People

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Stephanie H. Cook, MPH, DrPH
NYU School of Global Public Health - Associate Professor
Email: sc5810@nyu.edu
Education
DrPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University
MPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University
BA, Psychology and Women's Studies, University of Michigan
Research Interests
Adult attachment, minority stress, emerging adulthood, sexual and gender minorities, HIV, substance use
BIO
Stephanie Cook aims to understand the pathways and mechanisms linking attachment, minority stress and health in vulnerable populations. She examines how the inter- and intra-personal features of close relationships influence the health of racial/ethnic and sexual minorities.

Through her development of an integrated theory of adult attachment (i.e., the development, or lack, of strong socio-emotional bonds) and minority stress (i.e., social stress experienced by individuals in minority social groups), she seeks to better understand the poor health and HIV prevention needs of disadvantaged youth transitioning into adulthood. She then utilizes this theoretical framework of attachment and minority stress to inform effective prevention programs for racial/ethnic and sexual minority youth.

Currently, Dr. Cook is exploring how adult attachment orientation is associated with HIV risk in a community sample of Black gay and bisexual men transitioning into adulthood. Second, she is exploring how transitions in attachment during adolescence are associated with trajectories of depression among a community based cohort sample of African-American youth. Third, she seeks to understand how adult attachment, in the context of minority stress, is associated with biomarkers of physical health among young sexual minority men.

Dr. Cook is Principal Investigator/MPI of three NIH-funded grants on sexual and gender minority health.  See descriptions of her grants on NIH RePORTER.
Projects
Principal Investigator, Ethical Considerations in the Collection of Biologics Among Young Sexual Minority Males. Completed
Principal Investigator, Exploring Daily Microaggressions and Health Behaviors in the Lives of Black Young Sexual Minority Men. Completed
Principal Investigator, Minority Stress, Substance Use, and Pre-Clinical Cardiovascular Risk Among Sexual Minority Men: Understanding the Protective Features of Social Support. Completed
Principal Investigator, Moving Beyond Social Support: Examining the Role of Adult Attachment, Daily Discrimination, Stress Physiology and Substance Use Among Young Sexual Minority Men. Completed
Publications

Recent

Humes I, Shyr C, Dillon M, Liu Z, Peterson J, Jeor CS, Malkes J, Master H, Mapes B, Azuine R, Mack N, Abdelbary B, Gamble-George J, Goldmann E, Cook S..., Harris PA (2024).
Empowering the biomedical research community: Innovative SAS deployment on the All of Us Researcher Workbench
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 31 (12), 2994-3000. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocae216. PMCID: PMC11631098.

Cook SH, Mishra AA, Green NA (2024).
Special issue editorial: Intersectionality and biological embedding
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 170, 107172. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107172.

Rodrigues M, Risner E, Rhodes-Bratton B, Cook SH, Cuevas A (2024).
Intersectionality matters for Hispanic health: A replication study using the All of Us Research Program
International Journal of Equity in Health, 23, 195. doi: 10.1186/s12939-024-02280-7. PMCID: PMC11441122.

Cook SH, Wood EP, Kapadia F, Halkitis PN (2024).
Adult attachment anxiety is protective against the effects of internalized homophobia on condomless sex among young sexual minority men: The P18 cohort study
Journal of Sex Research, 61 (5), 742-749. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2167192. PMCID: PMC10390643.

Cook SH, Wood EP, Rodrigues M, Jachero Caldas J, Delorme M (2024).
Assessment of a daily diary study including biospecimen collections in a sample of sexual and gender minority young adults: Feasibility and acceptability study
JMIR Formative Research, 8, e52195. doi: 10.2196/52195. PMCID: PMC10912985.


Notable

Boone MR, Cook SH, Wilson PA (2016).
Sexual identity and HIV status influence the relationship between internalized stigma and psychological distress in black gay and bisexual men
AIDS Care, 28 (6), 764-770. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2016.1164801. PMCID: PMC5043061.

Cook SH, Watkins DC, Calebs B, Wilson PA (2016).
Attachment orientation and sexual risk behaviour among young Black gay and bisexual men
Psychology and Sexuality, 7 (3), 177-196. doi: 10.1080/19419899.2016.1168312. PMCID: PMC4997232.

Dr. Cook's Google Scholar Profile
Selected Press