Jennifer Christofferson
- Current Intern: Cleveland Clinic Children’s – Pediatric Pain Emphasis
- BS (2010) Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA
- MS (2012) Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Contact Info
1000 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66045
Biography —
My research interests are to understand the psychosocial impact of chronic illness and injury on children and their families. I am particularly interested in pediatric chronic pain and understanding the mechanisms that impact adherence and treatment outcomes, such as cognitive factors (i.e., executive functioning) and family functioning. Additionally, I am interested in family systems and how family factors can influence the overall functioning of the family members and the health behaviors and treatment outcomes in children with chronic illnesses.
Selected Publications —
Hall, J. A., Steele, R. G., Christofferson, J. L., & Mihailova, T. (2021). Development and initial evaluation of a multidimensional digital stress scale. Psychological Assessment. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000979
McWhorter, L. G., Christofferson, J., Neely, T., Hildenbrand, A. K., Alderfer, M. A., Randall, A., … & Sood, E. (2021). Parental post-traumatic stress, overprotective parenting, and emotional and behavioural problems for children with critical congenital heart disease. Cardiology in the Young. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951121002912
Steele, R. G., & Christofferson, J. (2020). Pediatric Obesity and Overweight. Eds. R. G. Steele & M. C. Roberts (Eds). Handbook of evidence-based therapies for children and adolescents: Bridging science and practice.
Christofferson, J. L., Okonak, K., Kazak, A. E., Pierce, J., Kelly, C., Schifano, E.,… & Alderfer, M. A. (2019). Family consequences of potentially traumatic pediatric medical events: Implications for trauma-informed care. Journal of Family Psychology, 34, 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000597
Steele, R. G., Hall, J. A., & Christofferson, J. L. (2019). Conceptualizing digital stress in adolescents and young adults: Toward the development of an empirically based model. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. DOI: 10.1007/s10567-019-00300-5
Canter, K. Christofferson, J., Scialla, M., & Kazak, A. (2018). Technology-focused family interventions in pediatric chronic illness: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. doi: 10.1007/s10880-018-9565-8
Kazak, A. E., Christofferson, J., Gutierrez Richards, H., Rivero-Conil, S. & Sandler, E. (2018). Implementing screening with the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) in clinical oncology practice. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology. doi: 10.1037/cpp0000246
Selected Presentations —
Scheurich, J., Christofferson, J., Black, W., Hoffart, C., & Wallace, D. (2021, August). Psychosocial functioning of parents of youth receiving intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment. Poster accepted for presentation at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Diego, CA.
Driscoll, C. F. B., Christofferson, J., McWhorter, L. G., Demianczyk, A. C., Brosig, C. L., Jackson, E. A., Gramszlo, C., Zyblewski, S., Kazak, A. E., & Sood, E. (2021, February). Parent preferences for psychosocial support following diagnosis of congenital heart disease. Poster to be presented at Cardiology 2021, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Christofferson, J., Black, W. B., Kichline, T., Hoffart, C. M., & Wallace, D.W. (2020, March). Parents matter more after treatment: Parent flexibility, child pain acceptance, and child functioning following an intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment. Poster presented virtually at the Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, Dallas, TX.
Christofferson, J., McWhorter, L., Demianczyk, A., Brosig, C., Delaplane, E., Alderfer, M., Kazak, A., & Sood, E. (2019, April). Psychosocial needs of parents following diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease: A crowdsourced study. Poster presented at the 2019 Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Christofferson, J., Stenman, K., Kazak, A. E., Pierce, J., Kelly, C., Schifano, E., Sciolla, J., Deatrick, J. A., & Alderfer, M. A. (2019, March). Family consequences of potentially traumatic pediatric medical events: Implications for trauma-informed care. Paper presentation accepted for the 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Session of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, DC.
Christofferson, J., Stenman, K., Sciolla, J., Alderfer, M., Pierce, J., Schifano, E., Kelly, C., Garrett, S., Deatrick, J., & Kazak, A. (2018, April). Multidisciplinary pediatric provider perspectives on traumatic stress. Poster presented at the Society of Pediatric Psychology 2018 Annual Conference, Orlando, FL.