Ric G. Steele

Ric Steele
  • Professor

Contact Info

785-864-0550
Dole Human Development Center, 4015

Biography —

Ric Steele earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia in 1998, after which 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 at the University of Kansas, where he 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 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 recently served as a member of the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board (KS BSRB).

Dr. Steele served as Director of the KU Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program from 2012 until 2022, and as Interim Chair of the Department of Economics from 2022 to 2023.  Steele currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, and as the faculty supervisor for the Child Life Specialty concentration in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science.

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).   Current teaching preparations include Pediatric Health and Health Promotion (ABSC 529), Psychological Aspects of Death and Dying (ABSC 519), and Pediatric Psychology (ABSC 705).  Steele is the faculty supervisor of the Child Life Specialty concentration within the Department of Applied Behavioral Science. 

Selected Publications —

Steele, R.G., McGuire, A., Kingston, N. (2024). Introduction of the Meta-Analysis Application Worksheet to facilitate the understanding and application of meta-analyses to clinical cases.  Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication, https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000565

Steele, R.G., Khetawat, D., Christofferson, J., & Hall, J.A. (2023). Concurrent and predictive validity of self-reported social media use: Associations with objective data and psychosocial functioning.  Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 45(1), 97-108. doi:: 10.1007/s10862-022-10013-9

Khetawat, D., & Steele, R.G. (2023).  Examining the association between digital stress components and psychological wellbeing: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. doi: 10.1007/s10567-023-00440-9

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. & Roberts, M.C. (Eds.). (2020). Handbook of evidence-based therapies for children and adolescents: Bridging science and practice (2nd ed.).  New York: Springer. ISBN: 978-3-030-44225-5 

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

Roberts, M.C., & Steele, R.G. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook of pediatric psychology (5th ed.). New York: Guilford. ISBN: 978-1-4625-2978-0

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. 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 (Division 38, Society for Health Psychology; Division 53, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology; and Division 54, Society of Pediatric Psychology), current member of the Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Subspecialties in Professional Psychology, and a past president of the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. He 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, and has served as an Associate Editor for Health Psychology and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Steele is a Board Certified (ABPP) specialist in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and recently served as a member of the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board. 

Memberships —

American Psychological Association

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