Ric G. Steele

Ric Steele
  • Professor

Contact Info

785-864-0550
Dole Human Development Center, 2013

Biography —

Ric Steele earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia in 1998 under the direction of Dr. Rex Forehand.  After earning the Ph.D., he completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Behavioral Medicine at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In 2000, Dr. Steele joined the faculty of the Clinical Child Psychology Program at the University of Kansas. Steele served as Director of the Program from 2012 until 2022, and has published more than 95 empirical articles, approximately 40 chapters and reviews, and 6 books. Steele's empirical research has been funded by grants from the US DHHS Maternal Child Health Bureau, and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Steele is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and currently serves on the editorial boards for Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. Steele is Board Certified (ABPP) in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and serves as a member of the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.

Research —

Dr. Steele's program of research is broadly concerned with the promotion of physical and mental health in children, adolescents, and families across a continuum of health risk categories. Past grant-funded projects have included a clinic-based intervention for school-aged children with obesity and their families, and a web-based intervention to help school nurses deliver weight-related health counseling to school-aged children and their families. Dr. Steele is currently exploring factors associated with digital stress and digital health in adolescents and young adults. Using a newly developed measure of digital stress (Hall, Steele, Christofferson, & Mihailova, 2021), Steele and his collaborators are currently investigating correlates, predictors, and consequences of digital stress in adolescents and young adults. They are also developing an intervention designed to mitigate the impact of digital stress on psychosocial outcomes in these age groups. 

Teaching —

Dr. Steele has received several recognitions for his teaching and mentorship including the Byron T. Alexander Graduate Mentor Award (University of Kansas), the Martin P. Levin Mentorship Award (Society of Pediatric Psychology), and the W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence (University of Kansas). Steele is the coordinator of the Child Life Specialty concentration within the department.  Current teaching preparations include Pediatric Health and Health Promotion (ABSC 529) and Psychosocial Aspects of Death and Dying (ABSC 519) and Pediatric Psychology (ABSC 705).  Steele also directs undergraduate honors theses in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science as well as master's theses and doctoral dissertations in the Clinical Child Psychology Program. 

Teaching interests:

  • Pediatric Health Promotion
  • Clinical Child Psychology
  • Therapeutic Interventions for Children
  • Professional Ethics

Selected Publications —

Hall, J.A., Steele, R.G., Christofferson, J.L., & Mihailova, T. (2021). Development and initial evaluation of a multidimensional Digital Stress Scale. Psychological Assessment,33(3):230-242. DOI: 10.1037/pas0000979.

Steele, R. G., Hall, J., & Christofferson, J. (2020). Conceptualizing digital stress in adolescents and young adults: Development of an empirically based model [Journal Articles]. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00300-5

 

Steele, R. G., Gayes, L. A., Dalton, W. T., Maphis, L., Conway-Williams, E., & Smith, C. (2016). Change in health-related quality of life in the context of pediatric obesity interventions: A meta-analytic review [Journal Articles]. Health Psychology, 35(10), 1097–1109. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000362

Awards & Honors —

  • 2003 Center for Teaching Excellence Recognition for Graduate Instruction, University of Kansas
  • 2006  W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, University of Kansas
  • 2012  Martin P. Levin Mentorship Award, Levin Foundation and APA Division 54
  • 2012 Diane J. Willis Award for Outstanding Article in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology
  • 2013 Byron Alexander Graduate Mentor Award, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Kansas

Service —

Steele is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association through Division 38 (Society for Health Psychology), Division 53 (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology), and Division 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology). He currently serves on the editorial boards for Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. He has served as an Associate Editor for Health Psychology and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Steele is Board Certified (ABPP) in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and serves as a member of the Psychology Advisory Committee of the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.

Memberships —

American Psychological Association

  • Division 12, Society of Clinical Psychology (Member)
  • Division 38, Society forHealth Psychology (Fellow)
  • Division 53, Society ofClinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Fellow)
  • Division 54, Society of Pediatric Psychology (Fellow)