Loren Toussaint

Loren Toussaint portrait
Professor of Psychology

Office: Valders 340F

Phone: 563-387-1647

Email: touslo01@luther.edu

Biography

The main objective of my research is to broadly understand religious and spiritual factors, especially forgiveness, and how they are related to mental and physical health and well-being. I have published a number of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and scientific book chapters, and authored dozens of conference presentations and invited talks in Australia, Austria, Great Britain, Greece, and the United States. I have been involved in forgiveness research in Australia, Chile, Germany, India, Korea, Lithuania, Spain, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Switzerland. I have worked with colleagues at Mayo Clinic and the University of Michigan Medical Center to understand the role of forgiveness in fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, spinal cord injury, and substance use. I continue to seek new avenues in which to better understand and incorporate forgiveness in medicine.

Another central piece of my work has been ongoing since 2007 when I began a Peace Through Forgiveness initiative in collaboration with colleagues at Stanford University and the Dele-Peddle International school in Sierra Leone. This has now become known as the Sierra Leone Forgiveness Project. A week-long forgiveness institute was held at Stanford University in the summer of 2011 that stimulated on-going forgiveness workshops and research in Sierra Leone at present.

I direct the Laboratory for the Investigation of Mind, Body, and Spirit at Luther College, and have mentored dozens of students. Several of these students have been co-authors on peer-reviewed research papers and presentations. Recently the lab was awarded funding from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest for a project titled, A Collaborative Scholarship Model for Liberal Arts Colleges: Applications for the Psychology of Forgiveness. This work involves the collaboration of laboratories at Luther and Grinnell Colleges to investigate psycho-spiritual approaches to promoting forgiveness.

My research has been highlighted in a number of print, online, and radio media outlets such as: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Des Moines Register, Greater Good, Miller-McCune, Ladies Home Journal, Scotland on Sunday, Men’s Health, Psychology Today, and the Associated Press.

Positions

  • Professor of Psychology, Luther College
  • Vice Chair, Forgiveness Scientific Advisory Council, Templeton World Charity Foundation
  • President, Forgiveness Foundation International
  • Associate Director, Sierra Leone Forgiveness Project
  • Visiting Scientist, Mayo Clinic, 2009-10

Education and Training

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, 1999-2001
  • Ph.D. Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1998
  • M.S. Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1996
  • B.A. Psychology and Social Work, summa cum laude, Southwest Minnesota State University, 1993
  • Google Scholar Site

Video links—Dr. Toussaint on Forgiveness

“Do not try to satisfy your vanity by teaching a great many things. Awaken peoples’ curiosity. It is enough to open minds; do not overload them. Put there just a spark. If there is some good flammable stuff, it will catch” —Anatole France

I teach several courses at Luther, including:

  • General Psychology (Psyc 130)
  • Psychology of Forgiveness (Psyc 180)
  • Health Psychology (Psyc 241)
  • Behavioral Statistics (Psyc 350)
  • Stress, Coping, and Well-Being (Psyc 356)

Courses I have previously taught:

  • Careers in Psychology
  • Tests and Measurements
  • Senior Seminar
  • Behavioral Medicine
  • Graduate Advanced Statistics
  • Graduate Multivariate Analysis

The Forgiveness Initiative is a central thrust of the Laboratory for the Investigation of Mind, Body, and Spirit that seeks to promote and support projects that focus on forgiveness education and research. Two examples of this work are described here:

1) In the summer of 2007, two Luther students and I embarked on a trip to Sierra Leone in order to apply forgiveness research to those struggling in the aftermath of a civil war. There was a lot of pain and suffering in the Sierra Leone region as a result of their decade long civil war, and I felt offering some training and some curriculum materials would hopefully provide a sustainable mechanism through the school. This aimed to help the younger generations to see the atrocities of the past through something of a more forgiving light.

This work has become known as the Sierra Leone Forgiveness project and relies on the collaboration and support Drs. Nancy Peddle and Frederic Luskin. Together we have continued to build momentum for spreading the message of forgiveness in Sierra Leone. Highlighting this work was a week-long forgiveness seminar that took place at Stanford University in the summer of 2011. Following this training, our colleagues from Sierra Leone have spent countless days doing forgiveness education and documenting their effectiveness through quantitative and qualitative assessments.

