Margaret
Sala
Assistant Professor
Dr. Margaret Sala is joining the Clinical Psychology Program of the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology as an Assistant Professor in the Spring of 2021. Dr. Sala received her B.S. in Business Administration and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Southern Methodist University, and her clinical internship training from the Connecticut VA in West Haven.
Dr. Margaret Sala's research interests focus on understanding the role that mindfulness plays in eating and weight disorders. Her research addresses the extent to which trait and state mindfulness are related to eating and exercise behaviors as well as eating pathology. She has also recently begun exploring whether mindfulness-based interventions can be used to increase exercise behaviors. The ultimate goal of her research program is to design novel mindfulness-based interventions that alleviate eating and weight disorders. Dr. Sala has used several different methodologies in her research, including surveys, longitudinal designs, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), meta-analyses, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Check out her research lab website.
Dr. Sala was the recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the P.E.O. Scholar Award, the American Psychological Association Junior Scientist Fellowship, the American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award, the Hogg Foundation Dissertation Award and the Society for Health Psychology Graduate Student Research Award.
Representative Publications
Sala, M., & Levinson, C.A. (2020). Mindfulness and body checking. Mindfulness. Epub ahead of print: doi: 10.1007/s12671-020-01445-z
Sala, M., Shankar Ram, S.*, Vanzhula, I.A., & Levinson, C.A (2020). Mindfulness and eating disorder psychopathology: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders. Epub ahead of print: doi: 10.1002/eat.23247
Sala, M., Rochefort, C., Lui, P.P., & Baldwin, A.S. (2020). Mindfulness and health behaviors: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review, 14(3), 345-393. doi: 10.1080/17437199.2019.1650290
Vanzhula, I., Sala, M., Christian, C., Hunt, R.A., Keshishian, A.C, Wong, V.Z., Ernst, S., Spoor, S.P., & Levinson, C.A (2020). Avoidance coping during mealtimes predicts higher eating disorder symptoms. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(4), 625-630. doi: 10.1002/eat.23254
Sala, M., Brosof, L.C., & Levinson, C.A. (2019). Repetitive negative thinking predicts eating disorder behaviors: A pilot ecological momentary assessment study in a treatment seeking eating disorder sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 112, 12-27. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.11.005
Sala, M., Vanzhula, I., & Levinson C.A. (2019). A longitudinal study on the association between facets of mindfulness and eating disorder symptoms in individuals diagnosed with eating disorders. European Eating Disorder Review, 27(3), 295-305. doi: 10.1002/erv.2657
Levinson, C.A., Sala, M., Fewell, L.K., Brosof, L.C., Fournier, L., & Lenze, E.J. (2018). Meal and snack-time eating disorder cognitions predict eating disorder behaviors and vice versa in a treatment seeking sample: A mobile technology based ecological momentary assessment study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 105, 36-42. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.03.008