research programs
Our research initiatives focus on understanding and healing the psychological scars experienced by Veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors.
Current Projects
Recruitment Open!
Adventure Therapy – Learn to Sail
The Suicide & Trauma Research Collaborative is conducting a program evaluation of the health/mental health effects of a sailboat adventure therapy program.
Are you a Veteran or First Responder who would like to learn to sail (and be skills certified) for free? Email Dr. Browne at Lodestar Nautical for more information: orie@lodestarnautical.org
accommodations for ADHD & TBI
Are you a college student who has been diagnosed with ADHD or traumatic brain injury (TBI), and you receive academic accommodations at your university for your diagnoses?
If you answered yes to both, please consider contacting us to participate in a study that examines how well accommodations work for this unique populations.
Service Dog or Emotional Support Dog?
We are seeking to interview individuals about their experience with either a psychiatric service dog or emotional support dog as part of an ongoing qualitative study.
If you or someone you know has such a dog, and would be willing to discuss your/their experience with our research team, please contact us.
UPcoming projects
Migration-stage stressors & the development of PTSD: Does aculturation matter?
Principal Investigator: Sebastian Trias
a self-directed measure to identify potential harm to self from organizations
Principal Investigator: Morgan Aamodt
Helpful or harmful: the potential role of dogs in recovery from trauma
Principal Investigator: Kent D. Hinkson Jr.
STRC Presentations, Publications, and workshops
Aamodt, M., Trias, S., Lara, A., Seppie, T., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, August). Mental health differences among sexually assaulted post-secondary students by gender. Presented at the 2025 Annual American Psychological Association Conference, Denver.
Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, July). Research & Clinical Assessment using the SITBI-SF & CAPS-5-R. Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
Hinkson, K. D., Jr. & Brooks, M. M. (2025, May). Beyond the Basics: Crisis Response Planning. Generations Conference 2025, Sandy, UT
Lara, A. (2025, April). The dark side of ethnic group membership: How cultural invalidations harm belonging. Presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Brooks, M. M. (2025, April). Crisis Response Planning Session One: The science and practice of Crisis Response Planning for Suicide Prevention. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Brooks, M. M. (2025, April). Crisis Response Planning Session Two: The science and practice of Crisis Response Planning for Suicide Prevention. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Jensen, D. (2025, April). Postsexual assault reporting procedures & their effects on mental health. Presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Brooks, M. M. (2025, April). Disaggregating the structure of introductions while teaching students to write research papers. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Covarrubias, E., & Lara, A. (2025, April). The relevance of demographics on PTSD for student veterans: An investigation on an emerging population. Presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Sego, L. (2025, April). Analyzing the application of table-top role-playing games as a therapeutic method to influence social acuity in neurodivergent adults. Presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Roberts, R. Lara, A., Sego, L., McCullagh, R., Ryan, G., Trias, S., Aamodt, M., Jensen, D., Seppie, T., Covarrubias, E., Baird, B., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr., (2025, April). Perceptions of academic accommodations among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and traumatic brain injury. Poster presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
McCullagh, R., & Lara, A. (2025, April). Navigating trauma: Effects of social reactions on mental health in SA survivors. Presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
McCullagh, R. (2025, April). A look at imposter phenomenon in higher education and the role of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder. Poster presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Trias, S. & Ryan, G. (2025, February). The psychosocial health impacts of anti-DEI legislation among undergraduate students at Utah Valley University in response to Utah’s HB261. Presented at the 2025 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, Cedar City, Utah
Jensen, D. (2025, April). Attachment pain. Reading at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Trias, S., Sego, L., & Jensen, D. (2025, April). The role of an organization’s post-sexual assault reporting procedure on the reporter’s mental health presentation and severity. Presented at the 2025 UVU SCULPT Showcase, Orem, Utah
Covarrubias, E., Baird, B., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, April). An exploratory investigation of adverse sexual experience type and their association to mental health symptomology in college students. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Towards an understanding of sexual assault: Examining social and institutional influences on survivors’ mental health. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Lara, A., Aamodt, M., Ryan, G., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, April). Navigating trauma: Effects of social reactions on mental health in sexual assault survivors. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Towards an understanding of sexual assault: Examining social and institutional influences on survivors’ mental health. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Trias, S., Sego, L., Jensen, D., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Brooks, M. M. (2025, April). The role of an organization’s post-sexual assault reporting procedure on the reporter’s mental health presentation and severity. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Towards an understanding of sexual assault: Examining social and institutional influences on survivors’ mental health. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Seppie, T., Roberts, R., McCullagh, R., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Brooks, M. M. (2025, April). Evaluating cognitive patterns in PTSD, depression, and anxiety post-sexual assault. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Towards an understanding of sexual assault: Examining social and institutional influences on survivors’ mental health. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Lara, A., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Breton, B., & Draper, M. (2025, April). Exploring liminality of ethnic identities: The implications of policing identity and sense of ethnic belonging. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
McCullagh, R., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, April). Imposter phenomenon in higher education: Examining the role of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Seppie, T., Lara, A., Aamodt, M. Covarrubias, E., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, April). Sexual assault and gender dysphoria: The mediating role of PTSD in identity. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Trias, S. Ryan, G., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, April). The psychosocial health impacts of antgi-DEI legislation among undergraduate students at Utah Valley University in response to Utah’s HB261. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Lara, A., Covarrubias, E., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Brooks, M. M. (2025, April). An exploratory examination of trauma-related characteristics among student veterans. Presented at the 2025 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Brooks, M. M., Lara, A. Trias, S., (2025, February) Paper in a day: Transforming undergraduate research writing through experiential learning. Presentation for the 9th annual Intermountain Teaching for Learning (T4L) conference, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT.
