About

Patricia Frazier is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. Her research focuses on the effects of stress and trauma, including their negative impacts such as depression and anxiety, as well as resilience following adversity. She studies factors associated with better functioning in the face of stress and trauma, including perceived present control and coping strategies. Her recent work involves examining these factors using daily-diary methods and developing technology-based interventions to teach coping skills. Currently, her research primarily concentrates on student mental health. Dr. Frazier earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1988. Her specialties include coping strategies, college student mental health, postrape recovery, reactions to victimization and trauma, online interventions, stress, and victims of violence. She has received numerous awards, including the Early Career Scientist-Practitioner Award from the American Psychological Association's Division 17 in 1996, and the McKnight Land Grant Professorship from 1992 to 1994. She is also a Fellow of Division 17 and Division 9 of the American Psychological Association and was awarded the McKnight Distinguished University Professorship in 2010 and the Charlotte Striebel Equity Award in 2015.

Research topics

• Developmental psychology
• Social psychology
• Psychoanalysis
• Clinical psychology
• Psychology
• Medical emergency
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Characteristics of sexual harassment across locations among U.S. undergraduate students

  Journal of American College Health · 2026-03-10

  articleSenior author

  OBJECTIVE: This study examined how the characteristics of specific instances of sexual harassment differed across four common college locations, building on previous research by using a larger and more diverse sample. PARTICIPANTS: 1,164 undergraduate students, who were predominantly straight (58%), White (48%), cisgender (85%), and women (50%) from 408 U.S. higher education institutions. METHODS: Participants provided contextual information about common sexually-harassing experiences from the last seven days in an online survey. RESULTS: = 2,225 most upsetting incidents) indicated that similar students were harassed across locations, but experienced harassment from different people and in different ways. CONCLUSIONS: Findings can support schools and local, state, and federal governments in collaborative efforts to develop more comprehensive sexual harassment interventions tailored for specific contexts.

  PublisherDOI

• Online Intervention for Muscle Tension Dysphonia

  JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery · 2025-02-27 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Importance: Voice-related perceived control is the extent to which a person feels they can control their voice condition and/or their response to it. Given the interaction of psychological factors and voice outcomes, an intervention targeting psychological factors may be a helpful adjunct to clinical voice care. Objective: To investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a perceived control intervention adapted for adult patients with muscle tension dysphonia and to compare its outcomes with those of a voice education program. Design, Settings, and Participants: This was a pilot randomized clinical trial using mixed methods and including adults with muscle tension dysphonia from academic otolaryngology clinics from July 8, 2018, to December 8, 2019. Participants were randomized to the voice education program or the perceived control intervention, and feasibility and acceptability of both were assessed using quantitative and qualitative measures. Data analyses were performed from October 1, 2023, to March 5, 2024. Main Outcomes and Measures: Voice-related impairment was measured using the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). Psychological factors were measured using the voice-related Perceived Present Control Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI), and Perceived Stress Scale-4. Open-ended participant responses were analyzed following consensual qualitative research methods. Results: In all, 50 participants (mean [SD] age, 51.0 [15.9] years; 34 women [68%]); 27 were randomly assigned to receive the voice education program and 23 were randomly assigned to the perceived control intervention. Forty participants (80%) completed the study, which demonstrated the feasibility of both options. Outcomes of both the perceived control intervention and the voice education program were acceptable. Change in VHI-10 was heterogeneous, modest overall, and similar in the perceived control (-2.44; 95% CI, -4.25 to -0.63) and education (-2.94; 95% CI, -4.12 to -1.76) arms. Perceived control (secondary outcome) was higher, and exploratory outcomes (ie, somatic concerns, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress) were lower overall between pretest and posttest assessments. Qualitative analyses showed an overall decrease in negative voice-related emotions, fatigue, and negative self-image over the course of the perceived control intervention, and an interest in curated information in the voice education program. Conclusions and Relevance: This pilot randomized clinical trial indicates that both the perceived control intervention and voice education program appear promising for further development. Online interventions are of interest to people with voice disorders, and future work may benefit from taking individual differences into account. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03576365.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ecological Momentary Assessment of Voice & Psychological Factors: Group & Individual Mechanisms

