Joan S. Tucker

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Senior Behavioral Scientist
Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in social psychology, University of California, Riverside; B.A. in psychology, University of California, Irvine

Overview

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.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Adolescent and young adult substance use
  • Substance use and sexual risk behavior among the homeless (youth, women, men)
  • Social network influences on health behaviors

Selected Publications

Joan S. Tucker et al., "Neighborhood Characteristics and the Initiation of Marijuana Use and Heavy Drinking," Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2013 (forthcoming)

Joan S. Tucker et al., "Substance Use and Other Risk Factors for Unprotected Sex: Results From An Event-Based Study of Homeless Youth," AIDS and Behavior, 16:1699-1707, 2012

Joan S. Tucker et al., "Predictors of Substance Abuse Treatment Need and Receipt Among Homeless Women," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 40:287-294, 2011

Joan S. Tucker et al., "Running Away From Home: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Risk Factors and Young Adult Outcomes," Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40:507-518, 2011

Joan S. Tucker et al., "Social Network and Individual Correlates of Sexual Risk Behavior Among Homeless Young Men Who Have Sex With Men," Journal of Adolescent Health, 51:386-392, 2011

Joan S. Tucker et al., "Is Substance Use a Barrier to Protected Sex Among Homeless Women?: Results From Between- and Within-Subjects Event Analyses," Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 71:86-94, 2010

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: ABC News Now; Healthy Life; United Press International; USA Today; Xinhua News Agency, China

Publications

HIV Risk Behavior and Access to Services: What Predicts HIV Testing Among Heterosexually Active Homeless Men - 2013

Masculinity and HIV Risk Among Homeless Men in Los Angeles - 2013

Monogamy on the Street: A Mixed Methods Study of Homeless Men - 2013

Neighborhood Characteristics and the Initiation of Marijuana Use and Binge Drinking - 2013

Peer Influence and Selection Processes in Adolescent Smoking Behavior: A Comparative Study - 2013

Temporal Associations of Popularity and Alcohol Use Among Middle School Students - 2013

Are Social Network Correlates of Heavy Drinking Similar Among Black Homeless Youth and White Homeless Youth? - 2012

Assessing Measurement Invariance of Familism and Parental Respect Across Race/Ethnicity in Adolescents - 2012

Behavioral Health and Social Normative Influence: Correlates of Concurrent Sexual Partnering Among Heterosexually-Active Homeless Men - 2012

Bias and Variance Trade-Offs When Combining Propensity Score Weighting and Regression: With an Application to HIV Status and Homeless Men - 2012

If You Provide the Test, They Will Take It: Factors Associated with HIV/STI Testing in a Representative Sample of Homeless Youth in Los Angeles - 2012

Preventing Alcohol Use with a Voluntary After-School Program for Middle School Students: Results from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of CHOICE - 2012

Racial/ethnic Differences in the Influence of Cultural Values, Alcohol Resistance Self-Efficacy, and Alcohol Expectancies on Risk for Alcohol Initiation - 2012

Social Distance and Homophily in Adolescent Smoking Initiation - 2012

Social Network and Individual Correlates of Sexual Risk Behavior Among Homeless Young Men Who Have Sex with Men - 2012

Substance Use and Other Risk Factors for Unprotected Sex: Results from an Event-Based Study of Homeless Youth - 2012

Toward a More Systematic Assessment of Smoking: Development of a Smoking Module for PROMIS® - 2012

Understanding Heterosexual Condom Use Among Homeless Men - 2012

Understanding Pregnancy-Related Attitudes and Behaviors: A Mixed-Methods Study Homeless Youth - 2012

Unprotected Sex Among Heterosexually Active Homeless Men: Results from a Multi-Level Dyadic Analysis - 2012

Unprotected Sex of Homeless Youth: Results from a Multilevel Analysis of Individual, Social Network, and Relationship Factors - 2012

Voluntary After-School Alcohol and Drug Programs for Middle School Youth: If You Build It Right, They Will Come - 2012

Who Is Supporting Homeless Youth? Predictors of Support in Personal Networks - 2012

