James M. Ragsdale, Ph.D.

Lecturer
James Ragsdale
he, him, his

Summary

James M. Ragsdale has a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Social Psychology and a master's in Sociology from the University of Nevada, Reno. He specializes in social research analytics and is primarily focused on the sociology of mental health, including stigma related to mental illness and substance use disorders. James has published on various issues of psychiatric epidemiology and how causal beliefs about mental illness affect stigmatizing attitudes and support for mental health policies. Additionally, he has also studied how moral psychology affects these attitudes.

Publications

  • Elliott, M. & Ragsdale, J. M. (2026). Pity vs. empathy: Emotional responses to mental illness and their effects on stigma. Society and Mental Health. Advance online publication.
  • Ragsdale, J. M. & Elliott, M. (2025). Moral foundations, opioid use disorder, and methadone clinic stigma. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication.
  • Elliott, M., Ragsdale, J. M. (2025). Public support for hybrid work arrangements: An experimental study of the effects of the employee’s occupational status, mental health, and gender. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 1–9.
  • Elliott, M., Ragsdale, J. M., & Lamotte, M. (2024). Causal explanations, treatability, and mental illness stigma: An experimental study. Psychiatric Services, 75(2): 131-138.
  • Elliott, M., & Ragsdale, J. M. (2024). Public stigma toward people with bipolar versus borderline: An experimental study of attributions, treatability, race, and gender. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication.
  • Elliott, M., & Ragsdale, J. M. (2023). Nature and/or nurture: causal attributions of mental illness and stigma. Social Psychology Quarterly, 87(2), 175-196.
  • Cabell, J. J., Wood, K. A., High, C., Cooper, A., Dogan, I., Gannon, M., Ragsdale, J. M., & Gruys, K. (2022). Staying in touch during COVID-19: How communication methods varied by age and COVID-related experiences. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 1-13.
  • Elliott, M., & Ragsdale, J. M., (2022). Examining the stigma of bipolar and border by causal explanation and treatment modality [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Interdisciplinary Social Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno.
  • Elliott, M., & Ragsdale, J. M. (2022). Stress exposure and well-being: Correlates of meeting criteria for bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, or both. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 57(9): 1885-1896.
  • Ragsdale, J. M., and Elliott, M. (2022). Opioid addiction, attributions, and stigma: An online vignette experimental study. Stigma and Health, 7(2): 205-213.
  • Ragsdale, J. M., Lamotte, M., & Elliott, M. (2022). The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on stress: A cross-national analysis of economic and public health policies and individual characteristics. In M. Elliott (Ed.). Research Handbook on Society and Mental Health. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN: 978 1 80037 847 6.
  • Elliott, M., & Ragsdale, J. (2020). Mental health professionals with mental illness: A qualitative in-depth interview study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(6): 677-686.

Courses taught

  • SOC 101: Principles of Sociology (Online)
  • APST 207: Introduction to Applied Statistics (Online)
  • SOC 458: Sociology of Mental Health (Online)
  • APST 470/670: Regression
  • APST 465/665: Survey Research Design and Analysis
  • APST 467/667: Applied Data Analysis and Visualization
  • SOC 706: Intermediate Statistics

Awards

  • Bilinski Educational Foundation Dissertation Year Fellowship (2025)
  • Outstanding Commitment to Sociology and Research Analytics Award (2024)
  • Founders’ Best Research Paper Award (2022)
  • Graduate Dean’s Merit Scholarship (2021)
  • Department of Sociology’s Graduate Excellence in Research Award (2020)
  • Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship (2014-2018)

Education

  • Ph.D., Interdisciplinary Social Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno
    • Social Research Analytics Certificate
  • M.A., Sociology, University of Nevada, Reno
  • B.A., Psychology and Sociology with a specialization in behavior analysis, University of Nevada, Reno