Michael T. Stephenson, Associate Professor (Ph.D. University of Kentucky)
Health Communication Campaigns, Quantitative Research Analyses

Email: mstephenson@tamu.edu
Website: http://www.tamu.edu/mstephenson
Office Phone: (979) 458-8093

Office: 202G Bolton
Department of Communication
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-4234

Published in Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Health Communication, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and elsewhere. Contributor to Public Communication Campaigns (3rd ed.) and Public Health Communication: Evidence for Behavior Change. Principal Investigator on a CDC-sponsored grant titled "Implementing and Evaluating Sabemos in Two Texas Colonias:  Examining Interpersonal and Media Influences on Parenting Tobacco-free Hispanic/Latino Youth."  Previously a co-investigator on a Division of Transplantation-sponsored grant titled “University Worksite Organ Donation Promotion Campaign” and on a National Institute on Drug Abuse-sponsored grant called “Effective Media Strategies for Drug Abuse Prevention.”

Dr. Stephenson typically teaches COMM 308 - Research Methods in Communication, COMM 450 - Media Campaigns, COMM 470 - Communication in Health Care Contexts, COMM 610 - Social Science Methods in Communication Research, and COMM 670 - Seminar in Health Communication.

Curriculum Vitae
Michael T. Stephenson
July 2008
(PDF version)

Education

Ph.D. 1999 University of Kentucky (Communication).
M.A. 1993 Texas A&M University (Speech Communication).
B.S. 1991 Eastern New Mexico University (Communication, summa cum laude).

Employment History

Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University, 2005-present.
Director of Communication Core, Center for Community Health Development, School of Rural Public Health, TAMU, 2007-present; Faculty Member, Center for Community Health Development, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 2005-present
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University. 2002-2005.
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Missouri. 1999-2002.

Honors and Awards

Fellow, Mexican American and U.S. Latino Research Center, Texas A&M University.

Fishcamp Namesake, Texas A&M University, 2008.

Top Four Most Published Assistant Professors for journals published by the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association. In Bunz, U. (2005). Publish or perish: A limited author analysis of ICA and NCA journals. Journal of Communication, 55, 703-720.

Top Three Paper (Quick & Stephenson), Health Communication Division. National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. 2006.

Top Four Paper (Quick & Stephenson), Health Communication Division. National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. 2004.

Top Four Paper (Afifi et al.), Health Communication Division. National Communication Association. Chicago, IL. 2004.

Top Three Paper (Stephenson). Health Communication Division. National Communication Association. Atlanta, GA. 2001.

Top Four Paper (Palmgreen et al.). Health Communication Division. International Communication Association. Acapulco, Mexico. 2000.

Top Four Paper (Stephenson & Palmgreen). Information Systems Division. International Communication Association. San Francisco, CA. 1999.

Top Three Paper (Stephenson & Witte). Health Communication Division. International Communication Association. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 1997.

Top Three Paper (Witte et al.). Health Communication Division. Speech Communication Association. Chicago, IL. 1993.

National Communication Association scholarship, University of Kentucky Graduate Student Association, 1997.

Bruce H. Westley Graduate Scholarship, University of Kentucky College of Communications and Information Studies. $200. 1997.

Support of Excellence, Interfraternity Council, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000.

Award for Outstanding Commitment to Students, Homecoming Steering Committee, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999.

Distinguished Achievement Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship, Kentucky Communication Association, 1996.

Award for Creative Contribution for the Health Service Marketing Campaign, University of Kentucky Student Health Service, 1996.

Grants and Research Support

Pending

Principal Investigator, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS/HRSA), “Campus Conversations and Campaigns: Organ Donation Promotion for Multi-ethnic Audiences.” $1,249,297 Total. Submitted 3/17/08.

Co-Investigator, National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI), “Communication Interventions to Improve the Well-being of Cancer Survivors” (Street, PI). Submitted 2/18/08.

Active

Principal Investigator, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Implementing and Evaluating Sabemos in Two Texas Colonias: Examining Interpersonal and Media Influences on Parenting Tobacco-free Hispanic/Latino Youth.” $100,000 Total. 9/1/08-8/31/09.

