Ruben Tinajero, PhD

Associate Professor, Clinical Psychologist

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Family Medicine

Classification:

Clinical Faculty

• BA, University of California, Los Angeles, 2013
• PhD, University of Utah, Department of Psychology, 2020

Carlson, S.E., Smith, T.W., Williams, P.G., Parkhurst, K., Tinajero, R., Goans, C., Hirai, M., Ruiz, J.M (2022). Partialing alters interpersonal correlates of negative affective symptoms and traits: A circumplex illustration. Journal of Personality. 00:1-17. DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12767

Gangireddy, V.G.R., Pilkerton, C., Xiang, J.X., Tinajero, R., & Ashcraft, A.M. (2021). Hepatic fibrosis and steatosis in metabolic syndrome. Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome. 31:1-9 https://doi.org/10.7570/jomes21062

Frame, K.A., Tinajero, R., Raber, H., & Fortenberry, K.T. (2021) Adapting the shared medical appointment model for the management of anxiety in primary care. Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention. 7:142. doi.org/10.23937/2469-5793/1510142

Carlson, S.E., Smith, T.W., Parkhurst, K., Tinajero, R., Grove, J.L., Goans, C., Hirai, M., & Ruiz, J.M. (2021). Moving toward, moving against, and moving away: An interpersonal approach to construct validation of the Horney-Coolidge Type Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2021.1991358

Tinajero, R., Williams, P.G., Cribbet, M.R., Rau, H.K., Silver, M., Bride, D.L. & Suchy, Y. (2020). Reported history of childhood trauma and stress-related vulnerability: Associations with emotion regulation, executive functioning, daily hassles, and pre-sleep arousal. Stress & Health, 1-14. DOI: 10.1002/smi.2938

Williams, P.G., Cribbet, M.R., Tinajero, R., Rau, H.K., Thayer, J., & Suchy, Y. (2019). The association between individual differences in executive functioning and resting high frequency heart-rate variability. Biological Psychology, 148, 107772. 

Flores, M., Ruiz, J.M., Goans, C., Butler, E.A., Uchino, B.N., Hirai, M., Tinajero, R., & Smith, T.W. (2019). Racial-ethnic differences in social networks and perceived support: Measurement considerations and implications for disparities research. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000283

Ostlund, B., Vlisides-Henry, R.D., Crowell, S.E., Raby, K.L., Terrell, S., Brown, M., Tinajero, R., Shakiba, N., Monk, C., Shakib, J., Buchi, K.F., & Conradt, E. (2019). Intergenerational transmission of emotion dysregulation. Part II: Developmental origins of newborn neurobehavior. Development and Psychopathology, 1-14.

Tinajero, R., Williams, P. G., Cribbet, M. R., Rau, H. K., Bride, D. L., & Suchy, Y. (2018). Nonrestorative sleep in healthy, young adults without insomnia: Associations with executive functioning, fatigue, and pre-sleep arousal. Sleep Health, 4(3), 284–291.

Williams, P.G., Tinajero, R., & Suchy, Y. (2017). Executive functioning and health. Oxford Reviews Online.  DOI:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935291.013.7

Ruben Tinajero, Ph.D. is a clinical health psychologist in the West Virginia University Department of Family Medicine. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA in 2013, and earned his doctorate degree in clinical health psychology from the University of Utah in 2020. Dr. Tinajero completed an APA accredited internship at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) in 2020. His internship training at KUMC included specialized training in working with underserved populations under a HRSA grant. Dr. Tinajero contributes to the training of WVU Family Medicine residents and medical school students and supervises doctoral practicum students and psychology interns from the WVU Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry. He also provides behavioral health services to adults, contributes to department quality improvement projects, and conducts stress science and behavioral sleep medicine research.

Language spoken: English and Spanish

Where is your hometown? Corcoran, CA

What do you love about WV? I love the outdoor opportunities that West Virginia has to offer.

Why you chose Family Medicine/Specific Specialty? Working in a family medicine department never gets boring and allows me to work with patients with varied clinical presentations. I also enjoy working with primary care providers and trainees from multiple disciplines.

Hobbies or fun facts? I enjoy watching sports, spending time with my family, and hiking.

Special Training

• Other Speciality Training, APA- accredited internship: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
  University of Kansas Medical Center, 2020