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Inna Rivkin, Ph.D.

I was born in Russia, but moved to the U.S. with my family in 1977. I received my B.A. in psychology from UC Berkeley, and my Ph.D. in social psychology (with minors in health psychology and psychometrics) from UCLA. I completed a post-doctoral fellowship in an interdisciplinary research training program on psychosocial and mental health services for people living with HIV. I moved to Alaska in 2006 and worked as a visiting faculty member in the Psychology Department at UAA, before joining the faculty here in the Psychology Department at ����Ӱҵ in 2007.

My research focuses on adaptation in a social and cultural context, collaborative community-driven interventions building on Indigenous cultural and community strengths, the role of narratives in health and well-being, and the integration of mentorship and digital storytelling to help build personal, community, and cultural resources for Indigenous youth. Storytelling is a wonderful way of celebrating and sharing culture and connecting across generations. I enjoy mentoring students in research, and value the co-learning process that takes place in an interdisciplinary team where community partners, researchers, and students work together to promote wellness in rural Alaska Native communities.

I am a researcher with the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) at ����Ӱҵ, and was part of a number of CANHR research collaborations with rural Indigenous communities, including:

• "Yup'ik Experiences of Stress and Coping” 
• “Getting through a Pandemic: The Role of Cultural Traditions in a Rural Alaska Native Community”

You can see some of publications that emerged from our collaborative research listed below.

I also enjoy teaching. I currently teach Culture and Psychology, Social Psychology, Research Methods, Personality Psychology, Rural and Alaska Native Psychology, etc. I have taught Ph.D. courses in Community Psychology, Program Evaluation, and Community Practicum. I love mentoring students, and weaving teaching and research with interdisciplinary and community collaborations.

Music and nature are also important in my life. I love to hike, paddle in the wilderness, by canoe, kayak or packraft. As the rivers turn to ice and snow, flowing water in another form, I love to explore the wilderness by cross-country skis, kicksled, or snowshoes, celebrating all the seasons. I also love to sing, write songs, and spend time with loved ones.

 

Publications

(names with asterisks* refer to authors who were students at the time of writing)