  The Laryngoscope · 2025-08-15 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVES: Cross-sectional associations between voice and psychological factors are known, but changes over time offer opportunities to refine our understanding of their interactions and consider customized treatment options. Study objectives were to measure relationships between voice and psychological factors using ecological momentary assessment and applying (1) group-level time series analysis and (2) group and (3) individual causal modeling to identify key psychological factors relevant for voice outcomes. METHODS: Adults (N = 32) with primary muscle tension dysphonia completed multiple assessments daily for 10 days. Measures included items from the Voice Handicap Index-10, voice-adapted perceived present control scale, items from NIH PROMIS and the NIH Toolkit to assess distress, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Group-level time series analysis was conducted using dynamic structural equation modeling; causal analysis utilized the Greedy Fast Causal Inference algorithm. RESULTS: In group-level time series analyses, neither perceived control nor distress predicted subsequent timepoint voice handicap scores. In group-level causal modeling, anxiety was causal for voice handicap, but perceived control was not. Individual-level analyses identified various causal factors for voice handicap including perceived control and negative affect, and to a lesser extent, serenity, anxiety, somatic arousal, and stress. CONCLUSIONS: Group-level analyses may obscure important heterogeneity that is identifiable using individual-level causal analyses. For example, perceived control was not identified as predictive or causal for voice handicap at the group level; but was a salient causal factor for voice handicap in some individuals. Causal modeling using intensive longitudinal datasets offers a potential avenue for individualized treatment approaches.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Childhood emotional abuse and mental health in college students: the mediating role of total and interpersonal stressor exposure

  Journal of American College Health · 2025-12-09

  articleSenior author

  OBJECTIVE: Childhood emotional abuse is related to mental health disorders, yet little is known about mechanisms underlying this association. We examined daily stressors as mediators of this link. PARTICIPANTS: Longitudinal data from college students were collected across two studies (ns = 306 and 362). Both samples were primarily White, heterosexual, and women. METHODS: In Study 1, participants completed a measure of current stressors and psychological adjustment two weeks after completing a measure of childhood trauma. In Study 2, participants completed a baseline measure of childhood trauma, 14 days of stressor exposure surveys, and then a distress measure. RESULTS: Greater childhood emotional abuse was related to experiencing more total and interpersonal stressors, and stressors were related to poorer mental health. Indirect effects of both stressors were significant. CONCLUSION: Early adversity may bring about more stressors in adulthood, which might explain why survivors of childhood emotional abuse report poorer mental health as adults.

  PublisherDOI

• Relationship between trauma beliefs and distress after an analogue trauma in college students.

  Journal of Counseling Psychology · 2025-03-10 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  s < .001, with small-to-medium effect sizes. These results suggest that applying the word "trauma" to a broader spectrum of events may be associated with more negative reactions to traumatic events and that clinicians could help individuals reframe those beliefs. Better measures of trauma beliefs and research with more diverse samples are needed to better understand the effects of trauma beliefs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Sexual Violence Victims are Perceived as Less Likable, Regardless of Observer Gender or Sexual Victimization History

  2025-01-14

  preprintOpen access

  We investigated relations between observer gender and sexual victimization history and perceptions of victim likability using two existing datasets, with Study 2 used to replicate Study 1. U.S. university students and community members (Study 1 N = 760; Study 2 N = 1,112) rated experimental vignettes describing experiences of sexual violence and other less stigmatized traumatic events (e.g., car accident). We performed two sets of analyses—one that examined correlates of ratings of sexual violence victims and one that compared ratings of sexual violence vignettes to ratings of other traumas. For the first set of analyses, we hypothesized that women (vs. men) and individuals with (vs. without) a sexual violence history would rate sexual violence survivors as more likable. Most effects related to gender and sexual violence history were nonsignificant. In the second set of analyses, victims of sexual violence were perceived as less likable than victims of other traumas regardless of rater gender or sexual violence history, although this effect was slightly less pronounced for younger individuals and those with a history of sexual violence. Across two studies, the most consistent findings were that gender did not predict perceptions of likability and that victims of sexual violence were perceived as less likable than victims of other traumas.

  PublisherDOI

• The role of demographic characteristics in US medical students’ professional well-being and medical school experiences: An intersectional approach

  PLoS ONE · 2025-12-16

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  INTRODUCTION: Previous findings have been mixed about the role of demographic characteristics in medical students' well-being and school experiences when those characteristics were examined in isolation. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of gender, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation in medical students' professional well-being and medical school experiences using an intersectional approach. METHOD: We analyzed data from the 2019-2022 Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire (N = 66,795). The independent variable was intersectional groups, composed of 16 intersectional groups that combined various genders, races and ethnicities, and sexual orientations. The outcome variables were professional well-being (i.e., burnout, career regret) and medical school experiences (i.e., general mistreatment, discrimination, emotional climate, faculty-student interaction, faculty professionalism, and satisfaction with medical education). Given the large sample, we focused on effect sizes versus statistical significance. RESULTS: The intersectional groups differed from each other on all professional well-being and all medical school experience variables except emotional climate, with at least small effect sizes (ηp2 ≥ .01). Black female sexual minority students reported the most negative outcomes on all variables. The largest differences were primarily with White male heterosexual (e.g., discrimination: d = 1.68, 95% CI [1.53, 1.84]) and White female heterosexual (e.g., disengagement: d = 0.63, 95% CI [0.48, 0.79]) students. However, being a member of a greater number of marginalized groups was not necessarily associated with more negative outcomes, and patterns of group differences varied across domains of professional well-being and medical school experiences. DISCUSSION: Examining the combination of medical students' gender, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation yielded larger and more consistent effect sizes than examining each factor individually, suggesting that an intersectional approach can identify the unique challenges confronted by medical students from specific demographic groups.

