Roxane Cohen Silver

Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science, Public Health, and Medicine, University of California, Irvine

Vice Provost, Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning, UC Irvine

Biography

Roxane Cohen Silver is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine, where she holds appointments in the Departments of Psychological Science, Public Health, and Medicine. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with the highest honors from Northwestern University in 1976 and completed her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at the same institution in 1982. Silver has been a faculty member at UC Irvine since 1989, progressing from an Assistant Professor to her current position. Since October 2021, she has also served as the Vice Provost for Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning at UC Irvine.

Silver's research primarily examines psychological responses to traumatic life events, including personal and collective traumas, and the role of media in amplifying distress after such events. She has received multiple grants from prestigious agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health to support her research endeavors. Silver's extensive publication record features numerous articles in high-impact journals and several edited volumes. Among her accolades, she was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2024 and has received awards from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the American Psychological Association for her research contributions.

In addition to her research, Silver is actively involved in teaching and mentoring. She has been recognized for her commitment to education with awards such as the UC Irvine Senate’s Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Teaching. Silver has served on numerous academic committees, including roles with the Academic Senate and the Office of Inclusive Excellence at UC Irvine. Her professional service extends beyond the university, including involvement with organizations like the American Psychological Association and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, where she has held leadership positions and contributed to advancing the field of trauma psychology.

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Degrees

B.A. in Psychology, Northwestern University, 1976
Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Northwestern University, 1982

Distinctions

Elected member, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2024
Honorary member, Phi Beta Kappa, 2023
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ Innovation Award, 2022
Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research, University of California, Irvine, 2022
American Psychological Association’s Division 56 (Trauma Psychology) Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Trauma Psychology, 2020
Application of Personality and Social Psychology Senior Career Contribution Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2019
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ Robert S. Laufer Ph.D. Memorial Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, 2018
Elected Fellow, Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, 2017
Social Responsibility Award, Western Psychological Association, 2016
Daniel Stokols Award for Interdisciplinary Research, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, 2015

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Areas of Expertise

Psychological Science
Public Health
Medicine
Trauma Psychology
Social Psychology
Coping Mechanisms
Media Impact
Longitudinal Studies
Health Psychology
Collective Trauma