2) In 2010, renowned forgiveness expert, Dr. Everett Worthington, visited Luther College to kickoff a semester-long forgiveness BLITZ! This forgiveness education initiative focused on bringing greater awareness and appreciation of forgiveness to Luther College students. The entire student body was assessed during the semester at five different time points to track changes in attitudes and perceptions. The BLITZ had important effects on forgiveness and other pro-social and religious experiences of the students.

The Laboratory for the Investigation of Mind, Body, and Spirit at Luther College actively seeks opportunities to be involved in these types of projects that promote forgiveness and rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of these programs through sound science.

3) Recently, we have been focusing on the utility of forgiveness in individuals with medical conditions. Many patients with chronic medical conditions report forgiveness issues, and efficient and effective means of helping patients with these issues are currently being developed and tested in collaboration with colleagues at Mayo Medical Center and Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

View one approach that we’ve developed to helping people with forgiving others.

Here are articles and interviews regarding my forgiveness research that have been in the popular media:

Don’t be shy about asking me for a letter of recommendation

Once I agree, email me:

  1. Your majors/minors.
  2. A list of courses you’ve taken from me.
    If you want me to mention your grade, please remind me of what it was. Same goes for your overall GPA. If you want me to comment on it, especially if you think it’s too low, please tell me what it is and comment on any reasons for that.
  3. A list of all outside-the-classroom experiences that we’ve had.
    For instance, were you on my research team? If so, how many projects did you work on? How many presentations did you do? What were your responsibilities?
  4. A short list of all the most important campus activities you were involved in.
    For instance, were you in choir? Were you a member or officer of a club?

Reference Consent Form

The resources below guide students to important websites that help explain how to know what jobs and graduate programs are available, and how to use your psychology major to get a job or gain admission to a graduate program. The links here also provide good advice on how to be a good psychology student.

Things to Think About if You Are a College Student

If It’s Interesting, It’s Complex Too

Its Not About You

The Busy Trap

What Life Asks of Us

Psychologists Identify the Best Ways to Study

The Six-Hour D

Reflecting on Your Calling

Undergraduate Research

A Profile of Undergraduate Research Submission to APA

Getting the Most from Psychology Conferences

Evaluating the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Experience

Careers in Psychology

What you can do with a psychology degree

172 Psychology and Psychology-Related Careers

Building a Customized Career List for Psychology Majors

Careers in Nursing for Psychology Majors

Clinical Versus Counseling Psychology: What’s the Diff

O*Net (occupation and career information resource)

Occupations of Interest to Psychology Majors

Psychology Career Resources Guide

Psychology Degree 411

Psychology.org

Undergraduate Research Experience: Preparation for the Job Market

Graduate School

Alternative Master’s Degree Programs for Psychology Majors

APA Office of Graduate and Postgraduate Education and Training

Getting Involved and Getting Into Graduate School (A Student’s Perspective)

Graduate Admissions in Psychology: II. Acceptance Rates and Financial Considerations

How to Avoid the Kisses of Death in the Graduate School Application Process

Interfolio (managing letters of reference)

Masters in Psychology

More on Masters Degrees in Psychology

New Odds for Graduate Admissions in Psychology

Openings in Graduate Programs with Unfilled Classes

Psychology Degree Guide

Relative Weighting of Admissions Variables in Development Psychology Doctoral Programs

www.phds.org

Good Examples of Graduate School Application Materials

Curriculum Vita (CV)

Curriculum Vita (CV)

About 30 people stand on some stairs outdoors

The EASP conference

Conflicts across family settings, schools, neighborhoods, work place, and wider communities and nations, social media, etc. can all exert an adverse impact on individuals, threaten their identity, undermine their quality of life as well as harm their mental and physical health. Such conflicts can be further exacerbated due to environmental pressures, such as poverty, climate change, economic crises, international shake-ups (e.g., Brexit), etc.

Based on recent advancements of social psychological theory and research, we have identified seven major hot topics which are key to understanding difficult relationships. These are: forgiveness, apology, justice, trust, respect, hope, and power.

This meeting created an important space for the multifaceted analysis of different perspectives on the psychology of challenging relationships. This broad focus offered researchers who study some of the above concepts from an intergroup perspective to converse and exchange with scholars with interests in similar topics but from an interpersonal perspective. Similarly, scholars who study these concepts among children were afforded the opportunity to discuss their theories and empirical work with scholars who focus on adults, and vice versa.