Principal Investigator, Mexican American and U.S. Latino Research Center (MALRC) Proof of Concept Grant. “Developing Effective Anti-Drug Ads for Hispanic / Latino Parents of Adolescents.” $10,000 Total.

Completed

Principal Investigator, Texas A&M University College of Liberal Arts Faculty Research Enhancement Grant. “Advancing Substance Use Prevention for Parents of Adolescents: Targeting Parent Styles.” $4,950 Total.

Principal Investigator, Texas A&M University College of Liberal Arts Curricular Grant, “Exploring Common Ground with Graduate Students and Freshman Communication Students.” $500 Total. Fall 2007.

Co-Investigator, Division of Transplantation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “University Worksite Organ Donation Promotion Campaign: Targeting Administrators, Faculty, Staff, and Students Using the Organ Donation Model,” (with Susan E. Morgan, Rutgers University, Principal Investigator), 9/1/02 - 8/31/05, $1,467,771 Total.

Co-Investigator/Consultant, National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA98006), “Effective Media Strategies for Drug Abuse Prevention,” (with Philip Palmgreen, University of Kentucky, Principal Investigator), 9/1/98 - 8/31/04, $2,938,028 Total.
Alumni Association Faculty Incentive Grant, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001, $1,315.

Faculty Development Grant, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001, $560.
Office of the Graduate School, Dissertation Award, “Message Sensation Value and Sensation Seeking as Determinants of Message Processing,” University of Kentucky. 8/97 – 5/98. $1,200.

Grant Consultant

Consultant, Center for Disease Control, “Connecting Parenting Adults to Youth” (with Patricia Thickstun, Medical Institute, Principal Investigator), 5/15/06-5/15/11.

Consultant, Center for Disease Control, “Preventing Tobacco Use in Young Latino Workers in Texas,” (with Amelie Ramirez, Baylor College of Medicine, Principal Investigator), 9/30/04 – 9/29/07.

Consultant, State of Colorado Tobacco Research Program, “The Colorado Anti-Tobacco PSA Message Sensation Value Project,” (with Don Helme, Cooper Institute, Principal Investigator), 7/1/01 - 6/30/05, $885,000 Total.

Consultant, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, “Promoting Hearing Conservation Behaviors Among Coal Miners,” (with Kim Witte, Johns Hopkins University, Principal Investigator), 5/1/01 - 12/31/02, $115,250 Total.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Refereed Journals

Stephenson, M. T., Quick, B. L., Witte, K., Vaught, C., Booth-Butterfield, S., & Patel, D. (in press). Conversations among coal miners in a campaign that promotes hearing protection. Journal of Applied Communication Research.

Stephenson, M. T., Morgan, S. E., Roberts-Perez, S., Harrison, T., Afifi, W., & Long, S. (in
press). The role of religiosity, religious norms, subjective norms, and bodily integrity
on signing an organ donor card. Health Communication.

Morse, C. Afifi, W. A., Morgan, S. E., Stephenson, M. T., Reichert, T., Harrison, T., & Long, S. D. (in press). Religiosity, anxiety, and discussions about organ donation: Understanding a complex system of associations. Health Communication.

Quick, B. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2008). Examining the role of trait reactance and sensation seeking on perceived threat, state reactance, and reactance restoration. Human Communication Research, 34, 448-476.

Quick, B. L., Stephenson, M. T., Witte, K., Vaught, C., Booth-Butterfield, S., & Patel, D.
(2008). An examination of antecedents to coal miners’ hearing protection behaviors: A test of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Safety Research, 39, 329-338.

Morgan, S.E., Harrison, T.R., Afifi, W., Long, S., & Stephenson, M. T. (2008). In their own words: The reasons why people will (not) sign an organ donor card. Health Communication, 23, 23-33.

Morgan, S. E., Stephenson, M. T., Harrison, T. R., Afifi, W., Long, S. D. (2008). Facts versus feelings: How rational is the decision to become an organ donor? Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 644-658.