Recent Publications

Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Psychosocial aspects of pandemics”, APA handbook of health psychology (Vol. 1): Foundations and context of health psychology, American Psychological Association, pp. 707-724, 2025.
Thompson, R. R., Jones, N. M., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Contrasting objective and perceived risk: Predicting COVID-19 health behaviors in a nationally representative U.S. sample”, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 242-252, 2024.
Chang, H. A., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Betrayal trauma and somatic symptoms among patients in a medically underserved primary care clinic”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2024.
Garfin, D. R., Jones, N. M., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Finding benefits during collective stress: A study of health behaviors in a longitudinal representative U.S. sample during the COVID-19 era”, Health Psychology, vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 705-717, 2024.
Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “It matters what you see: Graphic media images of war and terror may amplify distress”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, vol. 121, no. 29, pp. e2318465121, 2024.
Lim, D., Poulin, M. J., Shaffer-Morrison, C. D., Ministero, L. M., Silver, R. C., “Investigating the role of adversity and benevolence beliefs in predicting prosociality”, Journal of Personality, 2024.
Estes, K. D., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Consuming hurricane-related media: The protective role of perceived trust”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2024.
Frolova, N., Silver, R. C., “A sudden but prolonged collective trauma: The Ukrainian experience”, PLOS Mental Health, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. e0000056, 2024.
De Roche, M., Silver, R C., “Ethical issues in research with human subjects”, How science engages with ethics and why it should: An interdisciplinary approach, De Gruyter, pp. 61-77, 2024.
Holman, E. A., Jones, N. M., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Distortions in time perception during collective trauma: Insights from a national longitudinal study during the COVID-19 pandemic”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 800–807, 2023.
Relihan, D. P., Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., Ditto, P. H., Silver, R. C., “Politicization of a pathogen: A prospective longitudinal study of COVID-19 responses in a nationally representative U.S. sample”, Political Psychology, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 1193-1213, 2023.
Relihan, D. P., Jones, N. M., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Shared social identity and media transmission of trauma”, Scientific Reports, vol. 13, pp. 11609, 2023.
Grisham, E. L., Jones, N. M., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Do past events sow future fears? Temporal disintegration, distress, and fear of the future following collective trauma”, Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 1064-1074, 2023.
Jones, E. J., Ayling, K., Wiley, C. R., Geraghty, A. W. A., Greer, A. L., Holt-Lunstad, J., Prather, A. A., Schreier, H. M. C., Silver, R. C., Sneed, R. S., Marsland, A. L., Pressman, S. D., Vedhara, K., “Psychology meets biology in COVID-19: What we know and why it matters for public health”, Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 33-40, 2023.
Jones, N. M., Thompson, R. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Idiosyncratic media exposures during a pandemic and their link to well-being, cognition, and behavior over time”, PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, vol. 120, no. 26, pp. e2304550120, 2023.
Garfin, D. R., Ramos, D., Silver, R. C., “Responses to natural disasters”, Encyclopedia of mental health, 3rd edition, Elsevier, Academic Press, vol. 3, pp. 44-57, 2023.
Grisham, E. L., Dashtgard, P., Relihan, D. P., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “They saw a hearing: Democrats’ and Republicans’ perceptions of and responses to the Ford-Kavanaugh hearings”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2023.
Sutton, J., Silver, R. C., “Be self-protective about media exposure to tragedy”, The Psychologist, The British Psychological Society, pp. 26-29, 2023.
Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Addressing mental health aftershocks from the Turkey-Syria earthquake: A call for action”, Nature Mental Health, vol. 1, pp. 238-239, 2023.
Ermagun, A., Thompson-Bello, D., Vahedifard, F., Silver, R. C., “Emergency managers’ challenges with wildfires and related cascading hazards in California”, Journal of Environmental Management, 2023.
Rosenfeld, D. L., Balcetis, E., Bastian, B., Berkman, E. T., Bosson, J. K., Brannon, T. N., Burrow, A. L., Cameron, C. D., Chen, S., Cook, J. E., Crandall, C., Davidai, S., Dhont, K., Eastwick, P. W., Gaither, S. E., Gangestad, S. W., Gilovich, T., Gray, K. J., Haines, E. L., Haselton, M. G., Haslam, N., Hodson, G., Hogg, M. A., Hornsey, M., Huo, Y. J., Joel, S., Jost, J., Kachanoff, F., Kraft-Todd, G., Leary, M. R., Ledgerwood, A., Lee, R. T., Loughnan, S., MacInnis, C., Mann, T., Murray, D., Parkinson, C., Perez, E., Pyszczynski, T., Ratner, K., Rothgerber, H., Rounds, J., Schaller, M., Silver, R. C., Spellman, B. A., Strohminger, N., Swim, J. K., Thoemmes, F., Urganci, B., Vandello, J., Volz, S., Zayas, V., Tomiyama, A. J., “Psychological science in the wake of COVID-19: Social, methodological, and metascientific considerations”, Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 311-333, 2022.
Garfin, D. R., Thompson, R. R., Holman, E. A., Wong-Parodi, G., Silver, R. C., “Association between repeated exposure to hurricanes and mental health in a representative sample of Florida residents”, JAMA Network Open, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. e2217251, 2022.
Garfin, D. R., Djokovic, L., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Acute stress, worry, and impairment in 24 health care and non-health care essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 1304-1313, 2022.
Thompson, R. R., Jones, N. M., Freeman, A. M., Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Psychological responses to U.S. statewide restrictions and COVID-19 exposures: A longitudinal study”, Health Psychology, vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 817-825, 2022.
Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Fischhoff, B., Wong-Parodi, G., Silver, R. C., “Media exposure, risk perceptions, and fear: Americans’ behavioral responses to the Ebola public health crisis”, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 77, pp. 103059, 2022.