A Unified Framework for Smoking Assessment: The PROMIS Smoking Initiative - 2011

Increased Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migratory Homeless Youth: Exploring the Role of Social Network Composition - 2011

Multisite Cost Analysis of a School-Based Voluntary Alcohol and Drug Prevention Program - 2011

Nonexperts' Recognition of Structure in Personal Network Data - 2011

Resisting Smoking When a Best Friend Smokes: Do Intrapersonal and Contextual Factors Matter? - 2011

Romantic Attraction and Adolescent Smoking Trajectories - 2011

Sex and Relationships on the Street: How Homeless Men Judge Partner Risk on Skid Row - 2011

Social Networks of Homeless Youth in Emerging Adulthood - 2011

Substance Use Among Middle School Students: Associations with Self-Rated and Peer-Nominated Popularity - 2011

The Social Context of Homeless Men's Substance Use - 2011

Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Change in Smoking Status - 2010

Friendship Networks and Trajectories of Adolescent Tobacco Use - 2010

Is Substance Use a Barrier to Protected Sex Among Homeless Women? Results from Between- and Within-Subjects Event Analyses - 2010

Peer Influence and Selection Effects on Adolescent Smoking - 2010

Personal Network Correlates of Alcohol, Cigarette, and Marijuana Use Among Homeless Youth - 2010

Predictors of Substance Abuse Treatment Need and Receipt Among Homeless Women - 2010

Racial/ethnic Differences in Adolescent Substance Use: Mediation by Individual, Family, and School Factors - 2010

Running Away from Home: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Risk Factors and Young Adult Outcomes - 2010

Sampling to Reduce Respondent Burden in Personal Network Studies and Its Effect on Estimates of Structural Measures - 2010

The Influence of Personal, Family, and School Factors on Early Adolescent Substance Use - 2010

Unprotected Sex of Homeless Women Living in Los Angeles County: An Investigation of the Multiple Levels of Risk - 2010

Creating a Developmentally Sensitive Measure of Adolescent Alcohol Misuse: An Application of Item Response Theory - 2009

Homeless Women's Personal Networks: Implications for Understanding Risk Behavior - 2009

The Social Context of Homeless Women's Alcohol and Drug Use - 2009

When, Where, Why and with Whom Homeless Women Engage in Risky Sexual Behaviors: A Framework for Understanding Complex and Varied Decision-Making Processes - 2009

Growing Up in a Permissive Household: What Deters At-Risk Adolescents from Heavy Drinking? - 2008

Reducing Early Smokers' Risk for Future Smoking and Other Problem Behavior: Insights from a Five-Year Longitudinal Study - 2008

Stability of Physical Activity Across the Lifespan - 2008

Temporal Associations of Cigarette Smoking with Social Influences, Academic Performance, and Delinquency: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study from Ages 13-23 - 2008

Understanding Differences in Substance Use Among Bisexual and Heterosexual Young Women - 2008

A Discrete Time Hazards Model of Smoking Initiation Among West Coast Youth from Age 5 to 23 - 2007

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues Among People with HIV: Lessons from HCSUS - 2007

New Perspectives on Marijuana and Youth: Abstainers Are Not Maladjusted, but Lone Users Face Difficulties - 2007

Relationship Commitment and Its Implications for Unprotected Sex Among Impoverished Women Living in Shelters and Low-Income Housing in Los Angeles County - 2007

Sexual Risk Among Impoverished Women: Understanding the Role of Housing Status - 2007

Treatment Process in the Therapeutic Community: Associations with Retention and Outcomes Among Adolescent Residential Clients - 2007

A Discrete Time Hazards Model of Smoking Initiation Among West Coast Youth from Age 5 to 23 - 2006

Affective and Behavioral Responses to Health-Related Social Control - 2006

Are Drug Experimenters Better Adjusted Than Abstainers and Users? A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Marijuana Use - 2006

Cigarette Smoking from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Women's Developmental Trajectories and Associates Outcomes - 2006

Does Solitary Substance Use Increase Adolescents' Risk for Poor Psychosocial and Behavioral Outcomes? A 9-Year Longitudinal Study Comparing Solitary and Social Users - 2006