Currently, researchers disparately theorize and produce empirical work on one or at most two of these concepts. This conference brought together researchers and practitioners from around the world and provided them with a space in which they could integrate their theories and see the bigger and more complex picture framing difficult relationships. In so doing, this meeting moved the field towards the next step in developing meta-theoretical approaches to and social
psychological taxonomies of such challenging relationships.

Collaborators

  • Jameson Hirsch
  • Niko Kohls
  • Martin Offenbaecher
  • Fuschia Sirois
  • Loren Toussaint
  • Christian Vajda
  • Annemarie Weber
Six people stand on a curved stairway next to a stone wall.

ICHIPMAP collaborators clockwise from lower left, Christian Vajda, Jameson Hirsch, Loren Toussaint, Fuschia Sirois, Annemarie Weber, and Niko Kohls.

Publications

  1. Sanftenberg, L., vanDyck, M., Bucksch, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Kohls, N., Sirois, F., Toussaint, L., Hirsch, J., & Offenbächer, M. (2019). Körperliche Aktivität und potenzielle Korrelate bei Hämodialysepatienten [Physical activity and potential correlates in hemodialysis patients]. Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung, 14, 290-297. doi: 10.1007/s11553-018-0681-y
  2. Toussaint, L., Sirois, F.M., Hirsch, J.K.,Kohls, N., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vajda, C., & Offenbächer, M. (2019). Anger rumination mediates differences between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls on mental health and quality of life. Personality and Mental Health, 13: 119–133. doi: 10.1002/pmh.1445.
  3. Rowe, C.A., Sirois, F.M., Toussaint, L., Kohls, N., Nöfer, E., Offenbächer, M. & Hirsch, J.K. (accepted). Health beliefs, attitudes, and health-related quality of life in persons with fibromyalgia: Mediating role of treatment adherence. Psychology, Health and Medicine. doi:10.1080/13548506.2019.1576913
  4. Sirois, F. M., Toussaint, L. L., Hirsch, J. K., Kohls, N., Weber, A., & Offenbächer, M. (2019). Trying to be perfect in an imperfect world: A person-centered test of perfectionism and health in fibromyalgia patients versus healthy controls. Personality and Individual Differences, 137, 27-32. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.08.005
  5. Hirsch, J.K., Sirois, F.M., Visser, P.L., Brooks, B.D., Kohls, N., Offenbacher, M., & Toussaint, L. (2017).  Perceived stigma and health-related quality of life in the working uninsured: Does thwarted belongingness play a role?  Stigma and Health.
  6. Toussaint, L., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Weber, A., Vajda, C., Schelling, J., Kohls, N., & Offenbacher, M. (2017). Gratitude Mediates Quality of Life Differences Between Fibromyalgia Patients and Healthy Controls. Quality of Life Research, 26(9), 2449–2457. doi: 10.1007/s11136-017-1604-7
  7. Offenbächer, M., Dezutter, J., Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Bauerdorf, F., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Webb, J., Toussaint, L. (2016). Struggling with Adversities of Life: The Role of Forgiveness in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia. Clinical Journal of Pain. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000432

Published Abstracts

  1. Offenbächer, M., Kohls, N., Hanshans, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Untner, J., Hölz, B., Gaisberger, M., & Toussaint, L. (2019). Self-reported sleeping problems and fatigue in large cohort of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia (FM). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(Suppl 2), 1046. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.4912
  2. Toussaint, L., Kohls, N., Hanshans, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Untner, J., Hölz, B., Gaisberger, M., & Offenbächer, M. (2019). Resilience traits in a large cohort of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia (FM). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(Suppl 2), 1046. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.5361
  3. Offenbächer, M., Toussaint, L., Kohls, N., Hanshans, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Untner, J., Hölz, B., Gaisberger, M., & Ndosi, M. (2019). Educational needs of a large cohort of patients with different rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases attending a health facility in Austria. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(Suppl 2), 1442. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.5416
  4. Offenbächer,M., Toussaint, L., Kohls, N., Hanshans, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Untner, H., Hölzl, B., Gaisberger, M., & Ndosi, M. (accepted). Educational needs in a large German speaking cohort suffering from different diseases including ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Facts in Rheumatology.
  5. Toussaint LL, Sirois FM, Hirsch JK, Kohls N, Weber A, Schelling J, Vajda C, Offenbaecher M. (2017). Stuck in the past with angry memories has detrimental health effects in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Schmerz (Pain), 31(Suppl 2):S59.
  6. Offenbaecher M, Sirois FM, Toussaint LL, Hirsch JK, Weber A, Kohls N, Schelling J, Wittmann M. (2017). An altered subjective time perspective is associated with symptoms and quality of life in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Schmerz (Pain), 31(Suppl 2):S59.
  7. Toussaint LL, Sirois FM, Hirsch JK, Weber A, Vajda C, Schelling J, Kohls N, Offenbaecher M. (2017). Gratitude mediates quality of life differences between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls. Schmerz (Pain), 31(Suppl 2):S60.