Dutta, A., Peña, F., Holcomb, J. M., Leiva, L., Squicciarini, A. M., Canenguez, K. M., Bergmann, P., Riobueno-Naylor, A., Farley, A. M., Simonsohn, A., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., Benheim, T. S., Guzmán, J., Jellinek, M. S., Murphy, J. M., “Earthquake exposure, adverse childhood experiences, and psychosocial functioning in Chilean children: A longitudinal study”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 1177-1188, 2022.
Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., “Coping with cascading collective traumas in the United States”, Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 5, pp. 4-6, 2021.
Garfin, D. R., Fischhoff, B., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Risk perceptions and health behaviors as COVID-19 emerged in the United States: Results from a probability-based nationally representative sample”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 584-598, 2021.
Wayment, H. A., Silver, R. C., “Grief and solidarity reactions 1 week after an on-campus shooting”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 36, no. 5-6, pp. NP2423-NP2442, 2021.
Jose, R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “How Americans feel about guns after mass shootings: The case of the 2016 Orlando Nightclub massacre”, Psychology of Violence, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 354-363, 2021.
Holman, E. A., Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States”, Science Advances, vol. 6, pp. eabd5390, 2020.
Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., Lubens, P., Silver, R. C., “Media exposure to collective trauma, mental health, and functioning: Does it matter what you see?”, Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 8, pp. 111-124, 2020.
Silver, R. C., “Surviving the trauma of COVID-19”, Science, vol. 369, pp. 11, 2020.
Sweeting, J., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Associations between exposure to childhood bullying and abuse and adulthood outcomes in a representative national U.S. sample”, Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 101, pp. 104048, 2020.
Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Exposure to prior negative life events and responses to the Boston Marathon bombings”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 12, pp. 320-329, 2020.
Jones, N. M., Silver, R. C., “This is not a drill: Anxiety on Twitter following the 2018 Hawaii false missile alert”, American Psychologist, vol. 75, pp. 683-693, 2020.
O’Connor, R. C., Hotopf, M., Worthman, C. M., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Silver, R. C., Ford, T., John, A., Kabir, T., King, K., Simpson, A., Madan, I., Cowan, K., Bullmore, E., Holmes, E. A., “Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: Authors’ reply”, Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 7, pp. E44-E45, 2020.
Thompson, R. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Worst life events and media exposure to terrorism in a nationally representative U.S. sample”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 33, pp. 984-993, 2020.
Poulin, M. J., Silver, R. C., “What might have been: Near miss experiences and adjustment to a terrorist attack”, Social Psychological and Personality Science, vol. 11, pp. 168-175, 2020.
Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “National opinions on death penalty punishment for the Boston Marathon bomber before versus after sentencing”, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, vol. 26, pp. 455-462, 2020.
McBride, L. M., Silver, R. C., “We are doctors who study trauma. Here’s how to cope with the COVID-19 crisis”, Huffington Post, 2020.
Kofman, Y. B., Garfin, D. R., Yim, I. S., Silver, R. C., “When it rains, it pours—and sex matters: Differences in patterns of cumulative life adversity and health in a U.S. nationally representative sample”, Psychosomatic Medicine, vol. 82, no. 6, pp. A219, 2020.
Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Media exposure to graphic images of terrorism and new incidence of cardiac ailments, worry, and impaired functioning”, Psychosomatic Medicine, vol. 82, no. 6, pp. A109, 2020.
Thompson, R. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Worst life events and media exposure to terrorism”, Trauma Blog, 2020.
Andersen, J. P., Silver, R. C., “Health effects of traumatic events”, The Wiley encyclopedia of health psychology: The social bases of health behavior, Wiley, vol. 2, pp. 255-260, 2020.
Silver, R. C., “Written testimony presented at the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Environment hearing on “Coping with Compound Crises: Extreme Weather, Social Injustice, and a Global Pandemic.””, 2020.
Berlin Rubin, N., Holman, E. A., Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R C., Wong-Parodi, G., “Severe weather-related deaths, stress, and incidence of cardiovascular ailments in U.S. community- based samples after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Michael”, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2020, 2020.
Wong-Parodi, G., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Climate change attribution during 29 and following Hurricane Irma: The role of direct physical storm and media exposures”, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2020, 2020.
Thompson, R. R., Jones, N. M., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Media exposure to mass violence events can fuel a cycle of distress”, Science Advances, vol. 5, 2019.
Thompson, R. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Media coverage, forecasted posttraumatic stress symptoms, and psychological responses before and after an approaching hurricane”, JAMA Network Open, vol. 2, no. 1, 2019.
Redmond, S., Jones, N. M., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Who watches an ISIS beheading – and why”, American Psychologist, vol. 74, pp. 555-568, 2019.
Kay, J. S., Juth, V., Silver, R. C., Sender, L. S., “Support and conflict in relationships and psychological health in adolescents and young adults with cancer”, Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 24, pp. 502-517, 2019.
Poulin, M. J., Silver, R. C., “When are assumptions shaken? A prospective, longitudinal investigation of negative life events and worldviews in a national sample”, Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 83, 2019.
Lubens, P., Silver, R. C., “U.S. combat veterans' responses to suicide and combat deaths: A mixed-methods study”, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 236, 2019.
Jose, R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Community organizations and mental health after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings”, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 222, pp. 367-376, 2019.
Jones, N. M., Brymer, M., Silver, R. C., “Using big data to study the impact of mass violence: Opportunities for the traumatic stress field”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 32, pp. 653-663, 2019.
Lubens, P., Silver, R. C., “Grief in veterans: An unexplored consequence of war”, American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, pp. 394-395, 2019.
