Faculty and Staff Profile

Brooke Bennett

Educational Background

Postdoctoral Fellowship
UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health 2023

Postdoctoral Fellowship
Yale University 2021

Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, dual specialty in Health Psychology
University of Hawai'i at Manoa 2020

M.S. Clinical Psychology
Missouri State University 2015

B.A. Psychology
Kent State University 2013

Courses Taught

Abnormal Psychology (PSYC 3830)
Health Psychology (PSYC 4800)
Health Psychology Interventions (PSYC 8420)

Profile

Dr. Brooke Bennett is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the BEAM (Body image, Eating, Access, and Media) Lab at Clemson University. She earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a dual specialty in Health Psychology from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The goal of Dr. Bennett’s research is to improve the health and well-being of individuals navigating the current sociocultural and environmental barriers to eating well and developing a positive body image. To advance this mission, she works to identify the ways in which digital technology negatively impacts the health of its users and determine how technology can be used instead to expand the reach of and enhance evidence-based care for all people. Another line of her research is focused on the impact of sociocultural factors on eating behaviors and body image in diverse and underserved populations in order to better understand how the application of digital interventions can be maximized to achieve health equity.

Research Interests

-Disordered eating/eating disorders
-Eating behaviors
-Impacts of media use
-Digital interventions
-Social media
-Body image/body ideals
-Weight stigma
-Health disparities
-Risky health behaviors

Research Publications

Martin-Wagar, C.A., Melcher, K., Attaway, S., Bennett, B.L., Thompson, C., Kronenberger, O., Penwell, T. (In press). Does Terminology Matter When Measuring Stigmatizing Attitudes About Weight? Validation of a Modified Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale. Obesity Science & Practice. doi: 10.1002/osp4.70005

Bennett, B.L., Puhl, R.M. (In press). Physicians’ stigmatizing attitudes about patients with type 2 diabetes: Associations with communication practices and perceived barriers to care. Primary Care Diabetes. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2024.07.001

Burkholder, K., Bennett, B.L., McKee, S.L., Cohen, J.F.W., Xu, R., Schwartz, M.B. (2024). Participation in the US Department of Agriculture’s Summer Meal Programs: 2019-2021. Journal of School Health. doi: 10.1111/josh.13438

Bennett, B.L., Martin-Wagar, C.A., Boswell, R.G., Forrest, L.N., Perelman, H., Latner, J.D. (2023). Skepticism of and critical thinking about media messages: conflicting relationships with body dissatisfaction. Eating Behaviors, 51:101820. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101820

Bennett, B.L., McKee, S.L., Burkholder, K., Chafouleas, S.M., Schwartz, M.B. (In press). USDA’s Summer Meals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods examination of participants and non-participants in 2021. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2023.07.015

Bennett, B.L., Puhl, R.M. (2023). Diabetes stigma and weight stigma among physicians treating type 2 diabetes: Overlapping patterns of bias. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 202:110827. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110827

Bennett, B.L., Pokhrel, P., Latner, J.D. (2023). Delivering a media literacy intervention for body dissatisfaction using an app-based intervention: A feasibility and pilot trial. Eating Behaviors, 50:101770. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101770

Bennett, B.L., Cohen, J.F.W., Andreyeva, A., Esposito, J., Burkholder, K., Chafouleas, S.M., Schwartz, M.B. (2023). Predictors of Increased Participation Levels in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19. American Journal of Preventative Medicine Focus, 2(4):100124. doi:10.1016/j.focus.2023.100124

Bennett, B.L., Latner, J.D. (2022). Mindful eating, intuitive eating, and the loss of control over eating. Eating Behaviors, 47:101680. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2022.101680

Bennett, B.L., Wagner, A.F., Latner, J.D. (2022). Body Checking and Body Image Avoidance as Partial Mediators of the Relationship between Internalized Weight Bias and Body Dissatisfaction. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19: 9785. doi:10.3390/ijerph19169785

Bennett, B.L., Lawson, J.L., Funaro, M.C., Ivezaj, V. (2022). Examining weight bias before and/or after bariatric surgery: a systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 23(11), e13500. doi:10.1111/obr.13500

Bennett, B.L., Gans, K.M., Burkholder, K., Esposito, J., Warykas, S.W., Schwartz, M.B. (2022). Distributing Summer Meals During a Pandemic: Challenges and Innovations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3167. doi:10.3390/ijerph19063167

Burnette, C.B., Luzier, J., Bennett, B.L., Weisenmuller, C., Kerr, P., Martin, S., Keener, J., Calderwood, L. (2022). The tension between ethics and rigor when using Amazon MTurk for eating disorder research: Response to commentaries on Burnette et al. (2021). International Journal of Eating Disorders, doi:/10.1002/eat.23681

