Conference Presentations
* Current or former undergraduate student co-author
*Patterson, J., & Bontempo, A. C. (2022, November). Changing campus culture to facilitate undergraduate student mental health. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Undergraduate College and University Section, New Orleans, LA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2022, October). Preliminary development and validation of the perceived symptom invalidation scale among patients with endometriosis. Talk accepted to the annual conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Women’s Caucus, Boston, M.A.
Bontempo, A. C. (2022, May). Negative sequelae of invalidation of patient symptoms: A narrative review. Paper to be presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Health Communication Division, Paris, France.
Bontempo, A. C. (2021, November). The effect of personalized invalidation of symptoms by healthcare providers on patient depression: The mediating role of self-esteem. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Health Communication Division, Seattle, WA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2021, May). “I was told my symptoms were all in my head”: Toward the conceptual development and typology of invalidation of patients’ somatic symptoms. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Health Communication Division.
Lee, L. E., Greene, K., Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Catona, D., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. A. (2020, April). “If I need your help, I'll include you in the conversation”: Aligning and diverging perceptions in triadic cancer communication. Paper presented [virtually] at the biennial meeting of DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Senger-Mersich, A., Greene, K., Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Catona, D., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. A. (2020, April). Gynecologic cancer treatment appointments: Healthcare providers’ assessments of the role of support persons. Poster presented [virtually] at the biannual meeting of the DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2021, March). “I don’t know”: Positive patient attitudes toward physicians’ transparent communication of diagnostic uncertainty. Paper presented [virtually] at the New Jersey Communication Association 24th/25th annual conference, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Checton, M. G., Catona, D., Greene, K., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. (2020, November). “Mom, you’re not gonna get a trophy for saying, ‘I’m fine.’” Patient and companions dilemmas during companion participation in the gynecologic cancer medical interaction. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Health Communication Division, Indianapolis, IN.
Mikesell, L. & Bontempo, A. C. (2020, November). The value of trust in healthcare providers for patients with endometriosis. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Health Communication Division, Indianapolis, IN.
Bontempo, A. C., Mikesell, L. & Aakhus, M. (2020, June). Patient and caregiver perceptions of mandatory education for bone marrow transplant. Poster presented at the Academy for Communication in Healthcare (ACH) Research Forum, Austin, TX.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, November). Invalidation of medical symptoms by physicians: State of the research literature and critique. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Interpersonal Communication Division, Baltimore, MD.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, November). Does communication matter? Invalidation of patient symptoms during the diagnostic process and its effects on self-esteem and depression. Poster presented at the Diagnostic Error in Medicine 12th Annual International Conference, Washington, DC. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, November). Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: Symptom misattributions stemming from null nondiscriminatory diagnostic testing for endometriosis. Poster presented at the Diagnostic Error in Medicine 12th Annual International Conference, Washington, DC. [View poster]
Catona, D., Bontempo, A., Checton, M., Venetis, M., & Greene, K. (2019, November). Conflicting views during gynecologic cancer care: A comparison of patients’ and caregivers’ perceptions of burden. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Cancer Forum, Philadelphia, PA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, October). “Once and for all, we need our voices heard”: Examining patient-physician conflict through the lens of active-empathic listening. Poster presented at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH), San Diego, CA. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2019, October). A cry to be heard: Analysis of online survey engagement among patients with endometriosis. Poster presented at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH), San Diego, CA. [View poster]
Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Catona, D., Checton, M. G., Greene, K., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. (2019, May). Support provider caregiving dilemmas during treatment of gynecologic cancer. Talk presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington, D.C.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, May). Challenging diagnostic patient-physician interactions and their effect on patient depression and trust. Roundtable presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) Preconference: Difficult Conversations in Healthcare, Washington, D.C.
Checton, M. G., Venetis, M. K., Catona, D., Bontempo, A. C., Greene, K., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. A. (2019, May). Gynecologic cancer patients’ and supporters’ reports of sharing (and holding back) cancer-related information during oncology visits. Poster presented at the 2019 Annual Retreat on Cancer Research, New Brunswick, NJ.
Catona, D., Bontempo, A. C., Greene, K., Checton, M. G., Venetis, M. K., Devine, K. A., & Buckley de Meritens, A. B. Cancer caregiving: A comparison of patients' and support persons' perceptions of caregiver burden. Poster presented at the 2019 DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Checton, M. G., Greene, K., Venetis, M. K., Catona, D., Devine, K., de Meritens, A. B., & Bontempo, A. (2019, May). Gynecologic cancer patients’ and supporters’ reports of sharing (and holding back) cancer-related information during oncology visits. Paper presented at the DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Bontempo, A. C., & Ognyanova, K. (2018, November). Therapeutic affordances of patient online communities. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Salt Lake City, UT.
