Faculty and Staff Profile

Heidi Zinzow

Educational Background

Ph.D. Clinical Psychology
University of Georgia 2007

M.S. Clinical Psychology
University of Georgia 2005

B.S. Psychology
Duke University 1998

Courses Taught

Theories of Psychotherapy
Practicum in Clinical Psychology
Abnormal Psychology
Advanced Experimental Psychology Lab
Creative Inquiry

Profile

Dr. Zinzow is a Professor of Psychology, Co-Director of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health Research (CAMHR), and Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Traumatic Stress at the National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center at MUSC before assuming her faculty position at Clemson University in 2008. Dr. Zinzow's research focuses on trauma and mental health, and she has authored over 80 publications in scientific, peer-reviewed journals. She has conducted extensive research on interpersonal violence, with a focus on sexual violence prevention and clinical interventions for trauma-related mental health conditions. She is currently Principal Investigator on a grant to evaluate peer-delivered trauma-focused programs for individuals in substance use treatment, including an interpersonal violence prevention program and written exposure therapy for PTSD. In her role as Co-Director of CAMHR, she leads technical assistance efforts for the South Carolina Center of Excellence in Addiction, assisting communities in implementing opioid abatement strategies throughout the state. Other projects have investigated applications of technology to campus sexual violence prevention programs, and help-seeking among trauma victims. Dr. Zinzow was Co-Principal Investigator on a SAMHSA-funded campus suicide prevention grant and Co-Founder of Tigers Together to Stop Suicide. She serves as a consultant for the National Mass Violence and Victimization Resource Center. Dr. Zinzow is also the recipient of grant funding from NIH and NSF, with multiple interdisciplinary grants including “Realizing Improved Patient Care through Human-centered Design for Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health in the Emergency Department," "Mindfulness Training for Adults with History of Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, or Inactivity", Examining Self-Harm and Suicide Contagion Risks of Viral Social Media Challenges on Youth and Young Adults," "Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Driving Anxiety and Aggression in Military Service Members" and "Facilitating Soldier Receipt of Needed Mental Health Treatment." Dr. Zinzow received the Excellence in Research Senior Scholar Award in 2025, the Thomas Green Clemson Award for Excellence in 2022, the President's Commission on Women Outstanding Woman Faculty Member Award in 2019 and the Emerging Scholar Research Excellence award in 2011. She has served on Clemson's NSF Tigers ADVANCE initiative, the Well-Being Initiative, and the Sexual Violence Task Force.

Research Interests

Dr. Zinzow's research focuses on the development and evaluation of interpersonal violence prevention programs and clinical interventions for trauma-related mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use, and suicidality. She also investigates the factors associated with victimization, perpetration, traumatic stress, and help-seeking.

Research Publications

Zinzow, H., Pericot-Valverde, I., Smalls, L., *Brancato, M., *Chapman, G., *Smith, A., *Thompson, A., *Greco, C., *Shank, M., Eichelberger, K., Smith, K., & Litwin, A. (in press). A peer support specialist-delivered sexual and intimate partner violence prevention program for women in substance use treatment (THRIVE): Protocol for a single arm trial. JMIR Research Protocols.

Jiang, Y, Joseph, A., Gripko, M., Mihandoust, S., Zinzow, H.; Easler, L. Dietrich, A. (2025). Investigating the Role of the Physical Environment on Communication Patterns in Emergency Departments During Caregiving for Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Patients. Health Environments Research & Design Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/19375867251317241

*Hooshmad Zaferanieh, M., Shi, L., Jindal, M., Chen, L., Zhang, L., Lopes, S., Jones, K., Wang, Y., Meggett, K., Walker, C., Falgoust, G., & Zinzow, H. (2024). Web-based mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for adults with a history of depression: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 13. doi: 10.2196/53966 PMID: 38888958

Park, J., Lediaeva, I., Lopez, M., Godfrey, A., Chalil Madathil, K., Zinzow, H. & Wisniewski, P. (2023). How affordances and social norms shape the discussion of harmful social media challenges on Reddit. Human Factors in Healthcare, 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2023.100042

Ennis, N., Rheingold, A., Hahn, C., Gilmore, A., Zinzow, H., Thompson, M., & Kilpatrick, D. (2023). Women’s Resistance Responses during Sexual Assault: Association with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and the Moderating Role of Alexithymia. Violence Against Women. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231156149