Conference Presentations

  1. Offenbächer,M., Toussaint, L., Kohls, N., Hanshans, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Untner, H., Hölzl, B., Gaisberger, M., & Ndosi, M. (under review). Educational needs in a large German speaking cohort suffering from different diseases including ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Poster presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology, Madrid, Spain.
  2. Gilley, R., Treaster, M. K., Hall, B. B., Pugh, K. C., Kohls, N., Offenbacher, M., Toussaint, L., Sirois, F., & Hirsch, J. K. (2018, March). Silver lining, life satisfaction, depression and anxiety in fibromyalgia. Presentation at 64th annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Charleston, SC.
  3. Treaster, M.K., Sirois, F.M., Toussaint, L., Offenbächer, M., Kohls, N., Nofer, E., & Hirsch, J.K. (2018, March). Self-compassion and cancer: Perceived control, treatment adherence, and health status. Presentation at 64th annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Charleston, SC.
  4. Pugh, K. C., Treaster, M. K., Sirois, F. M., Kohls, N., Toussaint, L. L., Offenbacher, M. & Hirsch, J. K. (2017, November). Control beliefs and suicide risk in cancer patients: Conditional indirect effects of future health perception, gratitude, and optimism. Poster presented at the 64th Annual Conference of the Tennessee Psychological Association: Nashville, TN.
  5. Toussaint, L., Hirsch, J., Offenbächer, M., Kohls, N., Schelling, J., Weber, A., Vajda, C., & Sirois, F. (2017, September). Mindfulness, stress and life satisfaction: mediation and moderation models in 4 diverse samples. Poster presented at the German Congress for Family Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany.
  6. Toussaint, L., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Kohls, N., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vada, C., & Offenbächer, M. (2017, October). Stuck in the past with angry memories has detrimental health effects in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the German Pain Congress, Mannheim, Germany.
  7. Offenbaecher, M., Sirois, F. M., Toussaint, L. L., Hirsch, J. K., Weber, A., Kohls, N., Schelling, J., & Wittmann, M. (2017, October). An altered subjective time perspective is associated with symptoms and quality of life in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the German Pain Congress, Mannheim, Germany.
  8. Toussaint, L. L., Sirois, F. M., Hirsch, J. K., Weber, A., Vajda, C., Schelling, J., Kohls, N., & Offenbaecher, M. (2017, October). Gratitude mediates quality of life differences between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls. Poster presented at the German Pain Congress, Mannheim, Germany.
  9. Toussaint, L. L., Offenbaecher, M., Dezutter, J., Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M.A., Rivera, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J.K., Poggenburg, S., & Sirois, F.M. for the I-CHIPMAP Group: International Consortium for Health Interventions & Promotion in Medicine And Psychology (2016, May). Life is sparse: The Role of Gratitude in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the European Congress on Positive Psychology, Angers, France.
  10. Offenbaecher, M. Dezutter, J., Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M. Rivera, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Poggenburg, S., & Toussaint, L. for the I-CHIPMAP Group: International Consortium for Health Interventions & Promotion in Medicine And Psychology (2016, May). Struggling with Adversities of Life: The Role of Forgiveness in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the European Congress on Positive Psychology, Angers, France.
  11. Offenbaecher, M. Toussaint, L. Dezutter, J. Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J., Poggenburg, S., Sirois, F. for the I-CHIPMAP Group: International Consortium for Health Interventions & Promotion in Medicine And Psychology (2016, May). Trying to be perfect in an imperfect world: The role of perfectionism in adjustment to fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the European Congress on Positive Psychology, Angers, France.