Predictors of Unprotected Sex with Non-Cohabitating Primary Partners Among Sheltered and Low-Income Housed Women in Los Angeles County - 2006

Social Control of Health Behavior: Associations With Conscientiousness and Neuroticism - 2006

Toward a More Comprehensive Understanding of Violence Against Impoverished Women - 2006

Victimization and Health Among Indigent Young Women in the Transition to Adulthood: A Portrait of Need - 2006

A Prospective Study of Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use Among Impoverished Women Living in Temporary Shelter Settings in Los Angeles County - 2005

Concurrent Use of Alcohol and Cigarettes from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: An Examination of Developmental Trajectories and Outcomes - 2005

Experiencing Interpersonal Violence: Perspectives of Sexually Active, Substance-Using Women Living in Shelters and Low-Income Housing - 2005

HIV Testing Among Indigent Women: Who Gets Tested? - 2005

Longevity Following the Experience of Parental Divorce - 2005

Predictors of Attempted Quitting and Cessation Among Young Adult Smokers - 2005

Reemphasizing the Context of Women's Risk for HIV/AIDS in the United States - 2005

Substance Use Trajectories from Early Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: A Comparison of Smoking, Binge Drinking, and Marijuana Use - 2005

Trauma, Depression, Coping, and Mental Health Service Seeking Among Impoverished Women - 2005

A Cross-Lagged Model of Psychiatric Problems and Health-Related Quality of Life Among a National Sample of HIV-Positive Adults - 2004

Antecedents and Outcomes of Marijuana Use Initiation During Adolescence - 2004

Classroom Drug Prevention Works - 2004

Developmental Trajectories of Cigarette Smoking and Their Correlates from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood - 2004

From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Smoking - 2004

Interpersonal Violence, Substance Use, and HIV-related Behavior and Cognitions: A Prospective Study of Impoverished Women in Los Angeles County - 2004

Prevalence and Co-Occurrence of Violence, Substance Use and Disorder, and HIV Risk Behavior: A Comparison of Sheltered and Low-Income Housed Women in Los Angeles County - 2004

Psychosocial Mediators of Antiretroviral Nonadherence in HIV-positive Adults with Substance Use and Mental Health Problems - 2004

Social Control of Health Behaviors: Comparison of Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults - 2004

Combination Antiretroviral Therapy and Improvements in Mental Health: Results from a Nationally Representative Sample of Persons Undergoing Care for HIV in the United States - 2003

Five-Year Prospective Study of Risk Factors for Daily Smoking in Adolescence Among Early Nonsmokers and Experimenters - 2003

HIV Risk Behaviors and Their Correlates Among HIV-positive Adults with Serious Mental Illness - 2003

Health Risk Appraisals and Medicare - 2003

Patterns and Correlates of Binge Drinking Trajectories from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood - 2003

Patterns and Correlates of HIV Testing Among Sheltered and Low-Income Housed Women in Los Angeles County - 2003

Personal and Psychosocial Characteristics Associated with Psychiatric Conditions Among Women with Human Immunodeficiency Virus - 2003

Predictors of the Transition to Regular Smoking During Adolescence and Young Adulthood - 2003

Substance Use and Mental Health Correlates of Nonadherence to Antiretroviral Medications in a Sample of Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection - 2003

Ten-year Prospective Study of Public Health Problems Associated with Early Drinking - 2003

A Life Course Perspective on Childhood Cheerfulness and Its Relation to Mortality Risk - 2002

Does Early Smoking Signal Later Problems? - 2002

Prospective Risk Factors for Alcohol Misuse in Late Adolescence - 2002

Smoking Cessation During the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood - 2002

High-Risk Behaviors Associated with Early Smoking: Results From a 5-Year Follow-Up - 2001

Sex Differences in Predictors of Adolescent Smoking Cessation - 2001

Social Control of Health Behaviors in Marriage - 2001

Age-related Changes in Associations of Social Network Ties with Mortality Risk - 1999

Association of Childhood Abuse with Homeless Women's Social Networks -

Health-related Social Control Within Older Adults' Relationships -