Faculty

Background and Expertise:

Dr. Rebecca Schwartz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences. She received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004. While in graduate school, Dr. Schwartz was a recipient of a NIMH predoctoral research training fellowship in urban children’s mental health and AIDS prevention. Dr. Schwartz has clinical expertise in psychotherapy with youth and has particular experience in therapeutic interventions for youth who are HIV positive. She completed her clinical internship in June 2004 in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia Medical Center. Dr. Schwartz was a NIH BIRCWH (Building Integrative Research Careers in Women's Health) postdoctoral fellow at SUNY Downstate from 2004-2007. Her primary research interests are in the areas of primary and secondary prevention of HIV and other STIs with a focus on mental health and other psychosocial correlates of risk behavior, particularly as they pertain to women. She is currently a co-investigator on a multi-site study of HIV positive women and the principle investigator on a local study focused on the association between gender-based violence and medication adherence among HIV positive women.

Area of Study:

Mental Health and STI/HIV Prevention:

There is a great deal of evidence to suggest a strong association between Sexual Transmitted Infection (including HIV) acquisition/transmission and mental health difficulties. For example, studies have found lifetime rates of depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder to be well over 50% among HIV positive individuals. In addition, the mental health burden is that much greater for individuals who have limited access to resources. The primary aim of my program of research is to examine this intersection between mental health and STI/HIV prevention with a particular focus on young, ethnic minority women. I have a particular interest in the impact of gender-based violence on sexual risk behavior, substance abuse and HIV medication adherence among this population.

Courses Taught:

• CHSC 5306: Psychosocial and Behavioral Epidemiology
• CHSC TBD: Community-Based Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation

Current Projects:

Understanding the Association Between Victimization and Medication Adherence Among HIV Positive Women

Women's Interagency HIV Study

Publications:

Schwartz RM, Hogben M, Liddon N, Augenbraun M, McCormack WM, Rubin S, Wilson TE (2008). Coping with a diagnosis of C Trachomatis or N Gonorrhoeae: Psychosocial and behavioral correlates. Journal of Health Psychology, 13(7), 921-929.

Cook JA, Burke-Miller JK, Cohen MH, Cook RL, Vlahov D, Wilson TE, Golub ET, Schwartz RM, Howard AA, Ponath C, Plankey MW, Levine A, Grey DD. (2008). Crack cocaine, disease progression, and mortality in a multi-center cohort of HIV-1 positive women. AIDS, 22(11), 1655-1363.

Merenstein DJ, Schneider MF, Cox C, Schwartz RM, Weber K, Robinson E, Gandhi M, Richardson J, Plankey MW (2008). The association between living with children and adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Pediatrics, 121(4), e787-e793.

Walkup J, Blank M, Gonzalez JS, Safren S, Schwartz RM, Brown L, Wilson I, Knowlton A, Lombard F, Grossman C, Lyda K, & Schumaker JE (2008). Mental health and substance abuse factors impacting on HIV prevention and treatment. JAIDS, 47(S1), S15-S19.

Cook J, Grey D, Burke-Miller J, Cohen M, Vlahov D, Kapadia F, Wilson TE, Cook R, Schwartz RM, Golub E, Anastos, K, Ponath C, Goparaju L, Levine A. (2007). Illicit drug use, depression and their association with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV-positive women. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 89(1), 74-81.

Schwartz RM, Malka ES, Augenbraun M, Rubin S, Hogben M, Liddon N, McCormack WM, Wilson TE (2006). Predictors of partner notification for C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae: An examination of social, cognitive, and psychological factors. Journal of Urban Health, 83(6), 1095-1104.

Donenberg GR, Schwartz RM, Emerson E, Wilson H, Coleman G, Clark S, & Bryant FB (2005). Applying a cognitive-behavioral model of HIV risk to youths in psychiatric care. AIDS Education and Prevention, 17(3), 200-216.

Complete references and link to NCBI abstracts.