Orchowski, L., Zinzow, H., Thompson, M., & Wood, S. (2023). Open pilot trial of an interactive digital application for campus sexual violence prevention. Journal of Community Psychology, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22985

*Khasawneh, A., Chalil Madathil, K., Taffe, K., Zinzow, H., Ponathil, A., Chalil Madathil, S., Nambiar, S., Nanda, G., & Rosopa, P. (2022). Dynamic simulation of social media challenge participation to examine intervention strategies. Transactions on Computational Social Systems https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-022-00183-7

Zhang, L., *Lopes, S., Lavelle, T., Jones, K., Chen, L., Jindal, M., Zinzow, H., Shi, Li (2022). Economic evaluations of mindfulness-based interventions: A systematic review. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01960-1

Abraham, J., *Roth, R., Zinzow, H., Chalil Madathil, K., Wisniewski, P. (2022). Applying behavioral contagion theory to examining young adults’ participation in viral social media challenges. Transactions in Social Computing. https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383

*Falgoust, G., *Winterlind, E., *Moon, P., *Parker, A., Zinzow, H., & Chalil Madathil, K. (2022). Applying the uses and gratifications theory to identify motivational factors behind young adults’ participation in viral social media challenges on TikTok. Human Factors in Healthcare, 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100014.

Xia, T., *Lopes, S., Chen, L., *Roth, R., Zinzow, H., Jones, K., Zhang, L., Shi, L., & Jindal, M. (2022) A feasibility study on low-dose mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention among prediabetes and diabetes patients. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 65.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102810

*Nance, M., *Sease, M., Crowe, B., Van Puymbroeck, M., & Zinzow, H. (2022). A descriptive study of practitioner’s use of yoga with youth who have experienced trauma. International Journal of Children, Youth, and Family Studies, 13 (1), 124-144.

Zinzow, H., Littleton, H., Muscari, E., & Sall, K. (2021). Barriers to formal help-seeking following sexual violence: Review from within an ecological systems framework. Victims and Offenders, 17:6, 893-918. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2021.1978023

*Roth, R., Ajithkumar, P., Natarajan, G., Acuthan, K., *Moon, P., Chalil Madathil, K., & Zinzow, H. (2021) A study of adolescents’ and young adults’ TikTok challenge participation in South India. Human Factors in Healthcare, 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100005

Dworkin, E., Krahe, B, & Zinzow, H. (2021). The global prevalence of sexual violence: A systematic review of international research since 2010. Psychology of Violence, 11 (5), 497-508.

*Khasawneh, A., Chalil Madathil, K., Zinzow, H., Wisniewski, P., Ponathil, A., Rogers, H., Agnisarman, S., *Roth, R., & Narasimhan, M. (2021). An investigation of the portrayal of social media challenges on YouTube and Twitter. Transactions on Social Computing, 4 (1), 1-23. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3444961

*Khasawneh, A., Chalil Madathil, K., Zinzow, H., Rosopa, P., Naratajan, G., Acuthan, K., & Narasimhan, M. (2021). Factors contributing to adolescents’ and young adults’ participation in social media challenges: A survey study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 4 (1). doi: 10.2196/24988

Jones K., Lopes S., Kelly, C., Welsh R., Chen L., Wilson M., Jindal M., Zinzow H., Zhang L., Shi L. (2021). A Qualitative Study on Participants’ Experiences with a Community-based Mindful Walking Pilot Intervention Using Mobile Device Activity Measurement. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102640

Thompson, M., Zinzow, H., Kingree, K., Pollard, L., Goree, J., Hudson-Flege, M., & Honnen, N. (2021). Pilot trial of an online sexual violence prevention program for college athletes. Psychology of Violence, 11 (1), 92-100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/vio0000290

Zinzow, H., Shi, L., Rennert, L., Chen, L., Lopes, S., Zhang, L., Jones, K., Jindal, M., Stam, C., Mclain, M. (2020). Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based relapse prevention for opioid use disorders. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 99.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2020.106182

Gagnon, R., Garst, B., Bowers, E., Zinzow, H., & Thompson, M. (2020). Camp as context for need satisfaction among Native American youth: Examining links to participation quality and quantity, 119. DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105473. Children and Youth Services Review.

