Tamara Afifi

· Professor and Department Chair

University of California, Santa Barbara · Communication

Active 2003–2026

h-index37

Citations4.5k

Papers13732 last 5y

Funding—

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About

Tamara Afifi is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Communication at UC Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on family and interpersonal communication, particularly how family members and relational partners communicate when they are stressed and the impact of these interactions on personal, relational, and physiological health. She examines the theoretical properties of communication patterns such as conflict, social support, avoidance, verbal rumination, and communal coping across various stressful situations to explain and predict biological stress responses, resilience, thriving, and health outcomes. Professor Afifi triangulates data and methods, including surveys with families, longitudinal diary data, lab interactions, field studies in homes, observational coding, biological markers, virtual reality, and qualitative data. Her work often involves community-based populations that are difficult to access, such as undocumented immigrants, families in refugee camps, older adults with dementia and their caregivers, and families with chronic illnesses. She is a Fellow of the International Communication Association, a Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association, and a former editor of Communication Monographs. Recognized as an award-winning teacher and mentor, she has received the UCSB Academic Distinguished Teaching Award and the Kathleen Galvin Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award. Her external funding includes support from agencies…

Research topics

Psychology
Medicine
Psychiatry
Social psychology
Computer Science
Family medicine
Political Science
Gerontology
Psychotherapist
Clinical psychology

Selected publications

The Extended Theoretical Model of Communal Coping: Understanding the Properties and Functionality of Communal Coping
Journal of Communication · 2020 · 117 citations
1st authorCorresponding
Abstract Most of the research on communal coping (CC) has assumed and found that it can enhance health, as well as strengthen entire communities, under stressful circumstances. Nevertheless, recent research has questioned the seemingly inherent benefits of CC. This article rectifies these discrepancies in the literature in a new, extended theoretical model of CC that crosses interpersonal, family, health, organizational, intercultural, and small group communication, as well as psychology and pub…
Publisher DOI
Using Virtual Reality to Improve the Quality of Life of Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments and their Family Members who Live at a Distance
Health Communication · 2022 · 56 citations
1st authorCorresponding
This study examines whether using virtual reality (VR) with older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild to moderate dementia with a family member who lives at a distance can improve the quality of life of the older adult and the family member. Twenty-one older adults in a senior living community and a family member (who participated in the VR with the older adult from a distance) engaged in a baseline telephone call, followed by three weekly VR sessions. The VR was associated with…
Publisher DOI
Why Family Communication Matters: the Role of Co-rumination and Topic Avoidance in Understanding Post-Disaster Mental Health
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology · 2020 · 40 citations
DOI
Testing the Feasibility of Virtual Reality With Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments and Their Family Members Who Live at a Distance
Innovation in Aging · 2021 · 35 citations
1st authorCorresponding
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study tests the feasibility of using virtual reality (VR) with older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild-to-moderate dementia with a family member who lives at a distance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 21 residents in a senior living community and a family member (who participated in the VR with the older adult from a distance) engaged in a baseline telephone call, followed by 3 weekly VR sessions. RESULTS: Residents and family members alike found t…
Publisher OA PDF DOI
Uncertainty and Coping During COVID-19
Springer eBooks · 2021 · 18 citations
Senior authorCorresponding
Publisher DOI

Frequent coauthors

Walid A. Afifi
University of California, Santa Barbara
28 shared
Amanda Denes
University of Connecticut
24 shared
Shardé M. Davis
University of Connecticut
17 shared
Anne F. Merrill
Citrix (United States)
15 shared
Kathryn Harrison
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
12 shared
Andrea Joseph
11 shared
Desiree Aldeis
11 shared
Douglas A. Granger
10 shared

Awards & honors

Fellow of the International Communication Association
Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Associat…
UCSB Academic Distinguished Teaching Award
Kathleen Galvin Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award

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