E. Alison Holman
Professor of Nursing | UC Irvine
Irvine, CA, UNITED STATES
E. Alison Holman studies the early post-event predictors of co-morbid trauma-related mental and physical health problems.
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Biography
E. Alison Holman's research focuses on understanding the early post-event predictors of comorbid trauma-related mental and physical health problems. She seeks to identify predictors of, contributions of, and interactions between acute responses to trauma (biological, cognitive, emotional, social, environmental, behavioral) that increase vulnerability to trauma-related health problems, especially cardiovascular disease. Toward this end, Holman examines gene-environment interactions and the roles of several biological systems in acute/posttraumatic stress response: renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, endocannabinoid, and oxytocin systems as well as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response. The ultimate goal is to identify targets for early interventions to prevent trauma-related morbidity and mortality.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Physical health
Acute Stress
Acute Stress & Cardiovascular Disease
Psychological Trauma
Media Exposure
Education (3)
U.C. Irvine: PhD, Health Psychology 1996
University of California, Santa Cruz: BA, Psychology 1989
San Francisco State University: BS, Nursing 1981
Affiliations (4)
- International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
- Association for Psychological Science
- American Psychological Association, Divisions of Health Psychology and Trauma Psychology
- California Association for Nurse Practitioners
Links (4)
Media Appearances (10)
Graphic images harm our mental health, UC Irvine researchers say
Daily Pilot online
2024-07-24
UC Irvine researchers have found that repeated exposure to graphic photos and videos is being linked to psychological distress, according to the Times’ story by Karen Garcia. … [Roxane] Cohen Silver and [E. Alison] Holman found “a correlation to acute stress, post-traumatic stress symptoms, fear of future attacks and difficulty functioning in work and social life” when people were repeatedly exposed to photos from horrific events.
Graphic imagery online can lead to psychological harm, UC Irvine experts say
Los Angeles Times online
2024-07-19
UC Irvine researchers say repeated exposure to graphic photos and videos is being linked to psychological distress. … Roxane Cohen Silver and E. Alison Holman are researchers and professors in Irvine’s department of psychological science who have been studying the public-health effects of graphic images, including those from the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks; the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013; and the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.
Avoiding media-fueled psychological distress
Medical Xpress online
2024-07-08
In an invited perspective published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lead author E. Alison Holman, UC Irvine professor of nursing and psychological science; Roxane Cohen Silver, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor of psychological science, public health and medicine, as well as vice provost for institutional research, assessment and planning; and Dana Rose Garfin, assistant professor-in-residence at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, have applied their decades of research on viewing mass violence in both traditional and social media to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
25 years later, the trauma of the Columbine High School shooting is still with us
USA Today online
2024-04-19
Research on mass tragedies in the decades since has found the more time people spend watching this kind of news, the more likely they are to report high levels of acute stress, according to E. Alison Holman, a professor in the school of nursing and department of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine. This is particularly true when the images are graphic, Holman said. In a study on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Holman found consuming six or more hours a day of media coverage about the attack was associated with more acute stress symptoms than actually being at the site of the bombing.
Stroke Mimics Tied to More PTSD Than Stroke
Medscape online
2024-02-05
Commenting on the findings, E. Alison Holman, PhD, professor, Department of Psychological Science, and Associate Dean Academic Personnel, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, UC Irvine, Irvine, California, said she found the research "fascinating." … "This is an important issue that needs to be addressed," said Holman. "This is especially the case since the assessment of PTSD took place a month later, and a lot can happen in a month.”
What does watching violence do to your mind? ‘Nothing good’: 5 tips for maintaining your mental health while following the news
CNBC Make it online
2023-10-13
Read judiciously, says Alison Holman, a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine. Holman researches trauma and media exposure. “Identify sources of news that are reliable and trustworthy,” Holman says. “In other words, they provide actual news. What I recommend is you pick the top two, maybe three resources.” … “Put aside time in the day and say, ‘I’m going to spend 15 to 20 minutes reading about what’s going on so I know what’s happening,’” she says. … This isn’t about consuming less news, she adds. It’s about not consuming an excess.
Mentoring is 'Miracle Gro for nurses' and 'key to future success'
Becker's Hospital Review online
2023-05-02
[The American Nurses Association] offers an eight-month mentoring program and a flash mentoring program that the association calls "speed mentoring." "This is flexible and short term where one nurse could connect with five different nurses in one week," Dr. Boston-Leary said. Becker's spoke with several nursing leaders, including one who likened mentoring to "Miracle Gro" for new nurses, especially those who spent more clinical training time in simulation labs than with real patients in the past few years. … Alison Holman, PhD, BSN. Professor at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at the University of California, Irvine: I think mentoring programs within hospital settings, especially, send a message to the nursing staff that lateral violence against other nurses is not acceptable. And that's a really important message. … If we want nurses to stay in the profession of nursing, we need people who will actually mentor them into their own growth and their own development. Mentoring helps new nurses to be the strongest nurses they can be.