• Newman, J.*, Rivkin, I., Brooks, C., Turco, K., Bifelt, J., Ekada, L.*, & Philip, J. (2022). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20, 244. 
• Philip, J., Newman, J.*, Bifelt, J.*, Brooks, C., & Rivkin, I. (2022). Role of social, cultural and symbolic capital for youth and community well-being in a rural Alaska Native community. Children and Youth Services Review,137. 
• Allen, J., Rivkin, I., & Trimble, J. (2021). Relational methodology. In K. C. McLean (Ed.) Cultural methods in psychology: Describing and transforming cultures (pp. 174-207). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Rivkin, I., Black, J., Lopez, E. D. S., Filardi, E., Salganek, M., Newman, J.*, Haire, J.*, Nanouk, M.*, Philip, J., Charlie, D., & Wexler, L. (2020). Journal of American Indian Education, 59(2/3), p 169-193.
• Rivkin, I., Lopez, E. D., Trimble, J. E., Johnson, S.*, Orr, E., & Quaintance, T.* (2019). Journal of Community Psychology, 47(3), 611-627.
• Rivkin, I.D., Johnson, S.*, Lopez, E., Trimble, J., Quaintance, T.*, & Orr, E. (2017). Yup’ik understanding of stress within the context of rapid cultural change. Journal of Community Psychology, 45(1), 33-52.
• Hewell, V.M.*, Vasquez, A.R.*, & Rivkin, I.D. (2017). Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 12(1):3.
• Allen, J., Rivkin, I.D., & Lopez, E.D.S. (2014).  Health and well-being. In F. Leong, L. Comas-Diaz, G. Nagayama Hall, V. McLloyd, & J. Trimble (Eds.) APA Handbook of Multicultural Psychology: Vol. 1. Theory and Research (pp. 299-311). Washington, DC: APA Press.
• Rivkin, I.D., Trimble, J., Lopez, E., Johnson, S.*, Orr, E., & Allen, J. (2013).   International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 72 (suppl. 1), 409-416.
• Gifford, V., Niles, B., Rivkin, I.D., Koverola, C., & Polaha, J. (2012).   Rural and Remote Health, 12: 2108 (Online).
• Trimble, J., Rivkin, I.D., Johnson, S., Lopez, D. S., Orr, E., Allen, J., Fok, C., & Henry, D. B. (2012). Symposium published online by invitation in SCRA special issue of the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2(3).  
• Rivkin, I.D., Johnson, S., Lopez, E., Orr, E., & Trimble, J. (2012).  Narrated presentation published online by invitation in SCRA special issue of the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2(3). 
• Lopez, E., Orr, E., Rivkin, I.D., & Johnson, S. (2012). Narrated presentation published online by invitation in SCRA special issue of the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2(3). 
• Ford, T., Avey, J., DeRuyter, J., Whipple, J. L., & Rivkin, I.D. (2012). Providers’ voices on telebehavioral health: Survey of an outpatient counseling agency in Alaska. Psychological Services, 9(3), 316-317.
• Rivkin, I.D., Lopez, E.D.S., Quaintance, T.M., Trimble, J.,, Hopkins, S., Fleming, C., Orr, E., & Mohatt, G.V. (2011). Value of community partnership for understanding stress and coping in rural Yup'ik communities: The CANHR study, Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice,4(3), 1-17.
• Gifford, V., Koverola, C., & Rivkin, I.D. (2010). Factors contributing to the long-term retention of behavioral health providers in rural Alaska. Rural Mental Health, 34(1),12-22.
• Rivkin, I.D., Wakelee, M, & Niles, B. (2009) Adjustment of students migrating from rural communities to attend university.  Synopsis paper published in proceedings of conferece on "Lessons from Continuity an Change in the Fourth International Polar Year.", Fairbanks, AK.
• Shepler, D., Lupfer-Johnson, G., & Rivkin, I.D., (2008).  The effects of yoga on self-objectification.  Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 13 (4), 168-172.
• Williams, J. K., Wyatt, G. E., Rivkin, I.D., Ramamurthi, H. C., Li, X., & Liu, H. (2008). Risk reduction for HIV-positive African American and Latino men with histories of childhood sexual abuse.  Archives if Sexual Behavior, 37(5), 763-772.
• NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African American Couples Group (2008a).  Formative study to develop the EBAN treatment and comparison interventions for couples.  Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 49 (Supp1), S42-S51.
• NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention trial for African American Couples Group (2008b).  Supervision of facilitators in a multisite study:  Goals, process and outcomes.  Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Symptoms, 49 (Supp1), S59-S67.
• Rivkin, I.D., Gustafson, J., & Weingarten, I., & Chin, D. (2006). The effects of expressive writing on adjustment to HIV. AIDS and Behavior, 10(1), 13-26.
• Myers, H., Wyatt, G. E., Loeb, T. B., Carmona, J. V., Warda, U., Longshore, D., Rivkin, I.D., Chin, D., & Liu, H. (2006). Severity of child sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress and risky sexual behaviors among HIVpositive women. AIDS and Behavior, 10(2), 191-199.
• Liu, H., Longshore, D., Williams, J. K., Rivkin, I.D., Loeb, T., Warda, U. S., Carmona, J. V., Myers, H., & Wyatt, G. (2006). Substance abuse and medication adherence among HIV-positive women with histories of childsexual abuse. AIDS and Behavior, 10(3), 279-286.
• Wyatt, G. E., Longshore, D., Chin, D., Carmona, J. V., Loeb, T. B., Myers, H. F., Warda, U., Liu, H., & Rivkin, I.D. (2004). The efficacy of an integrated risk reduction intervention for HIV-positive women with child sexual abuse histories. AIDS and Behavior, 8(4), 453-462.
• Wyatt, G. E., Loeb, T. B., Rivkin, I.D., Carmona, J. V., Chin, D., Williams, J., Myers, H., Longshore, D., & Sykora, C.; UCLA Women’s Health Project (2003). What does child sexual abuse have to do with HIV prevention? Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, UCSF, Child Sexual Abuse Fact Sheet #52E, September 2003.
• Loeb, T. B., Williams, J. K., Carmona, J. V., Rivkin, I.D., Wyatt, G. E., Chin, D., & Asuan-O’Brian, A. (2002). Child sexual abuse associations with the sexual functioning of adolescents and adults. In J.R. Heiman & C.M. Davis (Eds.), Annual Review of Sex Research, Volume XIII (pp. 307-345). Allentown, PA: Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.
• Rivkin, I.D. & Taylor, S. E. (1999). The effects of mental simulation on coping with controllable stressful events. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(12), 1451-1462.
• Grolnick, W. S., Kurowski, C. O., McMenamy, J. M., Rivkin, I.D., & Bridges, L. J. (1998). Mothers’ strategies for regulating their toddlers’ distress. Infant Behavior and Development, 21(3), 437-450.
• Taylor, S. E., Pham, L. B., Rivkin, I.D., & Armor, D. A. (1998). Harnessing the imagination: Mental simulation, self-regulation, and coping. American Psychologist, 53(4), 429-439.
• Han, E. E., & Rivkin, I.D. (1998). Relations between study habits, sleep, stress, and academic performance. Journal of Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences, 12, 23-32.
• Coleman, E. B., Brown, A. L., & Rivkin, I.D. (1997). The effects of instructional explanations on inferences from scientific text. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(4), 347-365.