Joan S. Tucker

Biography

Joan S. Tucker is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. She conducts research primarily in the areas of substance use and HIV/AIDS. Her work on substance use includes identifying developmental trajectories of substance use, risk factors for initiation and escalation, and short- and long-term consequences of use during adolescence and young adulthood. Her HIV-related research includes investigating the impact of mental health and substance use problems on adherence to antiretroviral medications; prevalence and correlates of risky sexual practices among HIV-positive adults with serious mental illness; and the interrelationships of substance use, violence, and HIV-related risk behavior among homeless adults and youth. Much of Tucker's recent research has used social network analysis to better understand the social context of substance use and sexual risk behavior. Tucker is the 2004 recipient of the Western Psychological Association Outstanding Research Award, as well as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Tucker received her Ph.D. in social psychology from University of California, Riverside.