Dr. Rachel I. MacIntyre

Dr. MacIntyre earned a B.S. in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University where she first developed an interest in social-behavioral research. Her post-undergraduate work at a technology startup, eating disorder research lab, and eating disorder residential treatment center fostered her interests in clinical work, research, and the use of technology in research and intervention. With this combination of interests, Dr. MacIntyre found a strong fit with clinical psychology and went on to earn her M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Old Dominion University and Ph.D. from the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical psychology, a program that is jointly sponsored by Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, and Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Dr. MacIntyre has provided therapy and psychological assessment in a variety of clinical settings, including medical settings, college counseling centers, and elementary and high schools. Though she is trained as a generalist clinician, she has a special interest in body image concerns and was able to receive specialized training in this area, including during her predoctoral internship at the Towson University Counseling Center.

Her clinical interest in body image concerns also motivates her research on dynamic social influences (e.g., social comparisons, social media use, body talk) on adaptive and maladaptive aspects of body image and related health behaviors (e.g., eating, exercise). She often uses technology, such as smartphone-based surveys, to assess these dynamic processes as they occur in daily life.

Through her research and clinical work, Dr. MacIntyre has developed a passion for teaching and supervision. Prior to joining the faculty at Millersville, she taught courses at Old Dominion University and supervised students in research and therapy. At Millersville, Dr. MacIntyre teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, including Cognitive Therapy and other clinically-oriented courses.

Selected publications:

MacIntyre, R. I., Heron, K. E., Dawson, C. A., Filipkowski, K. B., & Arigo, D. (in press). Does assessment alter responses? An examination of measurement reactivity in an ecological momentary assessment of body comparisons. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.

MacIntyre, R. I., Heron, K. E., Crosby, R. D., Engel, S. G., Wonderlich, S. A., & Mason, T. B. (2021). Measurement of the influences of social processes in appetite using ecological momentary assessment. Appetite, 161, 105126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105126

Heron, K. E., Braitman, A. L., Dawson, C. A., MacIntyre, R. I., Howard, L. M., & Lewis, R. J. (2021). Evaluating study procedure training methods for a remote daily diary study of sexual minority women. mHealth, 7, 46. https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-20-116

MacIntyre, R. I., Heron, K. E., Howard, L. M., & Downs, D. S. (2020). Gender and Black-White race differences in exercise dependence prevalence and disordered eating behaviors in college students. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2020.1767757

MacIntyre, R. I., Heron, K. E., Braitman, A. L., & Arigo, D. (2020). An ecological momentary assessment of self-improvement and self-evaluation body comparisons: associations with college women’s body dissatisfaction and exercise. Body Image, 33, 264-277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.04.002

Symons Downs, D., MacIntyre, R. I., & Heron, K. E. (2019). Exercise addiction and dependence. In M. Anshel, T. S. Petruzzello, & E. Labbe (Eds.), APA handbook of sports and exercise psychology, Volume 2, Exercise psychology (pp. 589-604). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000124-030