Jerome Short, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist Associate Professor of Psychology Department of Psychology 3F5 George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 jshort@gmu.edu

I am a Clinical-Community Psychologist and my theoretical orientation is integrative and includes interpersonal, emotion-focused, cognitive, and behavioral perspectives. My research focuses on promoting mental health and preventing psychological disorders. I have a Psychology department webpage that gives information on my teaching, community presentations and interviews for television stations, magazines, and newspapers. I am the coordinator of DC area doctoral externships in clinical psychology and have an externships website.

Psychological Fitness Lab
Currently, I am working on the development and evaluation of a psychological fitness program with college students and older adults, causes of well-being and physical health, social support, help-seeking, and meaning in life for adults. My psychological fitness program teaches people daily Behavioral, Emotional, Social, and Thoughtful (BEST) exercises in the areas of Thinking, Identity, Morality, Behaviors, Emotions, Relationships, and Sexuality (TIMBERS). These exercises are related to increased life satisfaction, self-esteem, optimism, perceived academic competence, and perceived body image among college students, and increased optimism and social support among older adults. The exercises are also related to decreased anxiety, depression, and anger among college students, and decreased anxiety among older adults. I am planning longitudinal follow-ups, identification of the most effective exercises, and application of the program to other people.

My current doctoral student advisees are: Eleanor Speidel, Beth Foote, and Thomas Deakin.

Current Research Projects:

Daily Experience Sampling of College Students' Exercise, Sleep, Self-Perceptions, Mood, and Life Satisfaction. Aim: Understand daily patterns of health behaviors and psychological well-being over 5 weeks.
Longitudinal Assessment of First-Year Students' Mental and Physical Health. Aim: Understand patterns of health behaviors and psychological well-being over 4 years.
Predictors of Help-seeking by College Students. Aim: Understand facilitators and barriers to help-seeking.
Evaluation of Mobile Apps to Increase Well-Being and Reduce Symptoms. Aim: Understand the relative value of various positive interventions.Examination of the daily relationships among exercise, sleep, mood, and mental health.
Meta-analysis of Mobile Apps to Increase Well-Being and Reduce Symptoms. Aim: Understand the relative value of various positive interventions.

I have a course on Psychological Fitness for college students. Some of my research on adolescent substance use was described in a Washington Post article. I have been interviewed for a variety of newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV shows and recent ones are listed on my Psychology department page