College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Rachel Castaneda is a research psychologist who joined the Department of Psychology as an associate professor in 2011. She brings extensive training in public health, developmental and health psychology, and addiction medicine/psychiatry. Her teaching and research integrate both qualitative and quantitative research methods, with a focus on the application of behavioral and social system level theories to understand the etiology and maintenance of risky behaviors among diverse populations. Primary interests include tertiary prevention and disease management approaches including wellness/health promotion; adolescent and young adult health; and cultural and social impacts on health status, including socioeconomic status, access, gender, and racial/ethnic health disparities. She is currently researching the recovery of substance use taking a developmental social approach. She serves as the principal investigator on a five-year, NIH-funded grant to develop and test the utility of a mobile-based continuing care recovery support program (text messaging) for youth transitioning out if substance abuse treatment. She is also an affiliated scholar in the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs within the Department of Medicine and Public Health at the University of California Los Angeles.