Debora Perez Torres
Contact
Office Hours
Bio
Dr. Debora Pérez Torres (She/Her/Ella) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the California State University, San Bernardino. She holds a BA in Journalism and Media Studies from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in México, an M.A. in Communication from the University of Utah, and a PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Her research focuses on emotion, social identity, and media effects, particularly in the context of minority populations, namely Latinos. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Health Communication, and Media Psychology. She teaches courses on strategic communication, media effects, global communication, organizational communication, and research methods. She lives in California with her marvelous husband Dr. Benjamin K. Smith and delightful daughter Olivia.
Education
- Ph.D. in Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Focus: Media Effects, Latino/a/x Stress and Well-Being
- Dissertation: Media-Based Coping for Latino Populations
- M.A. in Communication, University of Utah
- Focus: Health Communication, Media Effects, Latino/a/x Disparities
- Thesis: The Influence of Ethnic Newspaper Consumption on Cancer Prevention Behaviors: A Test of The Cognitive Mediation Model
- B.A. (Licenciatura) in Journalism and Media Studies, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey
- International Honors Program:
- Georgetown University, Washington DC
- University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
- Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- International Honors Program:
Courses/Teaching
Communication
COMM 2101 Introduction to Communication Studies
COMM 3101 Communication, Self, and Others
Strategic Communication
COMM 2491 Practicum in Strategic Communication: Coyote PR
COMM 3401 Introduction to Strategic Communication
COMM 4491 Advanced Practicum in Strategic Communication: Coyote PR
COMM 4401 Strategic Communication Campaigns
Relational and Organizational Communication
COMM 5267 Advanced Topics in Relational and Organizational Communication (Health Communication)
COMM 4203 Organizational Communication
Specialization
COMM 2592 Practicum in Communication Research: Stress and Coping Among Latino Populations
COMM 5952 Professional Development in Communication
COMM 6953 Communication Research: Health Communication and Campaigns
COMM 6973 Graduate Thesis: Black Maternal Mortality and Coping Strategies
Research and Teaching Interests
Media and emotion; Stress and coping; Media and well-being; Stress and media effects; Latinos and media effects; Discrimination-related stress; Persuasion and narratives; Ethnic health disparities; Health promotion and education.
Publications
Nabi, R., Dobmeier, C. M.*, Robbins, C. L.*, Pérez Torres, D., & Walter, N. (2024). Effects of scanning health news headlines on trust in science: An emotional framing perspective. Health Communication.
Nabi, R., So, J., & Prestin, A., & Pérez Torres, D. (2021). Media-based emotional coping: Examining the emotional benefits and pitfalls of media consumption. In The Routledge Handbook of Emotions and Mass Media.
Jensen, J. D., King, A. J., Pérez Torres, D., Krakow, M., Coe, K., & Upshaw, S. (2020). Is News Surveillance Related to Cancer Knowledge in Underserved Adults? Testing Three Versions of the Cognitive Mediation Model. Journalism Studies, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1731706
Afifi, T. D., Zamanzadeh, N., Harrison, K., & Pérez Torres, D. (2019). Explaining the impact of differences in voting patterns on resilience and relational load in romantic relationships during the transition to the Trump presidency. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407519846566
Kam, J. A., Pérez Torres, D., & Steuber, K. (2018) Identifying individual- and family-level coping strategies as sources of resilience and thriving for undocumented youth of Mexican origin. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 1-24. doi: 10.1080/00909882.2018.1528373
Nabi, R. L., Pérez Torres, D., & Prestin, A. (2017). Guilty pleasure no more: The relative importance of media use for coping with stress. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 29, 126–136. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000223
Kam, J. A., & Pérez Torres, D. (2017). Perceived Parental Legitimacy as a Moderator of Parent− Child Communication’s Effects on Latina/o Adolescent Substance Use. Health Communication, 1-10. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2017.1306911
Krakow, M., Yale, R. N., Pérez Torres, D., Christy, K., & Jensen, J. D. (2017). Death narratives and cervical cancer: Impact of character death on narrative processing and HPV vaccination. Health Psychology, 36, 1173–1180. doi: 10.1037/hea0000498
King, A. J., Jensen, J. D., Guntzviller, L. M., Pérez Torres, D., & Krakow, M. (2017). Ethnic newspapers and low-income Spanish-speaking adults: Influence of news consumption and health motivation on cancer prevention behaviors. Ethnicity & Health. 1-15. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2017.1280133