Sandra Sigmon

Professor Emerita
sandra.sigmon@umit.maine.edu

**Note to applicants: Dr. Sigmon has retired and is no longer accepting students.

Research Interests

My research focuses on women’s mental and physical health, with an emphasis on cyclical effects on behavior (menstrual cycle and changing seasons). I am interested in learning more about the interaction as well as future directions for clinical psychology and primary medical care, especially in rural settings. Primary clinical areas include binge eating, obesity, physical activity and health, and panic disorder. I have ongoing projects in the following areas: menstrual reactivity and cortisol responses in panic disorder, causal attributional patterns in women with panic disorder, role of rumination and sexist events in predicting menstrual distress, and cognitive factors and behavioral styles in the prediction of eating disorders and anxiety disorders. Future research will likely focus on how the above psychological areas impact physical health.

Selected Publications

  • Sigmon, S. T., Craner, J., Yoon, L., & Thorpe, G. L. (in press). Premenstrual distress. In L. E. O. Kennair (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, Elsevier.
  • Sigmon, S. T., Schartel, J. G., Boulard, N. E., & Thorpe, G. L. (2010). Activity level, activity enjoyment, and weather as mediators of physical health risks in seasonal and nonseasonal depression.  Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 28, 42-56.
  • Thorpe, G. L., & Sigmon, S. T. (2010).  Cognitive aspects of health psychology: Recent developments. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 28, 1-3.
  • Sigmon, S. T., & Schartel, J. G. (2008).  Anxiety, anxiety disorders, and the menstrual cycle. In M. J. Zvolensky & J. A. J. Smits (Eds.) Anxiety in Health Behaviors and Physical Illness (181-205).  New York: Springer.
  • Sigmon, S. T., Whitcomb-Smith, S., Boulard, N. E., Pells, J. J., Hermann, B. A., Edenfield, T. M., LaMattina, S. M., & Schartel, J. G. (2007).  Seasonal reactivity: Attentional bias and psychophysiological arousal in seasonal and nonseasonal depression.  Cognitive Therapy and Research, 31, 619-638.
  • Sigmon, S. T., Pells, J. J., Schartel, J. G., Edenfield, T. M., Hermann, B. A., LaMattina, S. M., Boulard, N. E., & Whitcomb-Smith, S. (2006).  Stress reactivity in seasonal and nonseasonal depression.  Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 965-975.