Stephenson, M. T., Velez, L. F., Chalela, P., Ramirez, A., & Hoyle, R. H. (2007). The
reliability and validity of the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS-8) with young adult Latino workers: Implications for tobacco and alcohol disparity research. Addiction, 102 (S2), 79-91.

Quick, B. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2007). Authoritative parenting and issue involvement as indicators of ad recall: An empirical investigation of anti-drug ads for parents. Health Communication, 22, 25-35.

Quick, B. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2007). Further evidence that psychological reactance can be modeled as a combination of anger and negative cognitions. Communication Research, 34, 255-276.

Quick, B. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2007). The reactance restoration scale (RRS): A measure of direct and indirect restoration. Communication Research Reports, 24, 131-138.

Palmgreen, P., Lorch, E. P., Stephenson, M. T., Hoyle, R. H. & Donohew, L. (2007). Effects of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s marijuana initiative campaign on high sensation-seeking adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 1644-1649.

Stephenson, M. T., & Helme, D. W. (2006). Authoritative parenting and sensation seeking as predictors of adolescent cigarette and marijuana use. Journal of Drug Education, 36, 247-270.

Stephenson, M. T., Holbert, R. L., & Zimmerman, R. S. (2006). Thinking about communication as a process: Advances in health communication with structural equation modeling. Health Communication, 20, 159-167.

Stephenson, M. T., & Southwell, B. G. (2006). Sensation seeking, the Activation Model, and mass media health campaigns: Current findings and future directions for cancer communication. Journal of Communication, 56, S38-S56.

Afifi, W. A., Morgan, S. E., Stephenson , M. T., Morse, C. , Harrison, T., Reichert, T., & Long, S. D. (2006). Examining the decision to talk with family about organ donation: Applying the theory of motivated information management. Communication Monographs, 73, 188-215.

Stephenson, M. T., & Quick, B. L. (2005). Parent ads in the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 701-710.

Stephenson, M. T., Quick, B. L., Atkinson, J., & Tschida, D. A. (2005). Authoritative parenting and drug-prevention practices: Implications for anti-drug ads for parents. Health Communication, 17, 301-321.

Stephenson, M. T., Witte, K., Vaught, C., Quick, B. L., Booth-Butterfield, S., Patel, D., &
Zuckerman, C. (2005). Using persuasive messages to encourage voluntary hearing protection among coal miners. Journal of Safety Research, 36, 9-17.

Morgan, S.E., Harrison, T.R., Long, S., Afifi, W., Stephenson, M., and Reichert, T. (2005). Family discussions about organ donation: How the media is used to justify opinions and influence others about donation decisions. Clinical Transplantation, 19, 674-682.

Benoit, W. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2004). Effects of watching a presidential primary debate. Contemporary Argumentation and Debate, 25, 1-25.

Holbert, R. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2003). The importance of analyzing indirect effects in media effects research: Testing for mediation in structural equation modeling. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 47, 556-572.

Stephenson, M. T. (2003). Mass media strategies targeting high sensation seekers: What works and why. American Journal of Health Behavior, 27(S3), 233-238.

Stephenson, M. T., Hoyle, R. H., Slater, M. D., & Palmgreen, P. (2003). Brief measures of
sensation seeking for screening and large-scale surveys. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 72, 279-286.

Morgan, S. E., Palmgreen, P., Stephenson, M. T., Lorch, E. P., & Hoyle, R. H. (2003). The relationship between message sensation value and perceived message sensation value: The effect of formal message features on subjective evaluations of anti-drug public service announcements. Journal of Communication, 53,512-526.

Stephenson, M. T. (2003). Examining adolescents’ responses to antimarijuana PSAs. Human Communication Research, 29, 343-369.

Stephenson, M. T., & Holbert, R. L. (2003). A Monte Carlo simulation of observable- versus latent-variable structural equation modeling techniques. Communication Research, 30, 332-354.