Jose, R., Silver, R. C., “Recovery and resilience after mass violence”, Public Health Post, 2019.
Redmond, S., Silver, R. C., “Why do we watch Daesh beheadings?”, The Global Coalition, 2019.
Fischhoff, B., Wong-Parodi, G., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Public understanding of Ebola risks: Mastering an unfamiliar threat”, Risk Analysis: An International Journal, vol. 38, pp. 71-83, 2018.
Garfin, D. R., Poulin, M. J., Blum, S., Silver, R. C., “Aftermath of terror: A nationwide longitudinal study of posttraumatic stress and worry across the decade following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 31, pp. 146-156, 2018.
Gil-Rivas V., Holman E.A., Silver R.C., “Adolescent vulnerability following the september 11th terrorist attacks: A study of parents and their children”, Part I: Assessing the Impact of September 11th, 2001, on Children, Youth, and Parents in the United States: Lessons From Applied Developmental Science: A Special Issue of Applied Developmental Science, pp. 130-142, 2018.
Silver, R. C., “Adversity”, The SAGE encyclopedia of lifespan human development, Vol. 1, SAGE Publications, pp. 64-66, 2018.
Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Evacuation from natural disasters: A systematic review of the literature”, Risk Analysis: An International Journal, vol. 37, pp. 812-839, 2017.
Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Distress, worry, and functioning following a global health crisis: A national study of Americans’ responses to Ebola”, Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 5, pp. 513-521, 2017.
Jones, N. M., Thompson, R. R., Dunkel Schetter, C., Silver, R. C., “Distress and rumor exposure on social media during a campus lockdown”, PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, vol. 114, pp. 11663-11668, 2017.
Jose, R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “The importance of the neighborhood in the 2014 Ebola outbreak in the United States: Distress, worry, and functioning”, Health Psychology, vol. 36, pp. 1181-1185, 2017.
Peterson, J. K., Silver, R. C., “Developing an understanding of victims and violent offenders: The impact of fostering empathy”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 32, pp. 399-422, 2017.
Randles, D., Heine, S. J., Poulin, M., Silver, R. C., “Experienced adversity in life is associated with polarized and affirmed political attitudes”, Social Psychological and Personality Science, vol. 8, pp. 652-659, 2017.
Jones, N. M., Wojcik, S. P., Sweeting, J., Silver, R. C., “Tweeting negative emotion: An investigation of Twitter data in the aftermath of violence on college campuses”, Psychological Methods, vol. 21, pp. 526-541, 2016.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., Mogle, J. A., Scott, S. B., “Adversity, time, and well-being: A 21 longitudinal analysis of time perspective in adulthood”, Psychology and Aging, vol. 31, pp. 640-651, 2016.
Jones, N. M., Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Media use and exposure to graphic content in the week following the Boston Marathon bombings”, American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 58, pp. 47-59, 2016.
Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Responses to natural disasters”, Encyclopedia of mental health, 2nd edition, Academic Press, vol. 4, pp. 35-46, 2016.
Silver, R. C., “Repeated viewing of police ambush videos can cause trauma”, The Dallas Morning News, 2016.
Silver, R. C., Garfin, D. R., “Coping with disasters”, APA handbook of clinical psychology: Vol. 4. Psychopathology and health, American Psychological Association, pp. 597-611, 2016.
Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Cumulative exposure to prior collective trauma and acute stress responses to the Boston Marathon bombings”, Psychological Science, vol. 26, pp. 675-683, 2015.
Juth, V., Silver, R. C., Seyle, D. C., Widyatmoko, C. S., Tan, E. T., “Post-disaster mental health among parent-child dyads after a major earthquake in Indonesia”, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 43, pp. 1309-1318, 2015.
Juth, V., Silver, R. C., Sender, L., “The shared experience of adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their caregivers”, Psycho-Oncology, vol. 24, pp. 1746-1753, 2015.
Silver, R. C., “As a psychologist, I urge you not to watch the Virginia shootings footage”, The Independent, 2015.
Blum, S. C., Silver, R. C., Poulin, M. J., “Perceiving risk in a dangerous world: Associations between life experiences and risk perceptions”, Social Cognition, vol. 32, pp. 297-314, 2014.
Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., Ugalde, F. J., Linn, H., Inostroza, M., “Exposure to rapid succession disasters: A study of residents at the epicenter of the Chilean Bio-Bio earthquake”, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol. 123, pp. 545-556, 2014.
Garfin, D. R., Juth, V., Silver, R. C., Ugalde, F. J., Linn, H., Inostroza, M., “A national study of health care service utilization and substance use after the 2010 Chilean earthquake”, Psychiatric Services, vol. 65, pp. 1392-1395, 2014.
Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., Gil-Rivas, V., Guzman, J., Murphy, J. M., Cova, F., Rincon, P. P., Squicciarini, A. M., George, M., Guzmán, M. P., “Children’s reactions to the 2010 Chilean earthquake: The role of trauma exposure, family context, and school-based mental health programming”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 6, pp. 563-573, 2014.
Garfin, D. R., Holman, E. A., Lubens, P., Silver, R. C., “Don’t overlook television news content when linking TV-watching and all-cause mortality”, Journal of the American Heart Association, 2014.
Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., Andersen, J. P., Poulin, M., McIntosh, D. N., Gil-Rivas, V., “Mental- and physical-health effects of acute exposure to media images of the September 11, 2001, attacks and the Iraq War”, Psychological Science, vol. 24, pp. 1623-1634, 2013.
Scott, S. B., Poulin, M. J., Silver, R. C., “A lifespan perspective on terrorism: Age differences in trajectories of response to 9/11”, Developmental Psychology, vol. 49, pp. 986-998, 2013.
Seyle, D. C., Widyatmoko, C. S., Silver, R. C., “Coping with natural disasters in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: A study of elementary school teachers”, School Psychology International, vol. 34, pp. 387-404, 2013.
Andersen, J. P., Silver, R. C., Stewart, B., Koperwas, B., Kirschbaum, C., “Psychological and physiological responses following repeated peer death”, PLOS ONE, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. e75881, 2013.
Hawkins N.A., McIntosh D.N., Silver R.C., Holman E.A., “Early responses to school violence: A qualitative analysis of students’ and parents’ immediate reactions to the shootings at Columbine High School”, Aggression in Organizations: Violence, Abuse, and Harassment at Work and in Schools, pp. 197-224, 2013.
