Kimberly L. Bissell

Associate Professor of Journalism, Director of Journalism MA program

Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1999

Dr. Bissell’s research interests include mass communication processes and effects, especially in relation to the development of body image and eating disorders in adolescents and college women. Dr. Bissell conducts research in the area of visual communication, specifically focusing on media images and messages that lead female viewers to develop distorted body images, low self-esteem, and disordered eating. More recently she has looked at sports media and its relationship to appearance ideals.

Recent Publications:
Bissell, K. Who’s got game? Exposure to entertainment and sports media and social physique anxiety in Division I female athletes. Journal of Sports Media.

Bissell, K. (Forthcoming, 2009). Exploring the influence of mediated beauty: Competitive female athletes’ perceptions of ideal beauty in athletes and other women. In H. L. Hundley & A. C. Billings, (Eds.), Examining identity in sports media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Bissell, K. L. (2004). What do these messages really mean? Sports media exposure, sports participation, and body image distortion in women between 18 and 75. Journalism Mass Communication Quarterly, 81, 108-123