Susan Kay Nolen-Hoeksema (May 22, 1959 – January 2, 2013) was an American professor of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Her research explored how mood regulation strategies could correlate to a person's vulnerability to depression, with special focus on a construct she called rumination as well as gender differences.

Biography

Education and employment

Nolen-Hoeksema was born in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. As an undergraduate, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema attended Yale University where she received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Psychology. She graduated in 1982

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. She then went on to

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

where she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(1984) and

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(1986) in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

. As a graduate student, Susan's research focused primarily on understanding the predictors of depression among children and adolescents. Nolen-Hoeksema led the Depression and Cognition Program at

. Though traditionally the focus of the lab was on depression, past and current work focused on

generalized anxiety disorder Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about events or activities. Worry often interferes with daily function ...

social anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some aspects ...

and other

mood disorder A mood disorder, also known as an affective disorder, is any of a group of conditions of mental and behavioral disorder where a disturbance in the person's mood is the main underlying feature. The classification is in the ''Diagnostic and Stat ...

s. From 1986 to 1995, she was a faculty member at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

receiving

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

in 1993. From 1995 to 2004 she was a tenured professor at

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in the Personality Area. From 2004 to 2013, Nolen-Hoeksema was a professor and researcher at Yale, as well as the head of the Yale Depression and Cognition Program. She was the founding editor of the ''

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology The ''Annual Review of Clinical Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes an annual volume of review articles relevant to clinical psychology. It was established in 2005 and is published by Annual Reviews. The co-editors are ...

'' from 2005 to 2013. She died on January 2, 2013, of complications from heart surgery to repair damage caused by a blood infection.

Honors and awards

James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award The James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award is an award of the Association for Psychological Science given since 1992. The award is named after James McKeen Cattell and "honors individuals for their lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to t ...

, 2013 from the

Association for Psychological Science The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in ...

. *Nolen-Hoeksema's life work and research was honored in February 2014 by a special section in the

Journal of Abnormal Psychology The ''Journal of Abnormal Psychology'' (formerly ''Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Social Psychology'' and ''Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association (AP ...

, volume 123, issue 1.

Bibliography

Books

Nolen-Hoeksema published a dozen books, including scholarly books, textbooks, and three books for the general public on women's mental health. *

Atkinson and Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology ''Atkinson & Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology'' is an introductory textbook on psychology written originally by Ernest Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson and Rita L. Atkinson and edited and revised by Edward E. Smith, Daryl J. Bem, Susan Nolen-H ...

16th Ed." Engage Learning EMEA, 2014. *''The Power of Women: Harness Your Unique Strengths at Home, at Work, and in Your Community'', 2010, Times Books *

15th Ed.. Wadsworth Cengage Learning: EMEA, 2009. *''Handbook of depression in adolescents'' (with Lori Hilt) 2008, Routledge *''Women Conquering Depression: How to Gain Control of Eating, Drinking, and Overthinking and Embrace a Healthier Life'' 2006, Henry Holt *''Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life'' 2003, Holt *

14th. Ed.. Wadsworth/Thomson Learning: Belmont, 2003. *''Coping With Loss'' (with Judith Larson ) 1999, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers * ''Clashing Views on Abnormal Psychology'' 1998 Dushkin/McGraw-Hill *''Sex Differences in Depression'' 1990, Stanford University Press *''Depression: Treatment and Management'' (2 Volumes) (with Haraton Davidian and Hamideh Jahangiri ), volume one volume two *''Psychotherapy of depression in elderly'' (3 Volumes) (with Hamzeh Ganji and Hamideh Jahangiri ), volume one volume two volume three

References

External links

What Happens When Things Go Wrong: Mental Illness, Part I
Paul Bloom and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Academic Earth {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan 1959 births 2013 deaths Yale University faculty Yale University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni People from Springfield, Illinois Stanford University Department of Psychology faculty University of Michigan faculty Annual Reviews (publisher) editors American clinical psychologists