Juth, V. C., Silver, R. C., Sender, L. C., “Dyadic adjustment to cancer: Illness perceptions and post-traumatic stress symptoms in adolescent and young adult patients and their caregivers”, Psychosomatic Medicine, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. A33, 2013.
Silver, R. C., Updegraff, J. A., “Searching for and finding meaning following personal and collective traumas”, The psychology of meaning, American Psychological Association, pp. 237-255, 2013.
Gelkopf, M., Berger, R., Bleich, A., Silver, R. C., “Protective factors and predictors of vulnerability to chronic stress: A comparative study of 4 communities after 7 years of continuous rocket fire”, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 74, pp. 757-766, 2012.
Blum, S., Brow, M., Silver, R. C., “Coping”, Encyclopedia of human behavior, 2nd Edition, Elsevier, pp. 596-601, 2012.
Norris, F. H., Silver, R. C., “A guide to the 10-year retrospectives of the September 11th terrorist attacks”, PTSD Research Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1-9, 2012.
Silver, R. C., Ryan, P., Skiadas, T., “Making a difference: Psychology Beyond Borders”, California Psychologist, vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 14-16, 2012.
Eisenberg, N., Silver, R. C., “Growing up in the shadow of terrorism: Youth in America after 9/11”, American Psychologist, vol. 66, pp. 468-481, 2011.
McIntosh, D. N., Poulin, M. J., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “The distinct roles of spirituality and religiosity in physical and mental health after collective trauma: A national longitudinal study of responses to the 9/11 attacks”, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, vol. 34, pp. 497-507, 2011.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Health status and health care utilization following collective trauma: A 3-year national study of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States”, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 73, pp. 483-490, 2011.
Widyatmoko, C. S., Tan, E. T., Seyle, D. C., Mayawati, E. H., Silver, R. C., “Coping with natural disasters in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: The psychological state of elementary school children as assessed by their teachers”, School Psychology International, vol. 32, pp. 484-497, 2011.
Silver, R. C., “An introduction to “9/11: Ten years later””, American Psychologist, vol. 66, pp. 427-428, 2011.
Andersen, J., Prause, J., Silver, R. C., “A step-by-step guide to using secondary data for psychological research”, Social and Personality Psychology Compass, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 56-75, 2011.
Silver, R. C., Fischhoff, B., “What should we expect after the next attack?”, American Psychologist, vol. 66, pp. 567-572, 2011.
Westmaas, J. L., Gil-Rivas, V., Silver, R. C., “Designing and conducting interventions to enhance physical and mental health outcomes”, The Oxford handbook of health psychology, Oxford University Press, pp. 73-94, 2011.
Seery, M. D., Leo, R. J., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Lifetime exposure to adversity predicts functional impairment and healthcare utilization among individuals with chronic back pain”, Pain, vol. 150, pp. 507-515, 2010.
Shambaugh, G., Matthew, R., Silver, R. C., McDonald, B., Poulin, M., Blum, S., “Public perceptions of traumatic events and policy preferences during the George W. Bush administration: A portrait of America in turbulent times”, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 33, pp. 55-91, 2010.
Silver, R. C., “Do green graves change the way we mourn?”, Science & Religion Today, 2010.
Poulin, M. J., Silver, R. C., Gil-Rivas, V., Holman, A. E., McIntosh, D. N., “Finding social benefits after a collective trauma: Perceiving societal changes and well-being following 9/11”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 22, pp. 81-90, 2009.
Wicke, T., Silver, R. C., “A community responds to collective trauma: An ecological analysis of the James Byrd murder in Jasper, Texas”, American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 44, pp. 233-248, 2009.
Silver, R. C., “Resilience”, The Oxford companion to emotion and the affective sciences, Oxford University Press, pp. 343, 2009.
Brow, M., Silver, R. C., “Coping with a collective trauma: Psychological reactions to 9/11 across the United States”, The impact of 9-11: The day that changed everything? Volume V. 9/11 in psychology and education, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 37-48, 2009.
Updegraff, J. A., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Searching for and finding meaning in collective trauma: Results from a national longitudinal study of the 9/11 terrorist attacks”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 95, pp. 709-722, 2008.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., Poulin, M., Andersen, J., Gil-Rivas, V., McIntosh, D. N., “Terrorism, acute stress, and cardiovascular health: A 3-year national study following the September 11th attacks”, Archives of General Psychiatry (JAMA Psychiatry), vol. 65, pp. 73-80, 2008.
Poulin, M., Silver, R. C., “World benevolence beliefs and well-being across the life span”, Psychology and Aging, vol. 23, pp. 13-23, 2008.
Seery, M. D., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., Ence, W. A., Chu, T. Q., “Expressing thoughts and feelings following a collective trauma: Immediate responses to 9/11 predict negative outcomes in a national sample”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 76, pp. 657-667, 2008.
Suvak, M., Maguen, S., Litz, B. T., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Indirect exposure to the September 11 terrorist attacks: Does symptom structure resemble PTSD?”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 21, pp. 30-39, 2008.
Blum, S., Silver, R. C., “Coping”, International encyclopedia of the social sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, pp. 128-130, 2008.
Silver, R. C., Matthew, R., “Terrorism”, Encyclopedia of social problems, Sage, vol. 2, pp. 926-929, 2008.
Silver, R., “Silver delivers Decade of Behavior Distinguished Lecture”, Educational Researcher, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 222, 2008.
Gil-Rivas, V., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., McIntosh, D. N., Poulin, M., “Parental response and adolescent adjustment to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 20, pp. 1063-1068, 2007.
Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., “The stage theory of grief”, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 297, pp. 2692, 2007.
Friedman, H. S., Silver, R. C., “Foundations of health psychology”, Oxford University Press, 2007.
“Year Book of Psychiatry & Applied Mental Health 2007”, pp. 152-153, 2007.
Brown, L. M., Schinka, J. A., Silver, R. C., “Disasters and terrorism”, Encyclopedia of health and aging, Sage, pp. 159-162, 2007.