Roberts, R., Lara, A., Aamodt, M., Ryan, G., Trias, S., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2025, February). Psychology as a science. Presented at the 2025 STEAM Conference at Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah.
Seppie, T., Sego, L., Lara, A., Covarrubias, E., & McCullagh, R. (2025, February). An examination of the correlation between PTSD from sexual trauma and gender dysphoria. Presented at the 2025 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, Cedar City, Utah
McCullagh, R., Seppie, T., Aamodt, M., Baird, B., Covarrubias, E., Jensen, D., Lara, A., Sego, L., Trias, S., Tueller, C., & Ryan, G. (2025, February). Is it the dog or simply behavioral activation? A look at the effect of a dog training program on PTSD symptoms. Presented at the 2025 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, Cedar City, Utah
Sego, A. (2025, February). Analyzing the application of table-top role-playing games as a therapeutic method to influence social acuity in neurodivergent adults. Presented at the 2025 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, Cedar City, Utah
Lara, A. (2025, February). When identity is threatened: The relationship between cultural invalidation and ethnic identity strength. Presented at the 2025 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, Cedar City, Utah
Brooks, M. M., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Davenport, K. J., Fausett, A. M., Martin, M. R., & Whimpey, M. S. (2024, September). Nuances in screening for sexual assault: Exploring frontline unreported and unacknowledged rapes. Presented to the 40th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Boston, MA.
Brooks, M. M., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Davenport, K. J., Martin, M. R., & Black, D. (2024, September). Translational definitions of trauma type and their relationship with mental health outcomes. Presented to the 40th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Boston, MA.
Hinkson, K. D., Jr. & Brooks, M. M. (2024, May). Healing the hidden wound: Understanding and treating moral injury. Generations Conference 2024, Salt Lake City, UT
Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Brooks, M., M., Fausett, A. M., & Martin, M. R (2024, April). Understanding the culture: Myths, tips, and tricks of trauma and moral injury work with veterans and first responders. 2024 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO
Martin, M. R., Davenport, K. J., Fausett, A. M., Black, D., Whimpey, M. S., Wicks, H., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2024, April). A comprehensive exploration of trauma types and mental health outcomes among postsecondary students. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Sexual assault and college: A nuanced discussion of the impact of sexual assault on identity, mental health, academic performance, and personal characteristics. Presented at the 2024 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Fausett, A. M., Martin, M. R., Davenport, K. J., Stark, A. M., Black, D., Wicks, H., Whimpey, M. S., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2024, April). Exploring differences in the relationship between postsecondary academic performance and mental health among survivors of sexual assault. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Sexual assault and college: A nuanced discussion of the impact of sexual assault on identity, mental health, academic performance, and personal characteristics. Presented at the 2024 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Davenport, K. J., Fausett, A. M., Martin, M. R., Whimpey, M. S., Wicks, H., Brooks, M. M., & Hinkson, K. D., Jr. (2024, April). Breaking the silence: Exploring unreported and unacknowledged rapes in college students. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Sexual assault and college: A nuanced discussion of the impact of sexual assault on identity, mental health, academic performance, and personal characteristics. Presented at the 2024 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Whimpey, M. S., Black, D., Davenport, K. J., Martin, M. R., Wicks, H., Fausett, A. M., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Brooks, M. M. (2024, April). Examining sexual assault survivors and their functioning in college through an identity framework and lens. In K. Hinkson (Chair). Sexual assault and college: A nuanced discussion of the impact of sexual assault on identity, mental health, academic performance, and personal characteristics. Presented at the 2024 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Stark, A. M., Jones, C. Y., Black, D., Whimpey, M. S., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Brooks, M. M. (2024, April). Exploring the relationships between substance use, emotion regulation, and academic performance in veteran and non-veteran college students. Presented at the 2024 Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.
Fausett, A. M., Martin, M. R., & Davenport, K. (2024, February). Cognitive and emotional intersection: Investigating the relationship between academic performance and depression among students. Presented at the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research 2024, Orem, UT.
Martin, M. R., Fausett, A. M., & Davenport, K. (2024, February). Exploring the complex dynamics between anxiety and academic performance in college students. Presented at the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research 2024, Orem, UT.
Hinkson, K. D., Jr., Brooks-Drake, M. M., Asnaani, A., Griffin, B. J., Weber, M. C., Pyne, J. M., Mullin, T., & Bryan, C. J. (2023, November). Unobservable classes: Predicting those at higher risk of suicide in primary care by using latent class analysis of common mental health screens. Presented at the 39th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Los Angeles, CA.
Brooks, M. M., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Bryan, C. J. (2023, November). Measurement invariance of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 across two trauma-exposed sample. Poster presented at the 39th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Los Angeles, CA.
Brooks, M. M., Hinkson, K. D., Jr., & Bryan, C. J. (2023, November). An evaluation of the psychometric properties of the PCL-5 in student veterans. Poster presented at the 39th annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Los Angeles, CA.
Suicide & Trauma Research Collaborative 