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2018, November). High incidence of diagnostic error of endometriosis in the U.S. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Women’s Caucus, San Diego, CA. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2018, August). High incidence of diagnostic error of endometriosis in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Romania, and the UK. Poster presented at the annual conference of the European Health Psychology Society (EHPS), Galway, Ireland. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2018, April). Trust in physicians predicts patient online community use in women with endometriosis. Poster presented at the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication (KCHC), Lexington, KY. [View poster]
Theiss, J. A., Bontempo, A., & Yoon, D. B. (2017, November). A thematic analysis of the communicative challenges faced by romantic partners of military service members with post-traumatic stress disorder. Talk presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Dallas, TX.
Fadem, S., Kim, S., Mikesell, L., Bontempo, A., & Aakhus, M. (2017, June). Incorporating women’s experiences of bone marrow transplant into an interactive, video-based decision support system. Poster presented at the Women’s Healthcare Innovation and Leadership Showcase, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ.
Greene, K., Ray, A. E., Bontempo, A., Hecht, M. L., Miller-Day, M., Carpenter, A., & Banerjee, S. C. (2017, May). Measuring engagement in active involvement interventions to reduce substance use among adolescents. Poster presented at the Society for Prevention Research (SPR), Washington, DC.
Greene, K., Ray, A. E., Bontempo, A., Hecht, M. L., Miller-Day, M., Carpenter, A., & Banerjee, S. C. (2017, April). Measuring engagement in active involvement interventions to reduce substance use among adolescents. Poster presented at the DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Bontempo, A. C., Raines A. M., Capron, D. W., & Schmidt, N. B. (2013, July). Examination of the relationships between OCD subtypes and suicide: The moderating role of AS cognitive concerns. Poster presented at the annual conference of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), Atlanta, GA.
Bontempo, A. C., Capron, D. W., Medley, A. N., Korte, K. J., Norr, A. M., & Schmidt, N. B. (2013, April). The role of indecisiveness across OCD symptoms. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), La Jolla, CA.
Picino, L. M., & Bontempo, A. C. (2012, May). Children who initiate pretense activities exhibit more complexity in their play. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), Chicago, IL.
Picino, L.M., Bontempo, A.C., Moulton, K.M., & Palermo, C.A. (2011, April). The relationship between initiating pretend play activities and the complexity of pretend play. Poster presented at the Sacred Heart University College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Fairfield, CT.
*Excellent Achievement Award, 2011
*Patterson, J., & Bontempo, A. C. (2022, November). Changing campus culture to facilitate undergraduate student mental health. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Undergraduate College and University Section, New Orleans, LA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2022, October). Preliminary development and validation of the perceived symptom invalidation scale among patients with endometriosis. Talk accepted to the annual conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Women’s Caucus, Boston, M.A.
Bontempo, A. C. (2022, May). Negative sequelae of invalidation of patient symptoms: A narrative review. Paper to be presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Health Communication Division, Paris, France.
Bontempo, A. C. (2021, November). The effect of personalized invalidation of symptoms by healthcare providers on patient depression: The mediating role of self-esteem. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Health Communication Division, Seattle, WA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2021, May). “I was told my symptoms were all in my head”: Toward the conceptual development and typology of invalidation of patients’ somatic symptoms. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Health Communication Division.
Lee, L. E., Greene, K., Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Catona, D., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. A. (2020, April). “If I need your help, I'll include you in the conversation”: Aligning and diverging perceptions in triadic cancer communication. Paper presented [virtually] at the biennial meeting of DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Senger-Mersich, A., Greene, K., Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Catona, D., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. A. (2020, April). Gynecologic cancer treatment appointments: Healthcare providers’ assessments of the role of support persons. Poster presented [virtually] at the biannual meeting of the DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2021, March). “I don’t know”: Positive patient attitudes toward physicians’ transparent communication of diagnostic uncertainty. Paper presented [virtually] at the New Jersey Communication Association 24th/25th annual conference, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Checton, M. G., Catona, D., Greene, K., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. (2020, November). “Mom, you’re not gonna get a trophy for saying, ‘I’m fine.’” Patient and companions dilemmas during companion participation in the gynecologic cancer medical interaction. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Health Communication Division, Indianapolis, IN.
Mikesell, L. & Bontempo, A. C. (2020, November). The value of trust in healthcare providers for patients with endometriosis. Paper presented [virtually] at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Health Communication Division, Indianapolis, IN.
