Dr. DeShong is a first-generation college student who grew up in a small town in southcentral Pennsylvania. She attended WVU as an undergraduate and Villanova for an experimental master's degree before moving to Oklahoma for her doctoral training, working under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Mullins-Sweatt. Dr. DeShong's research focuses on using the five-factor model of general personality to conceptualize, distinguish, and better understand personality disorders and personality constructs like psychopathy and Machiavellianism. She also investigates how personality can influence engagement in adaptive and maladaptive behaviors and thinking styles, such as substance use, suicidal behavior, and rumination. Dr. DeShong teaches several graduate courses that provide training on conducting assessments and therapy.

Education

• B.S., Psychology, West Virginia University, 2009
• M.S., Psychology, Villanova University, 2011
• M.S., Clinical Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 2013
• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 2017
• Doctoral Internship, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, 2017

Research Interests

Dr. DeShong conducts research focusing on the conceptualization of personality traits and personality disorders. Recent projects have investigated personality and personality pathology in relation to childhood risk factors, self-harm, religiosity, rumination, and suicide risk. If you are interested in working in my lab, either as an undergraduate research assistant or as a doctoral student in MSU’s clinical psychology program, please email Dr. DeShong at hld166@msstate.edu.

Representative Recent Publications

Mason, C. K.**, Rios, L. A.*, & DeShong, H. L. (In Press). Examining negative thinking styles and thought control strategies within borderline personality disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment.

DeShong, H. L., Mason, C.**, Nelson, S. M., Kelley, K.**, & McDaniel, C.** (In Press). Borderline personality disorder traits and symptoms and rates of NSSI during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An initial investigation. Journal of American College Health.

​Kelley, K.**, & DeShong, H.L. (In Press). Examining Facet-Level Distinctions within the Trait-Interpersonal Model of Suicide Risk. Personality and Individual Differences.

​DeShong, H.L., & Kelley, K.** (2022). Investigating the incremental validity of negative thinking styles and facets of neuroticism within depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 44, 962-971.

​McDaniel, C. J.**, DeShong, H. L., Nadorff, M. D., & Rufino, K. (2022). The Synergistic Effects of Neuroticism and Extraversion on Suicidal Ideation, Single Attempts, and Multiple Attempts in an Inpatient Sample. Journal of Personality Disorders.

​​Athar, M. E., Jazi, E. A., Lashgari, Z., Azizi, M., Karimi, S., & DeShong, H. L. (2022). Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the short-form five factor borderline inventory (FFBI-SF). BMC Psychiatry, 22, 83-93.

​Dozier, M., & DeShong, H. L. (2022). The association between personality traits and hoarding behaviors. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 35, 53-58.

Kelley, K.**, Walgren, M.D.*, & DeShong, H. L. (2021). Rumination as a transdiagnostic process: The role of rumination in relation to antisocial and borderline symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 295, 865-872.