Christine Vivienne Stephens ONZM is a critical health psychologist and New Zealand psychology academic. She is currently professor of psychology at Massey University based in the Palmerston North.[1] She is one of the founding members of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology, which she has also chaired.[2]
Christine Stephens | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Other names | Christine Vivienne Stephens |
Alma mater | Massey University |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Massey University |
Thesis |
Career
editStephens completed a master's degree at Massey University on occupational overuse syndrome and psychosocial stressors,[3] followed by a PhD on occupational overuse in the New Zealand police force in 1993.[4] She joined the staff at Massey in 1996, rising to professor.[1] Upon appointment she developed a course in health promotion, which was offered from 2001 and which she taught until 2016.[5] During this time she authored a book on health promotion, entitled Health Promotion: A Psychosocial Approach and published in 2008.[6] Stephens co-leads the cross-disciplinary Health and Ageing Research Team (HART) with Fiona Alpass, also at Massey.[7][8][9][10] The team's major focus is a longitudinal study of quality of life in ageing (Health, Work and Retirement study), the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing.[11] The research team has conducted bi-annual surveys of a population sample of older people for over 10 years. The research also includes in-depth qualitative studies on topics such as informal care-giving, palliative care, experiences of terminal illness, and housing needs.[12]
Scholarship
editStephen's current research is located at the intersection of health psychology and gerontology. Her scholarly work is presently focused on the requirements of the ageing population and the need to provide information for supportive social policy and practice. She has made a significant theoretical contribution to this area, along with colleague Mary Breheny, an associate professor at Massey University and member to the Health and Ageing Research Team. Together they have drawn on Amartya Sen's well-known capability approach to develop a nuanced theoretical framework that transcends a purely biomedical view by recognizing ideas of resilience, as well as the experiences of older people themselves in determining what it means to age well.[13]
Honours and awards
editIn the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, Stephens was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to health psychology and seniors.[14]
Selected works
edit- Noone, Jack H., and Christine Stephens. "Men, masculine identities, and health care utilisation." Sociology of Health and Illness 30, no. 5 (2008): 711–725.
- Stephens, Christine, and Nigel Long. "Communication with police supervisors and peers as a buffer of work-related traumatic stress." Journal of Organizational Behavior (2000): 407–424.
- Stephens, Christine. "Social capital in its place: Using social theory to understand social capital and inequalities in health." Social Science & Medicine 66, no. 5 (2008): 1174–1184.
- Stephens, Christine, Nigel Long, and Ian Miller. "The impact of trauma and social support on posttraumatic stress disorder: A study of New Zealand police officers." Journal of Criminal Justice 25, no. 4 (1997): 303–314.
- Stephens, Christine, Fiona Alpass, Andy Towers, and Brendan Stevenson. "The effects of types of social networks, perceived social support, and loneliness on the health of older people: Accounting for the social context." Journal of Aging and Health 23, no. 6 (2011): 887–911.
References
edit- ^ a b "Prof Christine Stephens – Professor – Massey University". Massey.ac.nz. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ Anonymous (15 March 2019). "Career File: Christine Stephens". International Society of Critical Health Psychology. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ Stephens, Christine (1993). Occupational overuse syndrome and psychosocial stressors in the work place (Masters thesis). Massey Research Online, Massey University. hdl:10179/6930.
- ^ Stephens, Christine (1996). The impact of trauma on health and the moderating effects of social support : a study with the New Zealand police (Doctoral thesis). Massey Research Online, Massey University. hdl:10179/2712.
- ^ Chamberlain, Kerry; Lyons, Antonia C; Stephens, Christine (2018). "Critical health psychology in New Zealand: Developments, directions and reflections". Journal of Health Psychology. 23 (3): 457–471. doi:10.1177/1359105317734871. PMID 28994308. S2CID 3679487.
- ^ Stephens, Christine (2008). Health Promotion: A Psychosocial Approach. Maidenhead, United Kingdom: Open University Press. ISBN 978-0335236947.
- ^ "Stories – Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand". Mentalhealth.org.nz. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Alpass, Chris Stephens (23 November 2014). "The 'don't stop' attitude". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Why you'll never be able to retire". The New Zealand Herald. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Christine Stephens | Superu's research Hub". Thehub.superu.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "The New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NZLSA) • Health Improvement and Innovation Resource Centre". Hiirc.org.nz. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "International Network for Critical Gerontology".
- ^ Stephens, Christine; Breheny, Mary (2018). Healthy Ageing: A Capability Approach to Inclusive Policy and Practice. Routledge. ISBN 9781138193949.
- ^ "King's Birthday Honours 2024: The full list of all recipients". The New Zealand Herald. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
External links
edit- Christine Stephens publications indexed by Google Scholar
- institutional homepage