About

Walid A. Afifi (PhD, University of Arizona) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at UC Santa Barbara, where he also serves as Associate Dean and Director of Community Engaged Initiatives in the Division of Social Sciences. His research focuses on the experience of uncertainty and its impact on information seeking, decision-making, and well-being. This work has led to the development of the Theory of Motivated Information Management, which he has extended to the context of communities experiencing chronic uncertainty through the development of the Chronic Uncertainty Framework. Afifi's program of research primarily revolves around uncertainty and information-management decisions, with a particular emphasis on immigrant communities and communities experiencing trauma, considering the sociostructural determinants of behavior. He has been recognized for his commitment to research, teaching, and service that involves and empowers all communities, receiving awards such as UCSB’s Faculty Senate Teaching Award, the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity's Esteemed Ally Award, and the Margaret T. Gettman Award for Service to Students. Afifi teaches courses related to community engagement, interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, relational communication, and uncertainty. He was elected as a Fellow of the International Communication Association in 2021 and is currently serving as President of the National Communication Association.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Political Science
• Social psychology
• History
• Anthropology
• Ancient history
• Geography
• Psychology
• Media studies
• Medicine

Selected publications

• ‘There’s going to be uncertainty our whole life’: experiences of chronic uncertainties and related management strategies among the undocumented community in the U.S.

  Journal of Applied Communication Research · 2026-04-23

  article1st authorCorresponding
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• Academic freedom is not built for us: voices from the margins

  Communication Education · 2025-10-02 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
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• “Carrying Your History is a Form of Resilience”: Reconceptualizing Resilience from an Indigenous Perspective Through Family Storytelling Among Palestinians Residing in the United States

  Journal of Family Communication · 2025-08-25 · 1 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• Dialogue on difference: Greater regard for academic freedom

  Communication Monographs · 2025-04-11 · 2 citations

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Crop resilience enhancement through chitosan-based hydrogels as a sustainable solution for water-limited environments

  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · 2024-11-01 · 7 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• “Baba, you’re not gonna live forever … . we need these stories”: Intergenerational storytelling in Palestinian families connecting history, identity, and (the loss of) place

  Communication Monographs · 2024-10-23 · 11 citations

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• Individuals’ perceptions of reciprocal relationship maintenance in their marriage and its impact on communal orientation, relational load, and ability to flourish

  Human Communication Research · 2024-01-09 · 9 citations

  article

  Abstract This study investigates individuals’ perceptions of reciprocal relationship maintenance in their marriage over time during the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). Using a Qualtrics Panel, married individuals (N = 3,601) completed online surveys at four time points during the initial 3 months of the pandemic. Both the between- and within-person effects were consistent with the theory of resilience and relational load. On average, married individuals who reported giving greater relationship maintenance to their partners also reported receiving greater relationship maintenance from them, as well as reported greater communal orientation and flourishing and lower relational load. Giving relationship maintenance to one’s partner was a stronger predictor of receiving maintenance than the reverse, even though both influenced each other. Giving relationship maintenance to one’s partner was also a stronger and more consistent predictor of communal orientation, relational load, and flourishing than maintenance received. Finally, relational load in one’s marriage was the strongest predictor of flourishing.

  PublisherDOI

• Psychometric properties of the American version of the Chronic Uncertainty scale: long and short version (CU-40; CU-20)

  BMC Psychology · 2024-11-27 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Uncertainty is a widespread phenomenon experienced worldwide. The bulk of existing research to date has focused on transitory or acute experiences of uncertainty, often in the particular context of illness. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of the cross-contextual 40-item (long) and 20-item (short) Chronic Uncertainty scale (CU-40; CU-20). METHODS: A U.S. sample of 1083 participants (55% female) was recruited via Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a six-factor model. RESULTS: Results of the Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit for the original and a slightly better model fit for the modified version of the CU-40 and CU-20. Slightly different item-to-factor attributions were suggested for the questionnaires. Internal consistencies were good for both models. CONCLUSION: The evidence suggests that the CU scale offers psychometrically sound assessments of chronic uncertainty across a range of dimensions. Further assessments and implementations of the CU in different contexts using diverse samples are encouraged to test the efficacy of the CU measures as screening tools of general aspects of chronic uncertainty.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• College students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Unpacking the meaning of thriving through conversation with DACA friends and allies

  Communication Monographs · 2024-10-22

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Mental Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

  2024-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Tamara D. Afifi

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  28 shared

• Michael T. Stephenson

  Newcastle University

  13 shared

• Susan E. Morgan

  University of Miami

  13 shared

• Tyler R. Harrison

  12 shared

• Shawn D. Long

  Kennesaw State University

  12 shared

• John P. Caughlin

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  11 shared

• Laura K. Guerrero

  10 shared

• Katy E. Carpenter‐Theune

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  9 shared

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the International Communication Association (2021)
• UCSB’s Faculty Senate Teaching Award
• Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity's Esteemed A…
• Margaret T. Gettman Award for Service to Students