Rachel Burns

Research Interests 

Dr. Burns’ research interests are in health psychology. In one line of research, she examines associations between mental health and physical health outcomes, especially those related to type 2 diabetes, with an eye towards understanding how these processes unfold over time. In this line of research, she has examined: (a) psychological wellbeing as a predictor of the development of type 2 diabetes (e.g., do patterns of depressive symptoms predict risk of developing diabetes?), (b) psychosocial predictors of psychological wellbeing among adults with type 2 diabetes (e.g., does optimism buffer against the development of depressive symptoms among people with diabetes?), and (c) psychological wellbeing as a predictor of health behaviours and outcomes among individuals with type 2 diabetes (e.g., is positive psychological wellbeing associated with health behaviours among people with diabetes?). A related line of research leverages psychological theory to explore social and cognitive processes that shape health behavior in the general population. Currently, much of this work has focussed on habit and positive psychological wellbeing as correlates of physical activity.

Selected Publications

Burns, R.J., Forget, G.C., & Fardfini-Ruginets, K. (2025). Using specification curve analysis to explore prospective associations between dimensions of positive psychological wellbeing and cardiometabolic disease. Health Psychology, 44, 696-707.

Burns, R.J., Ford, K., Forget, G., Fardfini, K., & Ward, R. (2025). Courses of depressive symptoms and diabetes incidence among middle-aged and older adults. PLOS ONE, 20(4): e0321712

McMillan, G., Milyavskaya, M., & Burns, R.J. (2023). Behaviour change after context disruption: opportunities and pitfalls. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 17, e12845.

Corno, D., & Burns, R.J. (2022). Loneliness and functional limitations among older adults with diabetes: Comparing directional models. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 154, 110740.

Burns, R.J., Briner, E., & Schmitz, N. (2022). Trajectories of depressive symptoms and incident diabetes: A prospective study. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 56, 311-316.

Burns, R.J., & Fardfini, K. (2021). Prevalence and correlates of positive mental health among Canadian adults with type 1 or type 2  diabetes: Results from the Canadian Community Health Survey- Mental Health. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 45, 601-606.