  PublisherDOI

• Adults with Symptomatic Joint Hypermobility Report Worse Health-Related Quality of Life than Adults with Other Chronic Pain Conditions

  Journal of Pain · 2025-04-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Sexual Violence Victim-Survivors Are Seen as Less Likable, Regardless of Observer Gender or Sexual Victimization History

  Collabra Psychology · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Dozens of studies have found that men and individuals without a history of sexual violence tend to endorse more rape myths, including being more likely to blame sexual violence victim-survivors and see them as less credible. Less is known regarding individual differences in other stigmatizing attitudes, such as whether victim-survivors are seen as less likable. We investigated relations between observer gender and sexual victimization history and ratings of victim-survivor likability across two preexisting studies of six total samples. University students in the United States and community members (Study 1 N = 760) read experimental vignettes describing experiences of sexual violence and other less stigmatized traumatic events (e.g., car accident) and answered several questions, including the likability of the individuals described in the vignettes. Study 2 (N = 1,112) replicated the analysis used in Study 1 in a new sample. We preregistered the hypothesis that women and individuals with a sexual violence history would rate sexual violence victim-survivors as more likable than would men and individuals without a history of sexual violence. Linear regression and mixed effect models were conducted to test hypotheses. Most effects related to gender and sexual violence history were nonsignificant. In exploratory analyses, victim-survivors of sexual violence were rated as less likable than individuals who had experienced other forms of trauma regardless of rater gender or sexual violence history, although this effect was slightly less pronounced for younger individuals and those with a history of sexual violence. Across two studies, the most consistent findings were that participant gender did not predict likability ratings and that victim-survivors of sexual violence were rated as less likable than those who had experienced other traumas.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Work-related stress among sworn and non-sworn law enforcement personnel

  International Journal of Police Science & Management · 2024-11-14 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Sworn law enforcement personnel in the United States face high rates of work-related stress. Yet, the well-being of more than 300,000 non-sworn personnel, particularly regarding work-related trauma and stress, remains underexplored. This study aims to test the hypothesis that non-sworn personnel experience lower levels of stress, comparing stress and probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between sworn and non-sworn personnel. The study recruited 283 sworn and 85 non-sworn personnel from two large urban law enforcement agencies in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, between May and October 2021, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. Participants completed an online survey measuring perceived work-related stress (organizational and operational) and PTSD validated by PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) questionnaire. The study considered different intensities of exposure to COVID and civil unrest, demographics, and worker characteristics as covariates in linear regression models, comparing stress outcomes among sworn and non-sworn personnel. The results showed no significant difference in operational and organizational stress levels between groups, except regarding pension eligibility (non-sworn < 5 years, sworn < 10 years). Non-sworn personnel not yet pension-eligible reported lower organizational stress (β = -10.1, CI = -18.84, -1.36). PCL-5 scores averaged 20.2 ± 17.4 for sworn and 23.6 ± 19.1 for non-sworn personnel, indicating no significant difference in probable PTSD (β = 3.24, CI = -4.19, 10.67). Both groups experienced similar stress levels, though non-sworn personnel ineligible for pension benefits showed lower organizational stress. These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions and enhanced mental health services for all law enforcement personnel, regardless of classification.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R29MH048871

  NIH · $537k · 1998

• NIH Grant F31MH009498

  NIH · $10k

Frequent coauthors

• Samantha L. Anders

  University of Minnesota

  29 shared

• Kayla A. Huber

  University of Minnesota

  29 shared

• Viann N. Nguyen-Feng

  University of Minnesota, Duluth

  25 shared

• Liza Meredith

  21 shared

• Sulani Perera

  University of Minnesota System

  20 shared

• Sandra Shallcross

  University of Minnesota

  20 shared

• Sheila Frankfurt

  18 shared

• Katherine Lust

  University of Minnesota

  18 shared

Awards & honors

• Early Career Scientist-Practitioner Award, Division17, Ameri…
• Exemplary paper award, John Templeton Foundation (1998)
• Fellow, Division 17 (Counseling Psychology), American Psycho…
• McKnight Land Grant Professorship (1992 - 1994)
• Fellow, Division 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of S…