Faculty and Staff Profile

CJ Calabrese

Educational Background

Ph.D. Communication
University of California, Davis 2021

M.P.H. General Public Health
University of California, Davis 2016

B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of California, Davis 2015

Courses Taught

COMM 1500: Introduction to Human Communication
COMM 2020: Communication Theory
COMM 3050: Persuasion
COMM 8240: Persuasive Communication for Health
COMM 8240: Persuasive Technologies and Health

Profile

Christopher (CJ) Giacomo Yoshi Calabrese, PhD, MPH, CHES is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Clemson University and a Faculty Scholar at the Clemson University School of Health Research. His research examines the effects and processes through which persuasive messaging and online technologies influence human behaviors and decision-making. CJ’s current projects focus on designing persuasive messages to promote health behaviors and public policies, investigating the impacts of communicating about our social environment on health, leveraging online technologies for health promotion among minoritized communities, and understanding key publics’ perceptions surrounding health and science issues.

CJ is an active member of the American Public Health Association, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association, and National Communication Association. He currently serves as the Media Team Co-Chair for the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division at AEJMC. Recently, CJ completed a two-year term serving as the Secretary for the Public Health Education and Health Promotion section at the American Public Health Association.

CJ’s research has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Human Behaviour, Scientific Reports, Health Communication, Science Communication, Environmental Communication, Mobile Media & Communication, New Media & Society, Preventive Medicine, Telematics and Informatics, and Substance Use and Misuse.

Research Publications

Ji, J., Qin, X., & Calabrese, C. (accepted). Fact-checking misinformation on Chinese social media: Impact of corrections, awareness prompts, and legal warnings on endorsement. New Media & Society.

Cox, E. G., Calabrese, C., Ash, E., Anthony, K. E., & Hill, J. B. (2025). A narrative persuasion approach to promoting COVID-19-related policy support. Journal of Health Communication, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2459119

Calabrese, C., Xue, H., & Zhang, J. (2024). Dissonance between posts of health agencies and public comments regarding COVID-19 and vaccination on Facebook in Northern California. BMC Public Health. 24, 2672. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20191-8

Calabrese, C., Yu, X., & Oh, Y. J. (2024). Examining discussions related to transgender athletes on Twitter: The role of negative emotion on message engagement. Communication & Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241265969

Chen, T., Dai, M., Calabrese, C., & Merrill, K. (2024). Dyadic and longitudinal influences of sexual communication on relationship satisfaction, emotional intimacy, and daily affect among same-sex male couples. Health Communication, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2400813

Dai, M., Xia, S., Calabrese, C., Ma, X. & Chen, T. (2024). Risk and demographic factors associated with STI testing adherence among non-single men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-024-00524-z

Ji, J., Lu, Y., & Calabrese, C. (2024). Who sets the agenda for climate change in China? A longitudinal analysis of primary actors that drive online discussions on social media. Environmental Communication, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2024.2314033

Liu, S., Durantini, M., Calabrese, C., Sanchez, F., & Albarracín, D. (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis of strategies to promote vaccination uptake. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01940-6

Barnett, G. A., Calabrese, C., & Ruiz, J. B. (2023). A comparison of three methods to determine the subject matter in textual data. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2023.1104691

Calabrese, C., & Albarracín, D. (2023). Bypassing misinformation without confrontation improves policy support as much as correcting it. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 6005. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33299-5

Fayaz Farkhad, B., Jung, H., Calabrese, C., & Albarracín, D. (2023). State policies increase vaccination by shaping social norms. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 21227. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48604-5

Calabrese, C., Zhang, J., & Yu, X. (2022). Perceptions of PrEP on Twitter: A theoretically guided content analysis on the behavioral determinants of PrEP uptake. Health & New Media Research, 6(1), 65-102. https://doi.org/10.22720/hnmr.2022.6.1.065

Dai, M., & Calabrese, C. (2022). Socio-behavioral factors related to PrEP non-adherence among gay male PrEP users living in California and New York: A behavioral theory informed approach. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 45(2), 240-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-021-00275-1

Ji, J., Robbins, M., Featherstone, J. D.,& Calabrese, C., Barnett, G. A. (2022). Comparison of public discussions of gene editing on social media between the United States and China. PLoS ONE, 17(5), e0267406. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267406

Calabrese, C., Featherstone, J. D., Robbins, M., & Barnett, G. A. (2021). Examining the relationship between gene editing knowledge, value predispositions, and general science attitudes among U.S. farmers, scientists, policymakers, and the general public. Journal of Science Communication, 20(2), A02. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.20020202

Robbins, M., Calabrese, C., Featherstone, J. D., & Barnett, G. A. (2021). A textual analysis of agricultural stakeholder representations of genome editing technology. Journal of Science Communication, 20(5), A07. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.20050207

Weeks, B., Menchen-Trevino, E., Calabrese, C., Casas, A., & Wojcieszak, M. (2021). Partisan media, untrustworthy news sites, and political misperceptions. New Media & Society, 14614448211033300. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211033300

Zhang, J., Featherstone, J. D., Calabrese, C., & Wojcieszak, M. (2021). Effects of fact-checking social media vaccine misinformation on attitudes toward vaccines. Preventive Medicine, 145, 106408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106408

Zhang, J., Xue, H., Calabrese, C., Chen, H., & Dang, J. H. (2021). Understanding HPV vaccine promotions and hesitancy in Northern California through examining public Facebook pages and groups. Frontiers in Digital Health, 3, 683090. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2021.683090

Calabrese, C., Ding, J., Millam, B., & Barnett, G. A. (2020). The uproar over gene-edited babies: A semantic network analysis of CRISPR on Twitter. Environmental Communication, 14(7), 954-970. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2019.1699135

Calabrese, C., Anderton, B. N., & Barnett, G. A. (2019). Online representations of “genome editing” uncover opportunities for encouraging engagement: A semantic network analysis. Science Communication, 41(2), 222-242. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547018824709

Calabrese, C., & Bell, R. A. (2019). Opposition to nonprescription naloxone access: measurement and psychosocial predictors. Substance Use & Misuse, 54(11), 1853-1861. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2019.1618331

Calabrese, C., & Zhang, J. (2019). Inferring norms from numbers: Boomerang effects of online virality metrics on normative perceptions and behavioral intention. Telematics and Informatics, 45, 101279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2019.101279

Zhang, J., Calabrese, C., Ding, J., Liu, M., & Zhang, B. (2018). Advantages and challenges in using mobile apps for field experiments: A systematic review and a case study. Mobile Media & Communication, 6(2), 179-196. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157917725550

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