Fernando Rivera

Biography

Fernando I. Rivera, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida. His research interests and activities fall under staple areas of sociology, primarily the sociology of health/medical sociology, disasters, and race and ethnicity. In the area of health, his published work has investigated how different mechanisms are related to certain health and mental health outcomes with a particular emphasis on Latino populations. His disaster research has explored the investigation of factors associated with disaster resilience, particularly in rural communities. In the area of race and ethnicity he has investigated the effects of segregation and perceived discrimination on the health of Latino populations. Dr. Rivera has received funding from the United States Department of Agriculture for his disaster research. In addition, he participated in the Research Education in Disaster Mental Health training fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health and Dartmouth University. He is also the editor of Disaster Resilience: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2013, with Kacupu and Hawkins). He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. He also completed a NIMH sponsored post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for health, health care policy, and aging research at Rutgers-the state university of New Jersey.

Research Interest

 Sociology of Mental Health, Medical Sociology, Latino/a Sociology, Race and Ethnicity, Disasters, Family