Ralph DiClemente

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Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

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:

Developing interventions to reduce the risk of HIV/STD among vulnerable populations
Developing interventions to enhance vaccine uptake among high-risk adolescents and women, such as HPV and influenza vaccine
Developing implementation science interventions to enhance the uptake, adoption and sustainability of HIV/STD prevention programs in the community
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

Exploring why young African American women do not change condom-use behavior following participation in an STI/HIV prevention intervention

Family-based HIV-Prevention for adolescents with psychiatric disorders

Family-centered program deters substance use, conduct problems, and depressive symptoms in black adolescents

Gender differences in sexual risk behaviours and sexually transmissible infections among adolescents in mental health treatment

Human papillomavirus vaccine intention among college men: What's oral sex got to do with it?

Integrating condom skills into family-centered prevention: Efficacy of the strong african american families-teen program

Mania Symptoms and HIV-Risk Behavior Among Adolescents in Mental Health Treatment

Predicting discordance between self-reports of sexual behavior and incident sexually transmitted infections with african american female adolescents: Results from a 4-city study

Prevalence and Correlates of Recent Vaginal Douching among African American Adolescent Females

Prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine use in African-Americans with acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Preventing HIV Among African American Female Adolescents

Racial identity and risky sexual behaviors among black heterosexual men

Recruiting and Retaining High-Risk Adolescents into Family-Based HIV Prevention Intervention Research

Rural African American Parents' Knowledge and Decisions About Human Papillomavirus Vaccination

Sexual sensation seeking, drug use and risky sex among detained youth

Sexually Transmitted Infections, Sexual Risk Behavior, and Intimate Partner Violence among African American Adolescent Females with a Male Sex Partner Recently Released from Incarceration

Smoking as a risk factor for STI diagnosis among African American females

Berg, C. J., Painter, J. E., Sales, J. M., Mays, D., Rose, E., Wingood, G. M., & DiClemente, R. J. (n.d.).

Publication year

2012

Journal title

American Journal of Health Behavior

Volume

Issue

Page(s)

505-512

10.5993/AJHB.36.4.7

Abstract

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the relationship of smoking to sexual risk outcomes among African American adolescent females. Methods: We analyzed baseline data from an HIV intervention trial, including sexual risk (older sex partners, number of vaginal sex partners, sex while high on drugs/alcohol, STI diagnosis) and smoking status among 715 participants. Results: Smoking prevalence was 23.1%. Controlling for covariates, smoking predicted having older partners (P=.001), having sex while high on alcohol or drugs (P<.001), and STI diagnosis (P=.046), after including other sexual risk outcomes in the model. Conclusions: Smoking is an independent risk factor for sexual risk behaviors and STI diagnosis. Copyright (c) PNG Publications. All rights reserved.

The association between alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors among African American women across three developmental periods: A review

The mediating role of partner communication frequency on condom use among African American adolescent females participating in an HIV prevention intervention

The Strong African American Families-Teen Trial: Rationale, Design, Engagement Processes, and Family-Specific Effects

A randomized controlled trial of a culturally congruent intervention to increase condom use and HIV testing among heterosexually active immigrant latino men