Depression risk rises after a stroke. What that means for John Fetterman.
The Washington Post online
2023-02-17
Sen. John Fetterman’s hospitalization for depression is most likely to be short and successful … A positive sign for Fetterman is his agreement that he needs inpatient care, said E. Alison Holman, a professor of nursing and psychological science at the University of California, Irvine. People in the grip of severe depression often lack that insight, she said. “The fact that he checked himself in is evidence that is not the case for him,” she said.
Hurricane Ian Impact: The Unexpected Health Effects
Healthline online
2022-09-29
Anxiety and depression are often seen as hurricanes create “a lot of unknowns,” explained E. Alison Holman, PhD, professor of psychological science at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, UC Irvine. “Any time there are those kinds of unknowns, it generates anxiety.”
Trauma, time and mental health — new study unpacks pandemic phenomenon
The Washington Post online
2022-09-05
A new study says a majority of Americans experienced time distortions at the beginning of the pandemic, which are common during traumatic times. … “There are relatively new therapies that can be used to help people regain a more balanced sense of time,” E. Alison Holman, a professor of nursing at the University of California, Irvine and a co-author of the study, says in a news release. “But if we don’t know who is in need of those services, we can’t provide that support.”
Research Grants (4)
Genetic variation, stress, and functional outcomes after stroke rehabilitation
National Institute of Nursing Research $2,718,925
7/1/2015-6/30/2020
A national longitudinal study of community trauma exposure
National Science Foundation $333,396
1/1/2015-12/31/2017
RAPID: Responding to Terror of a Different Kind: A National Study of the Ebola Epidemic
National Science Foundation $160,306
12/1/14 - 11/30/15
Susceptibility to Acute Stress and Cardiovascular Ailments: A Gene-Environment Analysis
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar Grant
2010-2013
Articles (5)
Reported Worst Life Events and Media Exposure to Terrorism in a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample
Journal of Traumatic StressRebecca R. Thompson, E. Alison Holman, Roxane Cohen Silver
2020 Indirectly experienced negative life events are not considered Criterion A traumatic events per DSM‐5 posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic criteria, yet individuals indirectly exposed to trauma via the media may report these events as peak traumatic experiences. We studied which events people considered to be the “worst” in their lifetimes to gain a better understanding of the types of events individuals consider to be distressing.
The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-2019) Outbreak: Amplification of Public Health Consequences by Media Exposure
Health PsychologyDana Rose Garfin, Roxane Cohen Silver, E. Alison Holman
2020 The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) has led to a serious outbreak of often severe respiratory disease, which originated in China and has quickly become a global pandemic, with far-reaching consequences that are unprecedented in the modern era. As public health officials seek to contain the virus and mitigate the deleterious effects on worldwide population health, a related threat has emerged: global media exposure to the crisis.
Associations between exposure to childhood bullying and abuse and adulthood outcomes in a representative national U.S. sample
Child Abuse & NeglectJosiah A Sweeting, Dana Rose Garfin, E Alison Holman, Roxane Cohen Silver
2020 Negative childhood experiences are associated with poor health and psychosocial outcomes throughout one’s lifespan.
Exposure to prior negative life events and responses to the Boston marathon bombings.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and PolicyGarfin, Dana Rose; Holman, E. Alison; Silver, Roxane Cohen
2020 Objective: The objective of the study was to explore how type and timing of prior negative life experiences (NLEs) may be linked to responses to subsequent collective trauma, such as a terrorist attack. Method: Using a longitudinal design, we examined relationships between prior NLEs and responses to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings (BMB).
Media Exposure to Collective Trauma, Mental Health, and Functioning: Does It Matter What You See?
Clinical Psychological ScienceE. Alison Holman, Dana Rose Garfin, Pauline Lubens, Roxane Cohen Silver
2019 Media exposure to collective trauma is associated with acute stress (AS) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Qualities of media exposure (e.g., amount, graphic features) contributing to this distress are poorly understood. A representative national sample (with New York and Boston oversamples; N = 4,675) completed anonymous, online surveys 2 to 4 weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings (BMB; Wave 1, or W1) and again 6 months later (Wave 2, or W2; N = 3,598).