Westmaas, J. L., Gil-Rivas, V., Silver, R. C., “Designing and implementing interventions to promote health and prevent illness”, Foundations of health psychology, Oxford University Press, pp. 52-70, 2007.
Pizarro, J., Silver, R. C., Prause, J., “Physical and mental health costs of traumatic war experiences among Civil War veterans”, Archives of General Psychiatry (JAMA Psychiatry), vol. 63, pp. 193-200, 2006.
Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., McIntosh, D. N., Poulin, M., Gil-Rivas, V., Pizarro, J., “Coping with a national trauma: A nationwide longitudinal study of responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11”, 9/11: Mental health in the wake of terrorist attacks, Cambridge University Press, pp. 45-70, 2006.
Schlenger, W. E., Silver, R. C., “Web-based methods in terrorism and disaster research”, Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 19, pp. 185-193, 2006.
Westmaas, J. L., Silver, R. C., “The role of perceived similarity in supportive responses to victims of negative life events”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 32, pp. 1537-1546, 2006.
Chu, T. Q., Seery, M. D., Ence, W. A., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Ethnicity and gender in the face of a terrorist attack: A national longitudinal study of immediate responses and outcomes two years after September 11”, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, vol. 28, pp. 291-301, 2006.
Holden, C., “Civil War PTSD”, Science, vol. 311, pp. 927, 2006.
Bailey, E. T., Bootzin, R. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Sleep disturbance following a stressor predicts later posttraumatic stress symptoms: Evidence from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001”, Sleep, vol. 29, pp. A328, 2006.
Silver, R. C., “Attacking the myths”, Science & Spirit, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 26-29, 2006.
Schlenger, W. E., Silver, R. C., “Web-based methods in disaster research”, Methods for disaster mental health research, Guilford Press, pp. 129-140, 2006.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Future-oriented thinking and adjustment in a nationwide longitudinal study following the September 11 th terrorist attacks”, Motivation and Emotion, vol. 29, pp. 389-410, 2005.
Silver, R. C., Poulin, M., Holman, E. A., McIntosh, D. N., Gil-Rivas, V., Pizarro, J., “Exploring the myths of coping with a national trauma: A longitudinal study of responses to the September 11th terrorist attacks”, The trauma of terrorism: Sharing knowledge and shared care, An international handbook, Haworth Press, pp. 129-141, 2005.
Silver, R. C., “Clarifying the presence of posttraumatic stress symptoms following orthopaedic trauma”, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 673-675, 2005.
Bailey, E. T., Bootzin, R. R., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Sleep disturbances in a nationally representative sample 2 months and 6 months following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001”, Sleep, vol. 28, pp. A314, 2005.
Blum, S., Silver, R. C., “Why is it important to allow people to evacuate disaster areas with their pets?”, 2005.
Silver, R., “Psychological responses to natural and man-made disasters”, 2005.
Wicke, T., Silver, R. C., “How can we promote community-level well-being, solidarity and capacity following disasters?”, 2005.
Ayers, T., Balk, D., Bolle, J., Bonanno, G. A., Connor, S. R., Cook, A. S., Doka, K., Goodkin, K., Hall, M., Hansson, R. O., Jordan, J., Klass, D., Moss, M., Nadeau, J. W., Neimeyer, R. A., Oltjenbruns, K. A., Prigerson, H., Rosenblatt, P., Sandler, I., Shapiro, E. R., Silver, R. C., Tancredy, C., Weiss, R. S., Neimeyer, R. A., Genevro, J. L., “Report on bereavement and grief research”, Death Studies, vol. 28, pp. 491-575, 2004.
Gil-Rivas, V., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Adolescent vulnerability following the September 11th terrorist attacks: A study of parents and their children”, Applied Developmental Science, vol. 8, pp. 130-142, 2004.
Silver, R. C., Poulin, M., Holman, E. A., McIntosh, D. N., Gil-Rivas, V., Pizarro, J., “Exploring the myths of coping with a national trauma: A longitudinal study of responses to the September 11th terrorist attacks”, Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, vol. 9, pp. 129-141, 2004.
Silver, R. C., “Conducting research after the 9/11 terrorist attacks: Challenges and results”, Families, Systems, & Health, vol. 22, pp. 47-51, 2004.
Hawkins, N. A., McIntosh, D. N., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “Early responses to school violence: A qualitative analysis of students’ and parents’ immediate reactions to the shootings at Columbine High School”, Journal of Emotional Abuse, vol. 4, pp. 197-223, 2004.
Silver, R. C., “The myths of healing”, Families, Systems, & Health, vol. 22, pp. 61-63, 2004.
Silver, R. C., “The myths of healing”, Newsday, pp. A28, 2003.
Silver R., Holmun E., McIntosh D., “Nationwide longitudinal study of psychological responses to September 11”, Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 4, pp. 167, 2002.
Silver, R. C., “Conducting research following community traumas: Challenges, pitfalls, and results”, Psychological Science Agenda, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 8-9, 2002.
Elderkin-Thompson, V., Silver, R. C., Waitzkin, H., “When nurses double as interpreters: A study of Spanish-speaking patients in a U.S. primary care setting”, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 52, pp. 1343-1358, 2001.
Westmaas, J. L., Silver, R. C., “The role of attachment in responses to victims of life crises”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 80, pp. 425-438, 2001.
Allen, L. A., Gara, M. A., Escobar, J. I., Waitzkin, H., Silver, R. C., “Somatization: A debilitating syndrome in primary care”, Psychosomatics, vol. 42, pp. 63-67, 2001.
Silver, R. C., “Coping with the September 11th terrorist attacks against the U.S.”, Psychology Teacher Network, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 1, 11, 2001.
Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., “The myths of coping with loss revisited”, Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care, American Psychological Association, pp. 405-429, 2001.
Davis C., Wortman C., Lehman D., Silver R., “Searching for meaning in loss: Are clinical assumptions correct?”, Death Studies, vol. 24, pp. 497-540, 2000.
Rivadeneyra, R., Elderkin-Thompson, V., Silver, R. C., Waitzkin, H., “Patient centeredness in medical encounters requiring an interpreter”, The American Journal of Medicine, vol. 108, pp. 470-474, 2000.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., Waitzkin, H., “Traumatic life events in primary care patients: A study in an ethnically-diverse sample”, Archives of Family Medicine, vol. 9, pp. 802-810, 2000.