*Khasawneh, A., Chalil Madathil, K., Dixon, E., Wisniewski, P., Zinzow, H., *Roth, R., Achuthan, K. & Narasimhan, M. (2020). Examining the self-harm and suicide contagion effects related to the portrayal of Blue Whale Challenge on YouTube and Twitter: A Qualitative Study. JMIR Mental Health, 7(6): e15973. DOI: 10.2196/15973.

*Roth, R., Abraham, J., Zinzow, H., Wisniewski, P., Khasawneh, A., & Chalil Madathil, K., (2020). Evaluating news media reports on the “Blue Whale Challenge” for adherence to suicide prevention safe messaging guidelines. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 4, 1-27.

Zinzow, H., Thompson, M., Fulmer, C., Goree, J., & Evinger, L. (2020). Evaluation of a brief suicide prevention training program for college campuses. Archives of Suicide Research, 24(1), 82-95. DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2018.1509749.

Zinzow, H. & Thompson, M. (2019). Beliefs about consent and sexual assault perpetration in a longitudinal study of college men. Violence and Victims, 34(3), 548-565.

Jones, K., Zinzow, H., Zhang, L., Chen, L., Shi, L., Jindal, M., McLain, M., Lopes, S. (2019). Perceptions about mindfulness-based interventions among individuals recovering from opioid and alcohol use disorders: Findings from focus groups. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 46, 131-135.

*Black, K., Britt, T., Zinzow, H., & Pury, C. (2019). The role of social support in treatment seeking among soldiers. Occupational Health Science, 3, 337-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-019-00044-2

Shi, L, Welsh, R., *Lopes, S. Rennert, L., Chen, L., Jones, K., Zhang, L., Crenshaw, B., Wilson, M., & Zinzow, H.** (2019). A pilot study of mindful walking training on physical activity and health outcomes among adults with inadequate activity. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 44, 116-122. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.03.009

Zinzow, H., Thompson, M., Goree, J., Burnette, C., Greene, C., & Allison, H. (2018). Evaluation of a college sexual violence prevention program focused on education, bystander intervention, and alcohol risk reduction. College Student Affairs Journal, 36 (2), 110-125.

Britt, T., Black, K., *Cheung, J., Pury, C., & Zinzow, H. (2018). Unit training to increase support for military personnel with mental health problems. Work & Stress. DOI: 10.1080/02678373.2018.1445671

Zinzow, H. & *Jeffirs, S. (2018). Driving aggression and anxiety: Intersections, assessment, and interventions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74 (1), 43-82. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22494

Zinzow, H., Brooks, J., Rosopa, P., *Jeffirs, S., Jenkins, C., Seeanner, J., *McKeeman, A., Hodges, L. (2018). Virtual reality and cognitive behavioral therapy for driving anxiety and aggression in veterans. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 25 (2), 296-309. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2017.09.002

Britt, T.W., Jennings, K.S., Cheung, J.H., Pury, C., Zinzow, H., Raymond, M., & McFadden, A.C. (2016). Determinants of mental health treatment seeking among soldiers who recognize their problem: Implications for high risk occupations. Work & Stress, 30 (4), 318-336.

McCubbin, J., Zinzow, H., *Hibdon, M., *Nathan, A., *Morrison, A., *Hayden, G., *Lindberg, C., & Switzer, F. (2016). Subclinical post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms: Relationships with blood pressure, hostility and sleep. Cardiovascular Psychiatry and Neurology. DOI:10.1155/2016/4720941

Walsh, K., Zinzow, H., Badour, C., Ruggiero, K.J., Kilpatrick, D., & Resnick, H.S. (2016). Understanding disparities in service seeking following forcible versus drug or alcohol facilitated/incapacitated rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 2475-2491.

*Jennings, K., Zinzow H., Britt, T., Cheung, J., Pury, C. (2016) Correlates and reasons for mental health treatment dropout among active duty soldiers. Psychological Services, 13, 356-363.

Cheung, J., Britt, T., Raymond, M.A., Zinzow, H., & Pury, C. (2016) Soldier recommendations for improving mental health treatment seeking in the military. Military Behavioral Health, 4, 100-107. DOI: 10.1080/21635781.2016.1153540

Thompson, M., Kingree, J.B., Zinzow, H., & Swartout, K. (2015). Time-varying risk factors and sexual aggression perpetration among male college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57, 637-642.

