Dr. Silvia Bigatti
Assistant Professor
Office: LD 126P
Phone: (317) 274-6754
Email: sbigatti@iupui.edu
1995 B.A. Psychology, San Diego State University
2000 Clinical Psychology Internship, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
2000 Ph.D. Clinical Psychology with a specialty in Behavioral Medicine, San Diego State University/ University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology
Current Research Interests:
My general area of research is chronic stress. More specifically, I am interested in examining how individuals behave in stressful situations, and how predisposing factors, individual resources, and environmental factors affect the outcome of a chronically stressful situation. I examine this in both health- and academic-related stressors. Although the language for each of these areas of research differs slightly, the underlying constructs are similar.
The stressors I study are varied and include cancer and fibromyalgia, the college experience, and living in a culture different from one’s own. In my efforts to understand the effects of stress, I examine a number of predictors such as demographic and cultural variables, and variables from models of stress and coping, among others. I define outcome broadly; I am interested in physical and emotional health, as well as academic success. My research examines positive outcomes as frequently as negative outcomes. Therefore, although I would not classify myself as a positive psychologist, constructs from this area, such as optimism and spirituality, can be found in my work. The populations in which I am interested are those directly experiencing the stressor, such as patients or students, as well as those who share the journey, such as partners and other family members.
As is common in the field of behavioral medicine, my research is interdisciplinary. For all my projects I work closely with other units within the university, and sometimes collaboratively with other universities around the country. For example, in my work with cancer patients and families, I work closely with the IU Cancer Pavilion and the School of Nursing. Research in rheumatology is conducted in conjunction with the Department of Rheumatology of the IU School of Medicine, and with San Diego State University.
Selected Publications
Bigatti, S.M. & Cronan, T.A. (2002). An examination of the physical health, health care use and psychological well-being of spouses of people with fibromyalgia syndrome. Health Psychology, 21, 157-166.
Wagner, C.D., Bigatti, S.M., & Storniolo, A.M. (2006). Quality of life of husbands of women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 15, 109-120.
Svanum, S. & Bigatti, S.M. (2006). The influences of course effort and outside activities on grades in a college course. Journal of College Student Development, 47, 565-577.