Schwartz, M.B., Schneider, G.E., Xu, R., Choi, Y., Atoloye, A.T., Bennett, B.L., Highsmith Vernick, N., Appel, L.J. (2022). Retail Soda Purchases Decrease and Water Purchases Increase: Six Year Results from a Community-Based Beverage Campaign. American Journal of Preventative Medicine Focus, 1(1), 100008. doi:10.1016/j.focus.2022.100008

Bennett, B.L., Grilo, C.M., Alperovich, M., Ivezaj, V. (2022). Body-image concerns and associated impairment among adults seeking body contouring following bariatric surgery. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 42(3), 275-282. doi: 10.1093/asj/sjab327

Burnette, C.B., Luzier, J., Bennett, B.L., Weisenmuller, C., Kerr, P., Martin, S., Keener, J., Calderwood, L. (2021). Concerns and Recommendations for using Amazon MTurk for Eating Disorder Research. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 55(2), 263-272. doi: 10.1002/eat.23614

Martin-Wagar, C.A., Boswell, R.G., Bennett, B.L., Perelman, H., Forrest, L.N. (2021). Psychological and Eating Disorder Symptoms as Predictors of Starting Eating Disorder Treatment. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(8), 1500-1508. doi:10.1002/eat.23538

Obleada, K.T., Bennett, B.L. (2021). Moderation of ethnic-racial identity on disordered eating and ethnicity among Asian Americans. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. 594391. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.594391

Wagner, A.F., Bennett, B.L., Stefano, E.C., Latner, J.D. (2021). Thin, Muscular, and Fit-Ideals: Prevalence and Correlates in Undergraduate Women. Journal of American College Health, doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1865981

Pokhrel, P., Bennett, B.L., Boushey, C.J. (2021). Body esteem, weight control outcome expectancies, and e-cigarette use among young adults. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 23(3), 454-461. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa009

Murakami, J.M., Bennett, B.L., Rand-Giovannetti, D., Stefano, E.C. Latner, J.D. (2020). Enhancing employee wellness: Translating an effective community behavioral weight loss treatment to the worksite. Nutrition and Health, 26(3), 215-223. doi: 10.1177/0260106020926834

Bennett, B.L., Whisenhunt, B.L., Hudson, D.L., Wagner, A.F., Latner, J.D., Stefano, E.S., Beauchamp, M.T. (2020). Examining the impact of social media on mood and body dissatisfaction using ecological momentary assessment. Journal of American College Health, 68(5), 502-508. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1583236

Bennett, B.L., Wagner, A.F., Obleada, K., & Latner, J.D. (2019). Appearance-focused media use as a mediator of the relationship between fear of fat and weight bias: An Exploratory Study. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 25(3), 643-648. doi: 10.1007/s40519-019-00666-z

Bennett, B.L., Pokhrel, P. (2018). Weight concerns and use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among young adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1048. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061084

Bozsik, F., Whisenhunt, B.L., Hudson, D.L., Bennett, B.L., Lundgren, J.D. (2018). Thin is in? Think again: The rising importance of muscularity in the thin ideal female body. Sex Roles, 79(9-10), 609–615. doi: 10.1007/s11199-017-0886-0

Pokhrel, P, Bennett, B.L., Regmi, S., Idrisov, B., Galimov, A., Murtaev, F., Masagutov, R., Sussman, S. (2017). Individualism-collectivism, social self-control and Russian adolescents’ substance use and risky sexual behavior. Substance Use and Misuse, 53(7), 1057-1067. doi:10.1080/10826084.2017.1392983

Bennett, B.L., Goldstein, C.M., Gathright, E.C., Hughes, J.W., Latner, J.D. (2017). Internal health locus of control predicts willingness to track health behaviors online and with smartphone applications. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22(10), 1224-1229. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2017.1317354

Bennett, B.L., Diener, M., Pokhrel, P. (2017). College anti-smoking policies and student smoking behavior: a review of the literature. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 15(11). doi: 10.1186/s12971-017-0117-z

Hammonds, T., Rickert, K., Goldstein, C., Gathright, E., Gilmore, S., Derflinger, B., Bennett, B.L., Sterns, A., Drew, B.L., Hughes, J.W. (2015). Adherence to antidepressant medications: A randomized controlled trial of medication reminding in college students, Journal of American College Health, 63(3), 204-208. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2014.975716

Honors and Awards

2024 - Top cited article 2022-2023. Concerns and recommendations for using Amazon MTurk for eating disorder research. International Journal of Eating Disorders.
2024 - Top 10 poster submission at the International Conference on Eating Disorders
2021 - Highest rated abstract from the Mindfulness and Acceptance Special Interest Group of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
2019 - University of Hawaii Department of Psychology Certificate of Commendation
2019 - First Place in juried poster presentations at the Annual Meeting of the West Virginia Psychological Association
2018 - University of Hawaii Department of Psychology Merit Award

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