people

Kristine Chua

Krisitne
Anthropology
UC Santa Barbara
Postdoctoral Scholar

Kristine Joy Chua is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Anthropology at UCSB and earned her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from UCLA. Her research combines evolutionary and biocultural anthropology perspectives to understand how chronic stress “gets under the skin” during pregnancy. She utilizes methods from anthropology, biology, and public health to explore the social and biological factors that create and sustain peri- and postnatal inequities and the role that cultural practices play in shaping health norms. She works closely with pregnant Filipina mothers in the Philippines and pregnant mothers in Southern California. Current research questions include: (1) how does the maternal immune system respond to fetal cells circulating throughout pregnancy (co-director: Amy Boddy); (2) how do pregnant Filipina mothers respond to stress from their socio-political environment; (3) how are definitions of stress and coping mechanisms impacted by cultural attitudes; and (4) what conditions could preterm birth be an adaptive response for mothers. In addition to her academic work, she maintains her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through undergraduate mentorship, partnerships with K-12 educators, and collaborations with community stakeholders.

Publications

Cove, C., Chua, K. J., Martin, M., Hubble, & Boddy, A., 2024. 
" Variation in breastfeeding behavior associated with changes in diurnal maternal inflammation. "
Scientific Reports. 14(1), 4376.
Hotez, E., Yang, G., Chua, K. J., Smith, A., Lee, C., Weimer, A., & Delgado, D. 2023. 
"Preliminary pilot- testing of intimate partner violence screening for transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals in Med-Peds and Family Medicine."
Cureus. 15(8): e43983
 Hotez, E., Chua, K.J., Samras, N., Smith, A.M., & Kuo, A. 2023.
"Preliminary pilot testing of social determinants of health screening for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Med-Peds. "
Cureus. 15(5). e38541.
†Chua, K. J., †Knorr, D., *Jimenez, J., *Rojas, V., *Francia, A., *Garcia, J. I., & Fox, M. 2023.
"What do your neighbors think about you? How perceived neighborhood attitudes towards Latinos influence mental health among a pregnant Latina cohort."
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Disparities. 1-12. †both authors contributed equally.
Wiley, K.S., Knorr, K., Chua, K. J., Garcia, S. & Fox, M. 2023.
"Sociopolitical stressors are associated with psychological distress in a cohort of Latina women during early pregnancy."
Journal of Community Psychology, 51(7), 3044-3059.
Chua, K. J., Lukaszewski, A. W., & Manson, J. 2020.
"Sex-specific effects of harsh childhood environment on psychometrically assessed life history strategy: No mediation through developmental timing or embodied capital."
 Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. 6(3), 307-333.
Chua, K. J., Lukaszewski, A. W., Grant, D. M., & Sng, O. 2017.
"Human life history strategies: Calibrated to external or internal cues? "
Evolutionary Psychology, 15(1), 1-16.
Clauss, N., Byrd-Craven, J., & Kennison, S. M., & Chua, K. J. 2017.
"The roles of mothers’ partner satisfaction and mother-infant communication duration in mother-infant adrenocortical attunement."
Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 1-17.