Christine Stephens
{{Short description|New Zealand ageing researcher}}
{{distinguish|Christine Stevens (disambiguation)|Christine Stephen (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Christine Stephens
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM|size=100%}}
| other_names = Christine Vivienne Stephens
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| image = Christine Stephens • Jane Ussher • Rangahau 2018 (cropped).tif
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| workplaces = Massey University
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| alma_mater = Massey University
| thesis1_title = Occupational overuse syndrome and psychosocial stressors in the work place
| thesis1_url = https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/6930
| thesis1_year = 1993
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Christine Vivienne Stephens {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM|size=85%}} is a critical health psychologist and New Zealand psychology academic. She is currently professor of psychology at Massey University based in the Palmerston North.{{cite web |url=http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/expertise/profile.cfm?stref=743230 |title=Prof Christine Stephens – Professor – Massey University |publisher=Massey.ac.nz |date=10 November 2016 |access-date=19 December 2017}} She is one of the founding members of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology, which she has also chaired.{{Cite web|title=Career File: Christine Stephens|url=https://ischp.net/2019/03/15/career-file-christine-stephens/|last=Anonymous|date=15 March 2019|website=International Society of Critical Health Psychology|access-date=20 May 2020}}
Career
Stephens completed a master's degree at Massey University on occupational overuse syndrome and psychosocial stressors,{{cite thesis |last=Stephens |first=Christine |year=1993 |type=Masters thesis |title=Occupational overuse syndrome and psychosocial stressors in the work place |publisher=Massey Research Online, Massey University |hdl=10179/6930}} followed by a PhD on occupational overuse in the New Zealand police force in 1993.{{cite thesis |last=Stephens |first=Christine |year=1996 |type=Doctoral thesis |title=The impact of trauma on health and the moderating effects of social support : a study with the New Zealand police |publisher=Massey Research Online, Massey University |hdl=10179/2712}} She joined the staff at Massey in 1996, rising to professor. Upon appointment she developed a course in health promotion, which was offered from 2001 and which she taught until 2016.{{Cite journal|last1=Chamberlain|first1=Kerry|last2=Lyons|first2=Antonia C|last3=Stephens|first3=Christine|year=2018|title=Critical health psychology in New Zealand: Developments, directions and reflections|journal=Journal of Health Psychology|volume=23|issue=3|pages=457–471|doi=10.1177/1359105317734871|pmid=28994308|s2cid=3679487}} During this time she authored a book on health promotion, entitled Health Promotion: A Psychosocial Approach and published in 2008.{{Cite book|last=Stephens|first=Christine|title=Health Promotion: A Psychosocial Approach|publisher=Open University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0335236947|location=Maidenhead, United Kingdom}} Stephens co-leads the cross-disciplinary Health and Ageing Research Team (HART) with Fiona Alpass, also at Massey.{{cite web|title=Stories – Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand|url=https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help/stories/story/67/professors-christine-stephens-and-fiona-alpass|publisher=Mentalhealth.org.nz|access-date=30 January 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Alpass|first1=Chris Stephens|date=23 November 2014|title=The 'don't stop' attitude|newspaper=The New Zealand Herald|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/future-nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503726&objectid=11362430|access-date=30 January 2018}}{{cite news|date=26 June 2016|title=Why you'll never be able to retire|newspaper=The New Zealand Herald|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11663503|access-date=30 January 2018}}{{cite web|title=Christine Stephens | Superu's research Hub|url=http://thehub.superu.govt.nz/author/christine-stephens|publisher=Thehub.superu.govt.nz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051032/http://thehub.superu.govt.nz/author/christine-stephens|archive-date=22 December 2017|access-date=19 December 2017}} The team's major focus is a longitudinal study of quality of life in ageing (Health, Work and Retirement study), the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing.{{cite web |url=https://www.hiirc.org.nz/page/35895/the-new-zealand-longitudinal-study-of-ageing/ |title=The New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NZLSA) • Health Improvement and Innovation Resource Centre |publisher=Hiirc.org.nz |access-date=19 December 2017}} The research team has conducted bi-annual surveys of a population sample of older people for over 10 years. The research also includes in-depth qualitative studies on topics such as informal care-giving, palliative care, experiences of terminal illness, and housing needs.{{Cite web|title=International Network for Critical Gerontology|url=https://criticalgerontology.com/author/cstephens/}}
Scholarship
Stephen's current research is located at the intersection of health psychology and gerontology. Her scholarly work is presently focused on the requirements of the ageing population and the need to provide information for supportive social policy and practice. She has made a significant theoretical contribution to this area, along with colleague Mary Breheny, an associate professor at Massey University and member to the Health and Ageing Research Team. Together they have drawn on Amartya Sen's well-known capability approach to develop a nuanced theoretical framework that transcends a purely biomedical view by recognizing ideas of resilience, as well as the experiences of older people themselves in determining what it means to age well.{{Cite book|last1=Stephens|first1=Christine|url=https://www.routledge.com/Healthy-Ageing-A-Capability-Approach-to-Inclusive-Policy-and-Practice/Stephens-Breheny/p/book/9781138193949|title=Healthy Ageing: A Capability Approach to Inclusive Policy and Practice|last2=Breheny|first2=Mary|publisher=Routledge|year=2018|isbn=9781138193949}}
Honours and awards
File:Christine Stephens ONZM investiture.jpg by the governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, at Government House, Wellington, on 6 September 2024]]
In the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, Stephens was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to health psychology and seniors.{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kings-birthday-honours-2024-the-full-list-of-all-recipients/P4L54KE5MVCIHIMAJN3LOR335E/ |title=King's Birthday Honours 2024: The full list of all recipients |date=3 June 2024 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=3 June 2024}}
Selected works
- Noone, Jack H., and Christine Stephens. "Men, masculine identities, and health care utilisation." Sociology of Health and Illness 30, no. 5 (2008): 711–725.
- Stephens, Christine, and Nigel Long. "Communication with police supervisors and peers as a buffer of work-related traumatic stress." Journal of Organizational Behavior (2000): 407–424.
- Stephens, Christine. "Social capital in its place: Using social theory to understand social capital and inequalities in health." Social Science & Medicine 66, no. 5 (2008): 1174–1184.
- Stephens, Christine, Nigel Long, and Ian Miller. "The impact of trauma and social support on posttraumatic stress disorder: A study of New Zealand police officers." Journal of Criminal Justice 25, no. 4 (1997): 303–314.
- Stephens, Christine, Fiona Alpass, Andy Towers, and Brendan Stevenson. "The effects of types of social networks, perceived social support, and loneliness on the health of older people: Accounting for the social context." Journal of Aging and Health 23, no. 6 (2011): 887–911.
References
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External links
- {{Google Scholar|a8KaWA8AAAAJ}}
- [http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/expertise/profile.cfm?stref=743230 institutional homepage]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Christine}}
Category:New Zealand women academics
Category:21st-century New Zealand psychologists
Category:Academic staff of Massey University
Category:Massey University alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:New Zealand women psychologists
Category:20th-century New Zealand psychologists
Category:20th-century New Zealand women scientists