Ralph DiClemente

Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Dr. Ralph DiClemente was trained as a Health Psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco where he received his PhD in 1984 after completing a ScM at the Harvard School of Public Health.  He earned his undergraduate degree at the City University of New York.

Dr. DiClemente’s research has four key foci:

1. Developing interventions to reduce the risk of HIV/STD among vulnerable populations
2. Developing interventions to enhance vaccine uptake among high-risk adolescents and women, such as HPV and influenza vaccine
3. Developing implementation science interventions to enhance the uptake, adoption and sustainability of HIV/STD prevention programs in the community
4. Developing diabetes screening and behavior change interventions to identify people with diabetes who are unaware of their disease status as well as reduce the risk of diabetes among vulnerable populations.

He has focused on developing intervention packages that blend community and technology-based approaches that are designed to optimize program effectiveness and enhance programmatic sustainability.

Dr. DiClemente is the author of ten CDC-defined, evidence-based interventions for adolescents and young African-American women and men. He is the author of more than 540 peer-review publications, 150 book chapters, and 21 books. He serves as a member of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council.

Previously, Dr. DiClemente served as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.  He was also Associate Director of the Center for AIDS Research, and was previously Chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at the Rollins School of Public Health.

Dr. DiClemente is Past President of the Georgia chapter of the Society for Adolescent Health & Medicine.  He previously served as a member of the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors, and the NIMH Advisory Council.

Education

BA, The City College of the City University of New York (CCNY), New York, NY

ScM, Behavioral Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

PhD, Health Psychology, University of California San Francisco Center for Behavioral Sciences, San Francisco, CA

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, CA

Areas of research and study

Community Interventions

Diabetes

HIV/AIDS

Implementation science

Influenza

Psychology

Publications

Publications

Juvenile Justice-Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ-TRIALS): A cluster randomized trial targeting system-wide improvement in substance use services

Failed generating bibliography.

Publication year

2016

Journal title

Implementation Science

Volume

11

Issue

1

10.1186/s13012-016-0423-5

Abstract

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this paper is to describe the Juvenile Justice-Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ-TRIALS) study, a cooperative implementation science initiative involving the National Institute on Drug Abuse, six research centers, a coordinating center, and Juvenile Justice Partners representing seven US states. While the pooling of resources across centers enables a robust implementation study design involving 36 juvenile justice agencies and their behavioral health partner agencies, co-producing a study protocol that has potential to advance implementation science, meets the needs of all constituencies (funding agency, researchers, partners, study sites), and can be implemented with fidelity across the cooperative can be challenging. This paper describes (a) the study background and rationale, including the juvenile justice context and best practices for substance use disorders, (b) the selection and use of an implementation science framework to guide study design and inform selection of implementation components, and (c) the specific study design elements, including research questions, implementation interventions, measurement, and analytic plan. Methods/design: The JJ-TRIALS primary study uses a head-to-head cluster randomized trial with a phased rollout to evaluate the differential effectiveness of two conditions (Core and Enhanced) in 36 sites located in seven states. A Core strategy for promoting change is compared to an Enhanced strategy that incorporates all core strategies plus active facilitation. Target outcomes include improvements in evidence-based screening, assessment, and linkage to substance use treatment. Discussion: Contributions to implementation science are discussed as well as challenges associated with designing and deploying a complex, collaborative project. Trial registration:NCT02672150.

Lessons Learned From Delivering Imara, an HIV/STI Risk Reduction Intervention for African American Girls in Juvenile Detention

Masculinity and HIV: Dimensions of Masculine Norms that Contribute to Men’s HIV-Related Sexual Behaviors

Predicting Unprotected Sex and Unplanned Pregnancy among Urban African-American Adolescent Girls Using the Theory of Gender and Power

Preexisting chronic health conditions and health insurance status associated with vaccine receipt among adolescents

Recommendations for Structure and Content for a School-Based Adolescent Immunization Curriculum

Rethinking funding priorities in mental health research

Risk Communication

Sexual Risk Among African American Women: Psychological Factors and the Mediating Role of Social Skills

Substance Use Patterns of HIV-Infected Russian Women with and Without Hepatitis C Virus Co-infection

Taking mhealth forward: Examining the core characteristics

Validity of Self-reported Sexual Behavior Among Adolescents: Where Do We Go from Here?

DiClemente, R. J. (n.d.).

Publication year

2016

Journal title

AIDS and Behavior

Volume

20

Page(s)

215-217

10.1007/s10461-015-1217-5

Abstract

Abstract

Adolescents have high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Adolescents consuming alcohol and using drugs have markedly greater HIV/STI risk and are a priority population for intervention. Accurate measurement of sexual risk behavior is critical for understanding individual’s risk for HIV/STI, transmission dynamics of HIV/STI, and evaluating the efficacy of interventions designed reduce HIV/STI risk. However, significant challenges to accurately measuring adolescents’ self-reported sexual behavior are well-documented. Recent advances in microbiology, such as the use of less invasive specimen collection for DNA assays, can assist researchers in more accurately measuring adolescents’ sexual risk behavior. However, the majority of studies of adolescents’ sexual risk rely solely on self-reported behavior; therefore, methods to improve the validity of adolescents’ self-reported sexual behavior are needed. In addition, integrating biologic measures to complement self-reported measures are recommended, when appropriate and feasible.

Abuse Impedes Prevention: The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and HIV/STI Risk Among Young African American Women

Acceptance of and experiences utilising expedited partner therapy among African-American juvenile girls

Adolescent sex offenders

Ricks, J. N. M., & DiClemente, R. J. (n.d.). In Handbook of Adolescent Behavioral Problems (1–).

Publication year

2015

Page(s)

577-593

10.1007/978-1-4899-7497-6_30

Abstract

Abstract

In the United States, law enforcement and judicial systems and mental health professionals continue to struggle to deal with the rise in the number of juvenile sex offenders. The consequences of sex offending are substantial for victims, society, perpetrators, and their families, involving significant human (emotional and physical suffering) and financial costs. Adolescent sexual offending is a complex phenomenon that cannot be easily explained. Many theories have been proposed to explain why some children and teens sexually abuse others. However, to date there is no empirically derived and tested model to explain what motivates adolescents to perpetrate sexual crimes. This chapter provides an overview of biological, individual, familial, social, and behavioral characteristics of adolescents who have sexually offended. This chapter also reviews common approaches to treating and preventing recurrent sexually aggressive behavior in juveniles.

Association of depressive symptoms and substance use with risky sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infections among African American female adolescents seeking sexual health care

Associations Between a Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene, Alcohol Use, and Sexual Behaviors Among Female Adolescent African Americans

Explaining racial disparities in HIV incidence in black and white men who have sex with men in Atlanta, GA: A prospective observational cohort study

Focusing national institutes of health HIV/AIDS research for maximum population impact

Genetic sensitivity to emotional cues, racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among African–American adolescent females

Hiv risk and prevention among adjudicated adolescents

HIV Risk Interventions

Human papillomavirus vaccination among adolescents in Georgia

Identifying psychosocial and social correlates of sexually transmitted diseases among black female teenagers

Influence of sexual arousability on partner communication mediators of condom use among African American female adolescents