CONTACT:
- Katie Witkiewitz, Department of Psychology, 360-546-9403, katie.witkiewitz@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Katie Witkiewitz, assistant professor of psychology at Washington State University Vancouver, has recently been awarded four grants totaling more than $275,000 to support her research on behavioral treatments for smoking and alcohol use disorders.
Two of the leading causes of preventable death, smoking and alcohol use, amount to nearly one million deaths per year in the United States. Witkiewitz will use grant monies to research the development of adolescent alcohol and nicotine disorders, the factors that influence smoking and binge drinking among college students, the development of a mobile intervention to reduce college smoking and binge drinking, the predictors of alcohol use relapse following treatment for alcohol use disorders and improving tobacco telephone counseling to enhance smoking cessation.
While the results from the research will be presented at conferences and published in journals around the world, Witkiewitz is confident that the grants will benefit the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø campus community.
"I am hopeful that my research will lead to the development and dissemination of better behavioral treatments for alcohol dependence and smoking cessation. There is potential for expanding treatment programs to residents of the greater Vancouver-Portland metropolitan area and providing hands-on training to 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø students who are interested in learning more about the prevention and treatment of addictive behaviors," said Witkiewitz.
Witkiewitz's project, "Emergence of Adolescent Substance Use Problems from the Externalizing Spectrum," was awarded $72,725 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The goal of the grant is to study the onset of substance use and the transition from experimental use to substance use problems in adolescents.
"BASICS-ED: A Momentary Intervention for Concurrent Smoking and Heavy Drinking," was awarded $77,656 by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The aim of the grant is to determine the factors that influence smoking and binge drinking among college students. In addition, it funds the development of a mobile-intervention that targets the abuse of tobacco and alcohol.
"Relationships Among Interpersonal Stress, Affect Regulation, and Alcohol Lapse," was awarded $29,281 by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The goal of this project is to gain a better understanding of the alcohol relapse process and to identify potential targets for relapse prevention interventions.
"Technology-Enhanced Quitline Services to Prevent Smoking Relapse," was awarded $96,300 by the National Cancer Institute. This study aims to improve tobacco telephone counseling to prevent smoking relapse and achieve abstinence.
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