  12. Weber, A., Schelling, J., Kohls, N., Poggenburg, S., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Toussaint, L., Van Dyck, M., Nöfer, E., & Offenbächer, M. (2016, September). Analysis of research activities in academic institutes of general practice in Germany and Austria with special focus of health promotion, prevention and patient-centered communication – a snapshot. Poster presented at the German Congress for Family Medicine. Frankfurt, Germany.
  13. Hirsch, J., Brooks, B., Sirois, F., Toussaint, L., Offenbaecher, M., & Kohls, N. (2016). Health-Related Quality of Life in Fibromyalgia: Indirect Effects of Optimism, Pessimism and Treatment Adherence. Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science. Chicago, IL.
  14. Toussaint, L. L., Offenbaecher, M., Dezutter, J., Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M.A., Rivera, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J.K., Poggenburg, S., & Sirois, F.M. for the I-CHIPMAP Group: International Consortium for Health Interventions & Promotion in Medicine And Psychology (2016, May). Life is sparse: The Role of Gratitude in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the German Association for Positive Psychology Research. Trier, Germany.
  15. Offenbaecher, M. Dezutter, J., Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M. Rivera, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Poggenburg, S., & Toussaint, L. for the I-CHIPMAP Group: International Consortium for Health Interventions & Promotion in Medicine And Psychology (2016, May). Struggling with Adversities of Life: The Role of Forgiveness in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the German Association for Positive Psychology Research. Trier, Germany.
  16. Offenbaecher, M. Toussaint, L. Dezutter, J. Kohls, N., Sigl, C., Vallejo, M., Rivera, J., Weber, A., Schelling, J., Vincent, A., Hirsch, J., Poggenburg, S., Sirois, F. for the I-CHIPMAP Group: International Consortium for Health Interventions & Promotion in Medicine And Psychology (2016, May). Trying to be perfect in an imperfect world: The role of perfectionism in adjustment to fibromyalgia. Poster presented at the German Association for Positive Psychology Research. Trier, Germany.
  17. Offenbächer, M., Poggenburg, S., Schelling, J., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Toussaint, L., Schilling, D., Ritter, S., Weber, A., Esch, T., Nöfer, E., & Kohls, N. (2015, September).  Supporting factors for health promotion in general practice – a focused review. Poster presented at the 49th Congress of General Practice and Family Medicine. Bozen-Sudtirol.
  18. Offenbächer, M., Siebenhofer-Kroitzsch, A., Schelling, J., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Toussaint, L., Esch, T., Nöfer, E., & Kohls, N. (2015, June).  Facilitators for health promotion in general practice – a systematic review. Poster presented at the Wennberg International Collaborative Policy Conference, Berlin, Germany.
  19. Offenbächer, M., Poggenburg, S., Schelling, J., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F., Toussaint, L., Schilling, D., Ritter, S., Weber, A., Esch, T., Nöfer, E., & Kohls, N. (2015, September). Supporting factors for health promotion in general practice – a focused review. Poster
    presented at the 49th Congress of General Practice and Family Medicine. Bozen-Sudtirol.
  20. Offenbächer, M., Siebenhofer-Kroitzsch, A., Schelling, J., Hirsch, J., Sirois, F.,Toussaint, L., Esch, T., Nöfer, E., & Kohls, N. (2015, June). Facilitators for health promotion in general practice – a systematic review. Poster presented at the Wennberg International Collaborative Policy Conference, Berlin, Germany.

Overview

With generous funding from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and Mellon Foundation, a joint project initiated at Grinnell and Luther Colleges called the Grinnell-Luther College Collaborative (GLCC) continues to promote the inter-campus collaboration of student-faculty research teams focused on the study of forgiveness and health. This inter-campus collaboration has been successful and continues to thrive. Several indexes of student growth attest to the positive impact of the project. A snapshot of learning gains can be found in the images on this page, and several scholarly products of this collaboration are listed here.

graph displays survey results

SURE survey results

graph displays survey results

ROLE survey results

 

 

