Professor
Culture, Risk, and Resilience Lab, Director
Clinical Psychology
Ph.D., Florida State University

201D Heyne Building
713.743.6696
rlwo@uh.edu

Dr. Walker will not be reviewing graduate student applications for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Biographical Summary

Rheeda Walker, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist whose program of research emphasizes two understudied areas—suicide science and African American adult mental health. Communities throughout the United States are chronically underserved, in part due to social and cultural barriers. This is perhaps especially true of mental health initiatives. All of Walker’s scholarly work has focused on suicide, and it correlates toward the primary goal of developing culturally-relevant models of mental health and well-being. 

Research Interests

• Black and African American mental health
• Psychological correlates of suicide
• Race-related stress and discrimination
• Religiosity, spirituality and culturally-informed coping  

Teaching

• Diversity in Clinical Psychology
• Seminar in Black Psychology
• Theories in Personality
• Clinical Practicum

Selected Publications

*Brooks, J. R., *Hong, J.H., *Cheref, S., and Walker, R. L. Perceived discrimination influences capability for suicide. "Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior."

*Madubata, I.J., *Cheref, S., *Eades, N., *Brooks, J., *Talavera, D.C., and Walker, R.L. (in press). Non-suicidal self-injury, neuroticism, and ethnic identity in young Latina adults. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences.

*Hong, J., *Talavera, D, Barr, C., and Walker, R.L. (in press). Does purpose in life or ethnic identity moderate the association for racial discrimination and suicide ideation in racial/ethnic minority emerging adults? Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

Walker, R.L (2020). "The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health." New Harbinger Publications.

*Cheref, S., Benoit, J. S., and Walker, R. L. (2019). Refining Psychological, Substance Use, and Sociodemographic Predictors of Suicide Ideation and Attempts in a National Multiethnic Sample of Adults, 2008–2013. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 207(8), 675-682.

Torous, J., Walker, R.L. (2019). Leveraging digital health and machine learning toward reducing suicide—From panacea to practical tool. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(10), 999-1000.

Walker, R.L., *Hong, J.H., *Talavera, D.C., Cameron, M.V., and Woods, S.P. (2018). Health literacy and current CD4 cell count in a multi-ethnic U.S. sample of adults living with HIV Infection. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 29(5), 498–504.

*Odafe, M. O., Salami, T. K., & Walker, R. L. (2017). Race-related stress and hopelessness in community-based African American adults: Moderating role of social support.  Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology,  23(4), 561-569.

Walker, R. L., Salami, T. K., Carter, S. E., & Flowers, K. C. (2017). Religious coping style and cultural worldview are associated with suicide ideation among African American adults. Archives of Suicide Research, 3, 1-12. 

Walker, R.L., Brody, G.H., Simons, R.L., Cutrona, C., & Gibbons, F. (2017). Perceived discrimination and morbid ideation in a longitudinal sample of African American girls and boys: Mediating effects of depression and anxiety symptomatology. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 47, 86-102.

Carter, S., Walker, R. L., & Beach, S. R. H., Cutrona, C., Simons, R. (2016). Anxiety mediates the effect of perceived racial discrimination on chronic health conditions among African American women. American Journal of Health Behavior, 40, 697-704.

*Odafe, M., *Talavera, D., *Cheref, S., *Hong, J., & Walker, R.L. (2016). Suicide in Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Asian adults in the U.S.: A review of the last decade. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 12, 181-198.  

*Salami, T., Walker, R.L., & Beach, S.R.H. (2016). Comparison of Helplessness and hopelessness as sources of cognitive vulnerability among Black and White college students. Journal of Black Psychology. doi. 10.1177/0095798416664828

*Carter, S. E., & Walker. R.L. (2014). Anxiety symptomatology and perceived health in a community sample of African American adults: Moderating role of emotion regulation. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(3), 307-315.

Walker, R.L., *Salami, T.K., *Carter, S., & *Flowers, K.C. (2014). Perceived racism and suicide ideation: Mediating role of depression but moderating role of religiosity among African American adults. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 44(5), 548-559.

*Salami, T., & Walker, R.L. (2013). Socioeconomic status and anxious and depressive symptoms in young African American adults: The mediating role of hopelessness. Journal of Black Psychology. Advance online publication doi:10.1177/0095798413486158

Walker, R.L. & Flowers, K. C. (2011). Effects of race and precipitating event on suicide versus non-suicide death classification in a college sample. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 41, 12-20 .