H. (2014). Longitudinal trends in hedonic hunger following Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in adolescents. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 10(1), 125-130. DOI:10.1016/j.soard.2013.05.009
Cushing, C. C., Bishop-Gilyard, C. T., Boles, R. E., Reiter-Purtill, J. & Zeller, M. H. (2013). Caregiver concern in adolescents with persistent obesity: The importance of quality of life assessment. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 34(1), 9-14. DOI:10.1097/DBP.0b013e31827c1345
Jensen, C. D., Cushing, C. C., Aylward, B. S., Craig, J. T., Sorell, D. M., & Steele, R. G. (2011). Effectiveness of motivational interviewing interventions for adolescent substance use behavior change: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(4), 433-440. DOI:10.1037/a0023992
Cushing, C. C., & Steele, R. G. (2010). A meta-analytic review of eHealth interventions for pediatric health promoting and maintaining behaviors. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35, 937-949. DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jsq023
Cushing, C. C., Jensen, C. D., & Steele, R. G. (2010). An evaluation of a personal electronic device to enhance self-monitoring adherence in a pediatric weight management program using a multiple baseline design. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 36, 301-307. DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jsq074
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
Cushing, C. C. (Co-Principal), Fedele, D. A. (Co-Principal), Fleming, K. K. (Co-Investigator), Gierer, S. (Co-Investigator), McQuaid, B. L. (Co-Investigator), Patton, S. R. (Co-Investigator), Prabhakaran, S. (Co-Investigator). ReACT an Adaptive Mobile Health Intervention for Adolescent Asthma. $775,827, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Current Status: Funded
Cushing, C. C. (Principal), Patton, S. R. (Co-Investigator), Clements, M. A. (Co-Investigator). Development of the microSMBG Platform for Adolescents with T2D. $33,000, Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles and Nutrition. Current Status: Funded
Schurman, Jennifer V. (Co-Principal), Cushing, Christopher C. (Co-Principal), Friesen, Craig A., (Co-Investigator), Precision Medicine in Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Individualized Assessment for Tailored Treatment, $38,883, Submitted 03/17/2015. Not-for-Profit (not Foundation). Status: Funded
Cushing, C. C. (Principal), Smartphones-Promoting Exercise Through Ecology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of HealthΓÇöDivision of Loan Repayment, Submitted 09/01/2014 (09/01/2014). Federal. Status: Funded.
Cushing, C. C. (Principal), Pathophysiology and Treatment of Pediatric Functional Abdominal Pain, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, $71,552, (02/01/2015 - 07/31/2019). Not-for-Profit (not Foundation). Status: Funded.
Cushing, C. C. (Principal), Dynamic Drivers of Adolescent Physical Activity, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of HealthΓÇöDivision of Loan Repayment, Submitted 09/01/2014 (09/01/2015 - 12/31/2017). Federal. Status: Funded.
Cushing, C. C. (Principal), Ecological Momentary Assessment of Affect and Health Behavior, Society of Pediatric Psychology, $20,000, Submitted 09/15/2014 (01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015). Not-for-Profit (not Foundation). Status: Funded.
Cushing, C. C. (Principal), Smartphones-Promoting Exercise Through Ecology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health CoDivision of Loan Repayment, Submitted 09/01/2012 (09/01/2013 - 12/31/2014). Federal. Status: Funded.