Cleopatra Abdou

Cleopatra Miriam Abdou-Kamperveen is a psychologist, author, and professor, best known for her work on reproductive health, human flourishing, and longevity. Abdou is an assistant professor in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California (USC). Abdou served as an associate editor for the Handbook of Minority Aging published by Springer in 2013.
Abdou developed the Culture and Social Identity Health Theory and the related conceptual framework, Aging Before Birth and Beyond. Abdou coined the term healthcare stereotype threat (HCST) and was the first to develop experimental methods for applying the social psychological theory of stereotype threat to the public health problem of health disparities, empirically demonstrating that healthcare stereotype threat is an overlooked psychosocial barrier to healthcare utilization and, thus, good health.
In 2014, Abdou conducted a study at the University of Southern California examining the role that stereotypes play in health disparities. The study identified and explained why women of color are less likely to use healthcare than White women and proposed some solutions. A paper about the study was published in the American Psychological Association journal, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology in July 2014.<ref name=threat/>

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