Northern Illinois University
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Research Interests

Dr. Lilly’s research has focused predominantly on cognitive and emotional processes that predict post-trauma psychopathology. Influenced by the literature on mindfulness- and acceptance-based therapies, she has incorporated a particular focus on how emotion regulation enhances risk for psychopathology, revictimization, and violence perpetration among trauma survivors. Dr. Lilly has conducted research on the mental and physical health of first responders, a population that has received scant empirical attention despite high risk for stress- and trauma-related outcomes. The 9-1-1 population, in particular, is a unique and high-risk group that can provide valuable insight into trauma-related processes and post-trauma outcomes.

Representative Publications

• Jessen, A. K., and Lilly, M. M. (2025). The impact of social support on world assumptions and PTSD symptoms in a sample of public safety communicators. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/tra0001891
• Valentine, J., Jessen, A. K., and Lilly, M. M. (2025). Racial discrimination, racial trauma, and PTSD in college students. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/tra0002041
• Tappenden, P. C., Cole, T. A., Valentine, J. N., and Lilly, M. M. (2024). Examining the psychometric properties of the expressions of moral injury scale in a sample of first responders. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 16, 1319-1328. doi: 10.1037/tra0001569
• Reffi, A. N., Kalmbach, D. A., Cheng, P., Tappenden, P., Valentine, J., Drake, C. L., Pigeon, W., Pickett, S., and Lilly, M. (2023). Fear of sleep in first responders: Associations with trauma types, psychopathology, and sleep disturbances. SLEEP Advances.
• Reffi, A. N., Laman-Maharg, B., Pawirosetiko, J. S., and Lilly, M. M. (2021). Measuring mindfulness in emergency telecommunicators: A preliminary study of a revised observing construct. Mindfulness, 12, 2339-2353. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01708-3
• Valdez, C. E., London, M. J., Gregorich, S. E., and Lilly, M. M. (2021). Development and validation of the trauma-related cognitions scale. Plos One, 16(4), e0250221. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250221
• Dadouch, Z., and Lilly, M. M. (2020). Post-trauma psychopathology in journalists: The influence of institutional betrayal and world assumptions. Journalism Practice, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17512786.2020.1755606
• Valdez, C. E., and Lilly, M. M. (2019). The effects of dissociation on analogue trauma symptoms after trauma processing among women with varying histories of lifespan victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0886260519829273
• Lilly, M. M., Calhoun, B., Painter, I., et al. (2019). Destress 9-1-1: Efficacy of an online mindfulness-based intervention in reducing stress among 9-1-1 telecommunicators. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 76, 705-711. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2018-105598
• Lim, B. H., Hodges, M. A., and Lilly, M. M. (2019). The differential effects of insecure attachment on posttraumatic stress: A systematic review of the extant findings and explanatory mechanisms. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1. doi: 10.1177/1524838018815136