Zinzow, H., Britt, T., Pury, C., Jennings, K., Cheung, J., & Raymond, M.A. (2015) Barriers and facilitators of mental health treatment-seeking in U.S. active duty soldiers with sexual assault histories. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28, 289-297.

Britt, T., Jennings, K., Cheung, J., Zinzow, H., & Pury, C. (2015). The role of different stigma perceptions in treatment seeking and dropout among active duty military personnel. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 38, 142-149.

Zinzow, H. & Thompson, M. (2015) Factors associated with use of verbally coercive, incapacitated, and forcible sexual assault tactics in a longitudinal study of college men. Aggressive Behavior, 41, 34-43.

Zinzow, H. & Thompson, M. (2015) A longitudinal study of risk factors for repeated sexual coercion and assault in U.S. college men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 213-222.

Pury, C., Britt, T., Zinzow, H., & Raymond, M.A. (2014). Blended courage: Moral and psychological courage elements in mental health treatment seeking by active duty military personnel. Journal of Positive Psychology, 9, 30-41.

Paul, L., Zinzow, H., McCauley, J., Kilpatrick, D.G., & Resnick, H. (2014). Does encouragement by others increase rape reporting? Findings from a national sample of women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 38, 222-232.

Zinzow, H., Britt, T., Pury, C., Raymond, M.A., McFadden, A., & Burnette, C. (2013). Barriers and facilitators of mental health treatment-seeking among active duty Army personnel. Military Psychology, 25, 514-535.

Zinzow, H., Brooks, J., and Stern, E. (2013). Driving-related anxiety in recently deployed service members: Cues, mental health correlates, and help-seeking behavior. Military Medicine, 178, 357-361.

Cohn, A., Zinzow, H., Resnick, H., & Kilpatrick, D. (2013) Correlates of reasons for not reporting rape to police: Results from a national telephone household probability sample of women with forcible or drug-or-alcohol facilitated/incapacitated rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 455-473.

Zinzow, H., Britt, T. *McFadden, A., *Burnette, C., & *Gillespie, S. (2012). Connecting active duty and returning veterans to mental health treatment: Interventions and treatment adaptations that may reduce barriers to care. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 741-753. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.09.002

Zinzow, H., Resnick, H., Barr, S., Danielson, C., & Kilpatrick, D. (2012). Receipt of post-rape medical care in a national sample of female victims. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43(2), 183-187.

Rheingold, A., Zinzow, H., Hawkins, A., Saunders, B., & Kilpatrick, D. (2012). Prevalence and mental health outcomes of homicide survivors in a representative U.S. sample of adolescents: Data from the 2005 National Survey of Adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(6), 687-694.

Zinzow, H., Resnick, H., Amstadter, A., & McCauley, M., Ruggiero, K., & Kilpatrick, D. (2012). Prevalence and risk of psychiatric disorders as a function of variant rape histories: Results from a national survey of women. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 893-902. DOI: 10.1007/s00127-011-0397-1

Zinzow, H., Rheingold, A., Byczkiewicz, M., Saunders, B., & Kilpatrick, D. (2011) Examining posttraumatic stress symptoms in a national sample of homicide survivors: Prevalence and comparison to other violence victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24 (6), 743-746. DOI 10.1002/jts.

Grubaugh, A., Zinzow, H., Paul, L., Egede, L., & Frueh, B.C. (2011). Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder in adults with severe mental illness: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 883-899.

Zinzow, H. & Thompson, M. (2011). Barriers to reporting sexual victimization among undergraduate women. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 20 (7), 711-725.

Zinzow, H., Amstadter, A., McCauley, J., Ruggiero, K., Resnick, H., & Kilpatrick, D. (2011). Self-rated health in relation to rape and mental health disorders in a national sample of college women. Journal of American College Health, 59 (7), 588-594.

*Student co-author

Honors and Awards

Excellence in Research Senior Scholar Award, 2025
Thomas Green Clemson Award for Excellence, 2022
President's Commission on Women Outstanding Faculty Member Award, 2019
CBBS Emerging Scholar Research Excellence Award, 2011

Links