Rate My Professor Josephine Korchmaros

Josephine Korchmaros serves as Director and Research Professor at the University of Arizona's Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) within the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2003, accompanied by a graduate certificate in Quantitative Research Methods in Psychological Science, an M.A. in Social Psychology in 2001, and a B.A. in Psychology (summa cum laude with honors) from the University of Arizona in 1997. Her academic career began with undergraduate research at UA, followed by graduate work and teaching as Assistant Professor of Psychology at Southern Illinois University from 2003 to 2006. Since joining SIROW in 2006, she has held progressive roles including Associate Research Professor (2009-2017), Research Professor (2017-present), and Director since 2017. She is also a Distinguished Outreach Professor, University Distinguished Head/Director, and member of the Graduate Faculty.

Dr. Korchmaros's research centers on behavioral health treatment models, risk behavior reduction, addressing health disparities in underserved populations such as racial and sexual minorities, women, girls, and Native Americans, and improving systems and policies related to sexual health, substance use, and justice involvement. With expertise in quantitative methods, statistical analysis, and program evaluation, she has led numerous grant-funded projects from funders including NIH, SAMHSA, USAID, and Arnold Ventures. Notable contributions include evaluations of juvenile drug courts, opioid epidemic responses like U-MATTER and pre-arrest deflection programs, trauma-informed care implementations, and interventions for medication adherence and suicide prevention. Key publications encompass "Effectiveness of The Seven Challenges® for adults: It’s not just because of self-disclosure" (2024, Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions), "Building capacity to implement sexual health risk and substance use disorder prevention services" (2023, Children and Youth Services Review), "Cultural and translation challenges in assessing health literacy" (2023, Health Promotion International), the National Cross-Site Evaluation of Juvenile Drug Courts (2015), and "Perpetration of teen dating violence in a networked society" (2013, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking). Her work has produced peer-reviewed papers, research briefs, trainings, and tools that bridge research to practice, influencing policy and community interventions. Awards include the 2025 University Distinguished Outreach Faculty Award, Woman of Impact, Exemplary Service Award for opioid strategies (2023), and early career honors such as the NIMH Predoctoral Fellowship (2000).