Bontempo, A. C., Mikesell, L. & Aakhus, M. (2020, June). Patient and caregiver perceptions of mandatory education for bone marrow transplant. Poster presented at the Academy for Communication in Healthcare (ACH) Research Forum, Austin, TX.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, November). Invalidation of medical symptoms by physicians: State of the research literature and critique. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Interpersonal Communication Division, Baltimore, MD.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, November). Does communication matter? Invalidation of patient symptoms during the diagnostic process and its effects on self-esteem and depression. Poster presented at the Diagnostic Error in Medicine 12th Annual International Conference, Washington, DC. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, November). Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: Symptom misattributions stemming from null nondiscriminatory diagnostic testing for endometriosis. Poster presented at the Diagnostic Error in Medicine 12th Annual International Conference, Washington, DC. [View poster]
Catona, D., Bontempo, A., Checton, M., Venetis, M., & Greene, K. (2019, November). Conflicting views during gynecologic cancer care: A comparison of patients’ and caregivers’ perceptions of burden. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Cancer Forum, Philadelphia, PA.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, October). “Once and for all, we need our voices heard”: Examining patient-physician conflict through the lens of active-empathic listening. Poster presented at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH), San Diego, CA. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2019, October). A cry to be heard: Analysis of online survey engagement among patients with endometriosis. Poster presented at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH), San Diego, CA. [View poster]
Venetis, M. K., Bontempo, A. C., Catona, D., Checton, M. G., Greene, K., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. (2019, May). Support provider caregiving dilemmas during treatment of gynecologic cancer. Talk presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington, D.C.
Bontempo, A. C. (2019, May). Challenging diagnostic patient-physician interactions and their effect on patient depression and trust. Roundtable presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) Preconference: Difficult Conversations in Healthcare, Washington, D.C.
Checton, M. G., Venetis, M. K., Catona, D., Bontempo, A. C., Greene, K., Buckley de Meritens, A., & Devine, K. A. (2019, May). Gynecologic cancer patients’ and supporters’ reports of sharing (and holding back) cancer-related information during oncology visits. Poster presented at the 2019 Annual Retreat on Cancer Research, New Brunswick, NJ.
Catona, D., Bontempo, A. C., Greene, K., Checton, M. G., Venetis, M. K., Devine, K. A., & Buckley de Meritens, A. B. Cancer caregiving: A comparison of patients' and support persons' perceptions of caregiver burden. Poster presented at the 2019 DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Checton, M. G., Greene, K., Venetis, M. K., Catona, D., Devine, K., de Meritens, A. B., & Bontempo, A. (2019, May). Gynecologic cancer patients’ and supporters’ reports of sharing (and holding back) cancer-related information during oncology visits. Paper presented at the DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Bontempo, A. C., & Ognyanova, K. (2018, November). Therapeutic affordances of patient online communities. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Salt Lake City, UT.
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2018, November). High incidence of diagnostic error of endometriosis in the U.S. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Women’s Caucus, San Diego, CA. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2018, August). High incidence of diagnostic error of endometriosis in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Romania, and the UK. Poster presented at the annual conference of the European Health Psychology Society (EHPS), Galway, Ireland. [View poster]
Bontempo, A. C., Ognyanova, K., & Mikesell, L. (2018, April). Trust in physicians predicts patient online community use in women with endometriosis. Poster presented at the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication (KCHC), Lexington, KY. [View poster]
Theiss, J. A., Bontempo, A., & Yoon, D. B. (2017, November). A thematic analysis of the communicative challenges faced by romantic partners of military service members with post-traumatic stress disorder. Talk presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association (NCA), Dallas, TX.
Fadem, S., Kim, S., Mikesell, L., Bontempo, A., & Aakhus, M. (2017, June). Incorporating women’s experiences of bone marrow transplant into an interactive, video-based decision support system. Poster presented at the Women’s Healthcare Innovation and Leadership Showcase, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ.
Greene, K., Ray, A. E., Bontempo, A., Hecht, M. L., Miller-Day, M., Carpenter, A., & Banerjee, S. C. (2017, May). Measuring engagement in active involvement interventions to reduce substance use among adolescents. Poster presented at the Society for Prevention Research (SPR), Washington, DC.
Greene, K., Ray, A. E., Bontempo, A., Hecht, M. L., Miller-Day, M., Carpenter, A., & Banerjee, S. C. (2017, April). Measuring engagement in active involvement interventions to reduce substance use among adolescents. Poster presented at the DC Conference on Health Communication (DCHC), Fairfax, VA.
Bontempo, A. C., Raines A. M., Capron, D. W., & Schmidt, N. B. (2013, July). Examination of the relationships between OCD subtypes and suicide: The moderating role of AS cognitive concerns. Poster presented at the annual conference of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), Atlanta, GA.
Bontempo, A. C., Capron, D. W., Medley, A. N., Korte, K. J., Norr, A. M., & Schmidt, N. B. (2013, April). The role of indecisiveness across OCD symptoms. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), La Jolla, CA.
Picino, L. M., & Bontempo, A. C. (2012, May). Children who initiate pretense activities exhibit more complexity in their play. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), Chicago, IL.
Picino, L.M., Bontempo, A.C., Moulton, K.M., & Palermo, C.A. (2011, April). The relationship between initiating pretend play activities and the complexity of pretend play. Poster presented at the Sacred Heart University College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Fairfield, CT.
*Excellent Achievement Award, 2011
