Thomas V. Merluzzi
Professor
Director of ISLA
Ph.D., The Ohio State University
Profile
Merluzzi studies coping processes in people with cancer from the perspective of social learning theory and, in particular, self-efficacy theory. His work includes: the development and refinement of the Cancer Behavior Inventory (Merluzzi & Martinez Sanchez, 1997; Merluzzi et al., 2001; Heitzmann, Merluzzi et al. 2011), a widely used measure of self-efficacy for coping with cancer; the study of religious/spiritual coping in persons with cancer (Nairn & Merluzzi, 2003; Merluzzi, 2007; Howsepian & Merluzzi, 2009); and the refinement of the assessment of quality of life (Philip, Merluzzi et al., 2010) and caregiving efficacy (Merluzzi, et al., 2011).
The latest NIH (National Cancer Institute) grant-supported project focuses on methods for determining cultural bias in assessment in health psychology research. Papers in preparation focus on: the structure of coping for African American and Caucasian cancer patients and survivors; the pathways to quality-of-life for African American and Caucasian cancer patients and survivors; and role of maltreatment on the quality-of-life of African Americans with cancer.
Current interests focus on conceptual and culturally informed models of cancer survivorship including resilience trajectories and the refinement of the measurement of distress in cancer survivors including the prevalence of depression, symptoms, and problems.
Other work includes a volume entitled Life-Span Perspectives on Health and Illness (Whitman, Merluzzi, & White, 1999), which covers issues related to risk and resilience during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Merluzzi's contribution to that volume (Merluzzi & Nairn, 1999) focuses on midlife transitions in health. Finally, his contribution to a volume on multicultural psychology explored cultural competency in health professionals (Merluzzi & Hegde, 2003).
Selected Papers
Merluzzi, T. V., Philip, E. J., Vachon, D. O., & Heitzmann, C. A. (2011). Assessment of self-efficacy for caregiving: The critical role of self-care in caregiver stress and burden. Palliative and Supportive Care, 9, 15-24.
Heitzmann, C. A., Merluzzi, T. V., Roscoe, J. A., Jean-Pierre, P., Kirsh, K. L., & Passik, S. D. (2011). Assessing self-efficacy for coping with cancer: Development and psychometric analysis of the brief version of the Cancer Behavior Inventory (CBI-B), Psycho-Oncology, 20, 302-312.
Philip, E. J., Merluzzi, T. V., Peterman, A., Cronk, L. B. (2009). Measurement accuracy in assessing patient’s quality of life: To weight or not to weight domains of quality of life. Quality of Life Research, 18, 775-782.
Howsepian, B. A., & Merluzzi, T. V. (2009). Religious beliefs, self-efficacy, and adjustment to cancer. Psycho-Oncology. 18, 1069-1079.
Merluzzi, T. V. Heitzmann, C. A., & Claussen, R. (2008). HIV/AIDS. In F. Leong (Ed.) The encyclopedia of Counseling Psychology. (pp. 337-340). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Merluzzi, T. V., & Ong, A. D. (2008). Psychological well-being. In F. Leong (Ed.) The encyclopedia of Counseling Psychology. (p. 361) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Merluzzi, T. V. (2007). The paradox of control: Gelassenheit, stoicism, personal control, and God. Paper presented at a seminar: Spirituality, hope, and meaning in the process of healing, University of Southern Denmark.
Ladd, K. L., Merluzzi, T. V., & Cooper, D. (2006). Retirement issues for Roman Catholic priests: A theoretical and qualitative investigation. Review of Religious Research, 48, 82-104.
Nairn, R. C., & Merluzzi, T. V. (2003). The role of religious coping in adjustment to cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 12, 428-441.
Merluzzi, T. V., & Hegde, K. (2003). Implications of social and cultural Influences for multicultural competencies in health psychology. In D. B. Pope-Davis, H. L. K. Coleman, W. M. Liu, & R. L. Toporek, (Eds.). The handbook of multicultural competencies (pp. 420-438. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Merluzzi, T. V., Nairn, R. C., Hegde, K. Martinez Sanchez, M. A., & Dunn, L. (2001). Self-efficacy for coping with cancer: Revision of the Cancer Behavior Inventory (Version 2.0). Psycho-Oncology, 10, 206-217.
Merluzzi, T.V., & Nairn, R. C. (1999). Adulthood and aging: Transitions in health and health cognitions. In T.L. Whitman, T.V. Merluzzi , & R. D. White (Eds.), Life-span perspectives on health and illness (pp. 189-206). Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ.
View Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Contact Information
Office: 121 Haggar Hall
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
Phone: (574) 631-5623
Email: tmerluzz@nd.edu