Board certified in Geropsychology  January 2025 CV

Research Interests

Dr. Allen’s research and clinical interests are: 1)  clinical training issues (e.g., substance and opioid use disorders, empowering underserved communities to facilitate effective treatment delivery through community-based partnerships, health and mental health disparities);  2) interventions to reduce the stress of individuals, family, and professional caregivers within the context of advanced chronic or terminal illness; and 3) the cultural dynamics (race/ethnicity, rural/urban) of healthcare and financial decision making.  She has published on translation of end-of-life/Dignity interventions, diversity in advance care planning, adapting surveys for cultural relevance, behavioral interventions in the community and long-term care, and ethical practice in interprofessional teams.  Dr. Allen is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Aging and is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the APA Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging).  

​NOTE: Dr. Allen is a First-Generation Scholar and welcomes those with similar backgrounds into her laboratory.

​Recent Publications (selected from over 150 in chronological and alphabetical order)

Empirical Journal Articles: * mentored student publications

1. Allen, R.S., Lin, S.S.-H.*, Ly, T.K.*, Jacobs, M.L., McKinney, R.E., Cox, B.S., Albright, A.E., Dragan, D.M., Carroll, D., & Halli-Tierney, A. (2024). Substance use screening in geriatric primary care: Cultural issues and alcohol consumption in the Deep South. Clinical Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2024.2326523. 
2. Lin, S.S.-H.*, & Allen, R.S. (2024). Greater baseline intra-individual variation in telephone-based cognitive screening predicts cognitive and diagnostic outcomes at 2-year follow-up. Neuropsychology. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000959
3. Ly, T.K.*, Allen, R. S., Cundiff, J.M., & DeCaro, J.A. (2024). Investigating the effects of discrimination experiences on everyday metamemory. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 79(8), gbae089 https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae089 Advance access publication 6 June 2024.
4. Mumba, M. N., Mugoya, G. T., Allen, R. S., Glenn, A., Richman, J, Ghera, A., Butler, A., Rogers, B., Granger, T., & Davis, L. (Accepted, 2024). The methods and baseline characteristics of a multi-site randomized controlled trial evaluating mindfulness-based relapse prevention in conjunction with peer support to improve adherence to medications for opioid use disorders. Frontiers of Psychiatry.
5. Allen, R. S., McIntyre, A.*, Oliver, J.S., Payne-Foster, P., Cox, B.S. Hay-McCutcheon, M.J., Wilson, L., Spencer, C., & Lee, H.Y. (2023). Church leaders share and implement solution-focused health strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Alabama. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01873-2.  
6. Lin, S.S.-H.*, Jacobs, M.L., Halli-Tierney, A., Carroll, D., & Allen, R. S. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) in older adult primary care patients. Clinical Gerontologist. DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2023.2276291
7. ​Brasfield, M.B.*, Bui, C., Patihis, L., Crowther, M.R., Allen, R. S., & McDonough, I.M. (2023). Self-reported chronic stress is unique across lifetime periods: A test of competing structural equation models. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad042. 
8. Plys, E., Jacobs, M.L., Allen, R. S., & Arch, J. (2022). Psychological flexibility and psychological suffering in older adulthood: A scoping review. Aging and Mental Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2036948
9. McDonough, I M., Erwin, H.*, Sin, N., & Allen, R. S. (2022). Pet ownership is associated with greater cognitive and brain health in a cross-sectional sample across the adult lifespan. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 1-15. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.953889/full.
10. McDuffie, D.L.*, Allen, R. S., Crowther, M.R., & Black, S. (2022). Investigating the applicability of the Two-Track Model of Bereavement to a Southern sample of African American adults. Death Studies, 46(9), 2056-2069. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2021.1880500
11. Moore, T.*, Payne-Foster, P., Oliver, J.S., Spears, E.G., Spencer, C.H., Maye, J., & Allen, R.S. (2022). Community perspectives and environmental justice issues in an unincorporated Black township. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (12), 74-90. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127490
12. Reel, C.*, Allen, R. S., Lanai, B.*, Yuk, M.*, & Potts, D. (2022). Bringing Art to Life: Social and activity engagement through art in persons living with dementia. Clinical Gerontologist, 45(2), 327-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2021.1878404. 
13. Halli-Tierney, A.D., McKinney, R.E., Gold, A.E., Allen, R. S., & Carroll, D.G. (2021). Development of interprofessional case discussion series from an interprofessional geriatrics clinic and its influence on professional identity formation. New Directions in Teaching and Learning, 103-115. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20472.
14. Strong, J.V., Allen, R. S., Tighe, C., Jacobs, M.L., Dorman, H., & Mast, B. (2021). What psychology trainees think geropsychologists do and what we actually do: A mixed methods study. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 42(2), 277-296.1-20. DOI: 10.1080/02701960.2019.1697253.
15. Allen, R. S., Oliver, J.S., Eichorst, M.K.*, Mieskowski, L.*, Payne-Foster, P., & Sörensen, S. (2019). Preparation and planning for future care in the Deep South: Adapting a validated tool for cultural sensitivity. The Gerontologist, 59(6), e643-e652. DOI:10.1093/geront/gny102.​

Books

1. Allen, R. S., Carpenter, B.D., & Eichorst, M.K. (Eds). (2018). Perspectives on behavioural interventions in palliative and end-of-life care. Aging and mental health research series. London and New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN: 978-0-4|57-9152-6.
2. Allen, R. S., Carpenter, B.D., & Eichorst, M.K. (Eds). (2018). Perspectives on palliative and end-of-life care: Disease, Social and Cultural Context. Aging and mental health research series. London and New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.
3. Bush, S.S., Allen, R. S., & Molinari, V. (2017). Ethical practice in geropsychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 978-1-4338-2626-9.

Favorite Lab Quotes and Mission:

• “Pay it forward.”
• “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.” –Mahatma/Mohandas Gandhi
• “How do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?” — Bell Hooks
• “You can’t microwave trustworthiness. You have to crockpot it.” — Dr. David A. Hodge, National Center for Bioethics in Research & Healthcare, Tuskegee University
• “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” –Maya Angelou
• ​”Trouble won’t last always…” –LIFE Research Participant; Harris et al (2013) – DOI: 10.1177/1049732313482590
• “Progress is asking the right question at the right time and getting answers before you move on to the next question.”