Davis, C. G., Wortman, C. B., Lehman, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Searching for meaning in loss: Are clinical assumptions correct?”, Death Studies, vol. 24, pp. 497-540, 2000.
Escobar, J. I., Waitzkin, H., Silver, R. C., Gara, M., Holman, E. A., “Abridged somatization: A study in primary care”, Psychosomatic Medicine, vol. 60, pp. 466-472, 1998.
Escobar, J. I., Gara, M., Silver, R. C., Waitzkin, H., Holman, E. A., Compton, W., “Somatisation Disorder in primary care”, The British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 173, pp. 262-266, 1998.
Escobar, J. I., Gara, M., Waitzkin, H., Silver, R. C., Holman, A., Compton, W., “DSM-IV Hypochondriasis in primary care”, General Hospital Psychiatry, vol. 20, pp. 155-159, 1998.
Gara, M. A., Silver, R. C., Escobar, J. I., Holman, A., Waitzkin, H., “A hierarchical classes analysis (HICLAS) of primary care patients with medically unexplained somatic symptoms”, Psychiatry Research, vol. 81, pp. 77-86, 1998.
Elderkin-Thompson, V., Silver, R. C., Waitzkin, H., “Narratives of somatizing and nonsomatizing patients in a primary care setting”, Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 3, pp. 407-428, 1998.
Waitzkin, H., Holman, A., Silver, R. C., “Ethnicity, somatization, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder among inner-city patients presenting for primary care”, International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 320-321, 1997.
Davis, C. G., Lehman, D. R., Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., Ellard, J. H., “Self-blame following a traumatic event: The role of perceived avoidability”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 22, pp. 557-567, 1996.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Is it the abuse or the aftermath? A stress and coping approach to understanding responses to incest”, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, vol. 15, pp. 318-339, 1996.
Wayment, H. A., Silver, R. C., Kemeny, M., “Spared at random: Survivor reactions in the gay community”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, vol. 25, pp. 187-209, 1995.
Davis, C. G., Lehman, D. R., Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., Thompson, S. C., “The undoing of traumatic life events”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 21, pp. 109-124, 1995.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Immediate emotional responses to the Southern California firestorms”, FMHI Publications, vol. 41, 1994.
Castillo, R., Silver, R. C., Waitzkin, H., “Somatization in refugees and others seeking primary care”, Clinical Research, vol. 41, pp. A586, 1993.
Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., Kessler, R. C., “The meaning of loss and adjustment to bereavement”, Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research, and intervention, Cambridge University Press, pp. 349-366, 1993.
Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., “Reconsidering assumptions about coping with loss: An overview of current research”, Life crises and experiences of loss in adulthood, Erlbaum, pp. 341-365, 1992.
Semler, J., Walker, A., Bernstein, R., Silver, R., “Familial cancer risk: Genetic counselor’s approach to patients with increased risk of melanoma, breast cancer, or a “cancer family””, Journal of Genetic Counseling, vol. 1, pp. 119, 1992.
Silver, R. C., Urbanowicz, A., “Successful and unsuccessful support provision following bereavement”, International Journal of Psychology, vol. 27, pp. 601, 1992.
Herbert, T. B., Silver, R. C., Ellard, J. H., “Coping with an abusive relationship: I. How and why do women stay?”, Journal of Marriage and the Family, vol. 53, pp. 311-325, 1991.
Hunsley, J., Silver, R. C., Lee, C. M., “Anticipating meeting a peer: Cognitive processes in distressed and nondistressed women”, Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, vol. 23, pp. 411-422, 1991.
Downey, G., Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., “Reconsidering the attribution-adjustment relation following a major negative event: Coping with the loss of a child”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 59, pp. 925-940, 1990.
Gray, J. D., Silver, R. C., “Opposite sides of the same coin: Former spouses' divergent perspectives in coping with their divorce”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 59, pp. 1180-1191, 1990.
Klar, Y., Mendola, R., Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., Goff, B., “Characteristics of participants in a large group awareness training”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 58, pp. 99-108, 1990.
Duck, S., Silver, R. C., “Personal relationships and social support”, Sage, 1990.
Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., Goff, B., Klar, Y., “Evaluating a large group awareness training: A longitudinal study of psychosocial effects”, Springer-Verlag, 1990.
Wayment, H. A., Kemeny, M. E., Silver, R. C., “Survivor syndrome in the gay community”, International Conference on AIDS, vol. 6, pp. 316, 1990.
Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., Crofton, C., “The role of coping in support provision: The self-presentational dilemma of victims of life crises”, Social support: An interactional view, Wiley, pp. 397-426, 1990.
Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., “Successful mastery of bereavement and widowhood: A life course perspective”, Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences, Cambridge University Press, pp. 225-264, 1990.
Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., Goff, B., Klar, Y., Zagieboylo, C., “Psychological effects of participation in a large group awareness training”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 57, pp. 747-755, 1989.
Tait, R., Silver, R. C., “Coming to terms with major negative life events”, Unintended thought, Guilford, pp. 351-382, 1989.
Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., “Coping with irrevocable loss”, Cataclysms, crises, and catastrophes: Psychology in action, American Psychological Association, vol. 6, pp. 189-235, 1987.
Silver, R. L., Wortman, C. B., Klos, D. S., “Cognitions, affect and behavior following uncontrollable outcomes: A response to current human helplessness research”, Journal of Personality, vol. 50, pp. 480-514, 1982.
Silver, R. L., Wortman, C. B., “Coping with undesirable life events”, Human helplessness: Theory and applications, Academic Press, pp. 279-340, 1980.
Wortman, C. B., Abbey, A., Holland, A. E., Silver, R. L., Janoff-Bulman, R., “Transitions from the laboratory to the field: Problems and progress”, Applied social psychology annual, Sage, vol. 1, pp. 197-233, 1980.
Herman, C. P., Polivy, J., Silver, R. L., “Effects of an observer on eating behavior: The induction of "sensible" eating”, Journal of Personality, vol. 47, pp. 85-99, 1979.
Silver, R. L., Brickman, P., Petersen, G., “Preference for diverse and noncomparable equality”, Social comparison processes, Hemisphere, pp. 171-174, 1977.