Student-Faculty Scholarship

  1. Hoffman, S., Gates, L., Miller, M., & Khou, C. (in preparation). The effects of writing about forgiveness on mental health.
  2. Hoffman, S., Gates, L., Carroll, S., Frehner, S., Dillard, A., Marschall, J. Seawell, A., & Toussaint, L. (2012, April). You Don’t Need to Be a Lifelong Guru: Brief Loving-Kindness Meditation Promotes Forgiveness and Offers Health Benefits. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
  3. Stuart, K., Khou, C., Gates, L. M., Seawell, A., & Toussaint, L. (2011, May). Content of expressive forgiveness writing and links to forgiveness. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
  4. Khou, C., Stuart, K., Grabow, P., Hoffman, S., Seawell, A., & Toussaint, L. (2011, May). The effects of writing about forgiveness on health. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Faculty Scholarship

  1. Seawell, A. H. & Toussaint, L. (2011, April). Associations between unforgiveness and the prevalence of arthritis among a nationally representative sample.  Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, D.C.
  2. Seawell, A. H. & Toussaint, L. (2011, November). Training undergraduates for research: Collaborative scholarship models for faculty. Roundtable presentation made at the annual meeting of the Caribbean Regional Conference of Psychology, Nassau, Bahamas.
  3. Seawell, A., Toussaint, L., & Cheadle, A. (under review) Unforgiveness and physical health in older adults: Results from a national prospective study Toussaint, L. (2012, February).
Eleven people stand together in a classroom.

Members of the Rovira i Virgili University and Luther College Collaborative

The Rovira i Virgili University and Luther College Collaborative is a joint venture to develop an international Laboratory for the Investigation of Mind, Body, and Spirit that seeks to understand the psychological, social, and spiritual antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of health. The laboratory is co-hosted at both institutions with collaborations between undergraduate and graduate students and faculty from nursing, psychology, and other social and medical sciences. Faculty-led and student-centered projects, presentations, and papers are the focal point of collaboration, and international faculty-student collaborations take place at all stages of the research process (inception, design, analyses, etc.).

Scholarly Collaborations

Journal Publication

1.     Bica, T, Castelló, R, Toussaint, L. L, Montesó-Curto P. (2017). Depression as a risk factor of organic diseases: An international integrative review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship49(4), 389-399. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12303.

Ongoing Papers, Projects, and Work

2.     Montesó-Curto, P., Toussaint, L., Kueny, A. M., Lunn, S., Roselló Aubach, L., Campoy Guerrero, C., Aguilar Martín, C., Queiroga Gonçalves, A., & Ruschak, I. 2018 MECENES. Collective financing or crowdfunding. Fibromyalgia in men, the great unknown.

3.     Llàdser Navarro, A., Montesó-Curto, P., Rosselló Aubach, L., López Pablo, C., Toussaint, L. & Casadó-Marín, L. Multidisciplinary treatments for patients with fibromyalgia: A systematic review.

4.     Llàdser Navarro, A., Montesó-Curto, P., Rosselló Aubach, L., López Pablo, C., Toussaint, L., & Casadó-Marin, L. A systematic, international review of recent research on multidisciplinary treatments for patients with fibromyalgia: Policy-based research outcomes.

5.     Cuesta, I., Metzler Sawin, E., Toussaint, L. Seabra, P., Miniassi de Oliveria, S., & Monteso-Curto, P. Factors associated with teen suicide related to bullying: A literature review.

6.     Montesó-Curto, P., Mateu-Gil, M. L., Toussaint, L., Ferré-Grau, C., Cubí-Guillen, M. T., Núria Llàdser Navarro, A., & Panisello-Chavarria, M. L. Family perceptions and experiences of living with patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.

7.       Montesó-Curto, P., Aguilar, C., Lejeune, M., Moreno-Poyato, A. R., Seabra, P. Philpott, L., Puig Llobet, M., Toussaint, L. Perceived lack of family support and depression, anxiety and stress: A community study.

8.     Montesó-Curto, P., García-Martínez, M., Panisello-Chavarría, M., Mateu Gil, M. L., Sarrió-Colás, L., Cubí Guillén, M. T., Romaguera Genís, S., Gómez Martínez, M. C., Almo, S. F., Sánchez Herrero, A. M., Aguilar Martín, C., Queiroga, A., Salvadó Icart, M. T., Toussaint, L. Sleep disturbance in patients with fibromialgia.