Stephenson, M. T. (2002). Sensation seeking as a moderator of the processing of anti-heroin PSAs. Communication Studies, 53, 358-380.

Holbert, R. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2002). Structural equation modeling in the
communication sciences, 1995-2000. Human Communication Research, 28, 531-551.

Palmgreen, P., Stephenson, M. T., Everett, M. W., Basehart, J. R., & Francies, R. (2002).
Perceived message sensation value (PMSV) and the dimensions and validation of a PMSV scale. Health Communication, 14, 403-428.

Stephenson, M. T. (2002). Anti-drug public service announcements targeting parents: An
analysis and evaluation. Southern Communication Journal, 67, 335-350.

Stephenson, M. T., Morgan, S. E., Lorch, E. P., Palmgreen, P., Donohew, L., & Hoyle, R. H. (2002). Predictors of exposure from an anti-marijuana media campaign: Outcome research assessing sensation seeking targeting. Health Communication, 14, 23-43.

Hoyle, R. H., Stephenson, M. T., Palmgreen, P., Lorch, E. P., & Donohew, L. (2002).
Reliability and validity of scores on a brief measure of sensation seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 401-414.

Benoit, W. L., McKinney, M., & Stephenson, M. T. (2002). Effects of watching campaign 2000 presidential primary debates. Journal of Communication, 52, 316-331.
Stephenson, M. T., Benoit, W. L., & Tschida, D. A. (2001). Testing the mediating role of
cognitive responses in the elaboration likelihood model. Communication Studies, 52, 324-337.

Stephenson, M. T., & Palmgreen, P. (2001). Sensation seeking, message sensation value,
personal involvement, and processing of anti-drug PSAs. Communication Monographs, 68, 49-71.

Palmgreen, P., Donohew, L., Lorch, E. P., Hoyle, R. H., & Stephenson, M. T. (2001).
Television campaigns and adolescent marijuana use: Tests of a sensation seeking targeting. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 292-296.

Stephenson, M. T., Palmgreen, P., Hoyle, R. H., Donohew, L., Lorch, E. P., & Colon, S. (1999). Short-term effects of an anti-marijuana media campaign targeting high sensation seeking adolescents. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 27, 175-195.

Stephenson, M. T. (1999). Using formative research to conceptualize and develop a marketing plan for student health services. Journal of American College Health, 47, 237-239.

Stephenson, M. T. & Witte, K. (1998). Fear, threat, and perceptions of efficacy in frightening skin cancer messages. Public Health Reviews, 26, 147-174.

Witte, K., Peterson, T. R., Vallaban, S., Stephenson, M. T., Plugge, C., Givens, V. K., Todd, J. D., Becktold, M., G., Hyde, M. K., & Jarrett, R. (1993). Preventing tractor-related injuries and deaths in rural populations: Using a persuasive health message framework in formative evaluation research. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 13, 219-251.

Book Chapters

Holbert, R. L., & Stephenson, M. T. (2008). Commentary on the uses and misuses of
structural equation modeling in communication research. In A. F. Hayes, M. D. Slater, & L. B. Snyder (Eds.), The SAGE sourcebook of advanced data analysis methods for communication research (pp. 185-218). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Stephenson, M. T., & Southwell, B. G. (2007). Drug use, media and prevention. In J. J.
Arnett (Ed.), Encyclopedia of children, adolescents, and the media (pp. 98-100). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Palmgreen, P., Donohew, L., Lorch, E. P., Hoyle, R. H., & Stephenson, M. T. (2002).
Television campaigns and sensation seeking targeting of adolescent marijuana use: A controlled time-series approach. In R. Hornik (Ed.) Public health communication: Evidence for behavior change (pp. 35-56). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Stephenson, M. T., & Witte, K. (2001). Generating fear in a risky world: Creating effective risk messages. In R. Rice & C. K. Atkin (Eds.) Public communication campaigns (pp. 88-102). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Book Reviews

Review of Michael Burgoon and William Crano, Mass media and drug prevention: Classic and contemporary theories and research. Journal of Health Communication, 7, 473-476.

 

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