Isabel F. Almeida (Formerly Ramos)
Assistant Professor, Chicano/Latino Studies
Department of Psychological Science Faculty Affiliate
Ph.D., Health Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2020
Latina pregnancy, reproductive health, pregnancy anxiety, stress, mental health, health psychology
SST 363 | iframos@uci.edu | research lab
Education
Isabel Almeida has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Health Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. After completing her Ph.D., she held an ADVANCE Chancellors postdoctoral appointment at the University of California, Irvine in the Department of Chicano/Latino Studies. In addition to her faculty appointment in the Dept. of Chicano/Latino Studies, Dr. Almeida also holds an affiliation appointment in the Department of Psychological Science in the School of Social Ecology.
Research
Dr. Almeida’s program of research explores how biological, psychological, and cultural factors interact to influence women’s reproductive health, with a focus on perinatal processes in Latinas. Specifically, her work is grounded in understanding how cultural factors influence prenatal emotional health, and the biological pathways linking emotional health to birth outcomes. Her research—which uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to address theory-driven research questions—spans various areas of psychology and other disciplines, including the social sciences, public health, anthropology, and medicine. If you would like to know more about her research, please visit her laboratory website.
Teaching
At the undergraduate level, Dr. Almeida regularly teaches: Research in the Latino Community, Latina Reproductive Health, and Health and the Latino Paradox. At the graduate level, she teaches Biopsychosocial Processes During Pregnancy and Birth.
Selected Publications
Almeida, I.F., (2024). Prenatal depressive symptoms in Latinas: A qualitative investigation.
Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, 5:1458157. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2024.1458157
Almeida, I.F., Rinne, G.R., Coussons-Read, M., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2024). Placental Corticotrophin-Releasing Hormone Trajectories in Pregnancy: Associations with Postpartum Depressive Symptoms. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 107030.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107030
Ramos, I.F., Ross, K.M., Rinne, G.R., Sommers, J.A., Mancuso, R.A., Hobel, C.J., Coussons-Read, M., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2022). Pregnancy anxiety, placental corticotropin-releasing hormone and length of gestation. Biological Psychology, 172, 108376. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108376
Ramos, I. F., Campos, B., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2022). Pregnancy anxiety and beliefs surrounding motherhood in Latinas: A qualitative study. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 10(4), 277–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000208
Rinne, G., Sommers, J.A., Ramos, I.F., Coussons-Read, M., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2022). Increases in maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and infant cortisol reactivity: Mediation by placental corticotropin-releasing hormone. Development and Psychopathology, 35(4), 1997-2010. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579422000621
Dunkel Schetter, C., Rahal, D., Ponting, C., Julian, M., Ramos, I.F., Hobel, C., & Coussons-Read, M. (2022). Anxiety in pregnancy and length of gestation: Understanding when and what predicts best to inform future screening and intervention. Health Psychology, 41(12), 894. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001210
Ponting, C., Ramos, I. F., Guardino, C. M., Christensen, W., Chavira, D., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2020). Postpartum depressive symptoms in low-income Latinas: Cultural and contextual contributors. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(4), 544–556.
Mahrer, N. E., Ramos, I.F., Guardino, C., Davis, E. P., Ramey, S. L., Shalowitz, M., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2020). Pregnancy Anxiety in Expectant Mothers Predicts Offspring Negative Affect: The moderating role of acculturation. Early Human Development, 141, 104932.
Ramos, I. F., Guardino, C. M., Mansolf, M., Glynn, L. M., Sandman, C. A., Hobel, C., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2019).Pregnancy anxiety predicts shorter gestation in Latina and non-Latina white women: The role of placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 99, 166–173.
Fox, M., Thayer, Z. M., Ramos, I. F., Meskal, S. J., & Wadhwa, P. D. (2018). Prenatal and postnatal mother-to-child transmission of acculturation’s health effects in Hispanic Americans. Journal of Women’s Health, 27(8), 1054–1063.
Invited Entries
Almeida, I. F., & Araujo, P.J. (2024). Protective factors against depression and anxiety among Latinas and Spanish-speaking women. Invited contribution (peer-reviewed) in S. Lara-Cinisomo (Ed.), An integrated approach to perinatal depression and anxiety in Spanish-speaking and Latina women. Springer Publishing. [Book Chapter In Press].
Cheadle, A. C. D., Ramos, I. F., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2020). Stress and resilience in pregnancy. Invited contribution (peer-reviewed) in M. Robbins & K. Sweeney (Eds.), The Wiley Encyclopedia of Health Psychology (pp. 717-723). Wiley.
Julian, M., Ramos, I. F., Mahrer, N.E., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2020). Pregnancy Anxiety. Invited contribution (peer-reviewed) in M. Gellman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer: New York, NY.
Ramos, I. F., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2018). Pregnancy anxiety and stress. Invited contribution (peer-reviewed) in M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development (pp.1714-1715). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