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Most Cited Publications

Holmes, E. A., O’Connor, R. C., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Silver, R. C., Everall, I., Ford, T., John, A., Kabir, T., King, K., Madan, I., Michie, S., Przybylski, A. K., Shafran, R., Sweeney, A., Worthman, C. M., Yardley, L., Cowan, K., Cope, C., Hotopf, M., Bullmore, E., “Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action for mental health science”, Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 7, pp. 547-560, 2020.
Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., McIntosh, D. N., Poulin, M., Gil-Rivas, V., “Nationwide longitudinal study of psychological responses to September 11”, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 288, pp. 1235-1244, 2002.
Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., Holman, E. A., “The novel Coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: Amplification of public health consequences by media exposure”, Health Psychology, vol. 39, pp. 355-357, 2020.
Wortman, C. B., Silver, R. C., “The myths of coping with loss”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 57, pp. 349-357, 1989.
Seery, M. D., Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 99, pp. 1025-1041, 2010.
McIntosh, D. N., Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., “Religion's role in adjustment to a negative life event: Coping with the loss of a child”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 65, pp. 812-821, 1993.
Lepore, S. J., Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., Wayment, H. A., “Social constraints, intrusive thoughts, and depressive symptoms among bereaved mothers”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 70, pp. 271-282, 1996.
Silver, R. L., Boon, C., Stones, M., “Searching for meaning in misfortune: Making sense of incest”, Journal of Social Issues, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 81-102, 1983.
Holman, E. A., Silver, R. C., “Getting "stuck" in the past: Temporal orientation and coping with trauma”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 74, pp. 1146-1163, 1998.
Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., “Media’s role in broadcasting acute stress following the Boston Marathon bombings”, PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, vol. 111, pp. 93-98, 2014.

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Contact Information

Website: https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/rsilver/

Email: rsilver@uci.edu

Address: Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning 535 Aldrich Hall University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-1000

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This profile was last updated on 2/12/2025.

This profile was created with the help of AI.