RIA: Principal Investigator - Clara M. Bradizza, PhD

Principal Investigator

Clinical Psychology

Primary Research Areas

Factors affecting relapse to substance use among the dually diagnosed; affect regulation treatments for substance use; smoking interventions among pregnant women; and learning factors in substance use.

Current Projects

Affect Regulation Training for Pregnant Smokers (funded by NIDA).The goal of this project is to develop and test an affect regulation smoking cessation intervention for low-income pregnant smokers (in collaboration with Co-investigators Rina Das Eiden, PhD, Paul R. Stasiewicz, PhD, and Thomas Brandon, PhD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and University of South Florida).

Identifying Multiple Mechanisms of Change in Alcoholism Treatment (funded by NIAAA). Investigating four theoretically-relevant behavioral change mechanisms as a way to identify how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for alcohol dependence influences positive treatment outcomes (in collaboration with Principal Investigator Paul R. Stasiewicz, PhD)

On-going Research

Affect Regulation Training for Alcoholics (funded by NIAAA). Development of a clinical intervention to address the problem of negative affect as it relates to alcohol use and alcohol relapse (in collaboration with Principal Investigator Paul R. Stasiewicz, PhD and Co-Investigators Scott F. Coffey, PhD, University of Mississippi, and Suzy Bird Gulliver, PhD, Boston University.)

Relapse Among Severely Mentally Ill Alcohol Abusers (funded by NIAAA). Investigating factors that predict who continues to drink following alcohol and mental health treatment versus those individuals who are able to maintain abstinence from alcohol (in collaboration with Co-investigators Gerard J. Connors, PhD, Paul R. Stasiewicz, PhD, and Stephen A. Maisto, Syracuse University).

40 oz. Views: Alcohol Expectancies for Malt Liquor (funded by NIAAA). Developing and testing the psychometric properties of a measure of beliefs about the effects of malt liquor, a high alcohol content beverage that typically is marketed to younger consumers and minority populations (in collaboration with Principal Investigator R. Lorraine Collins, PhD of UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions).

Drug Coping Skills Assessment of Dual Diagnosis Patients (funded by NIDA). Evaluation of alcohol and drug coping skills among individuals dually-diagnosed with a severe mental illness and a substance use disorder.

Representative and Recent Publications

Bradizza, C. M., & Stasiewicz, P. R. (2009). Alcohol and drug use disorders. In K. Salzinger & M. Serper (Eds.), Behavioral Mechanisms and Psychopathology: Advancing the Explanation of Its Nature, Cause, and Treatment (pp. 199-223). American Psychological Association: Washington, D. C.

Stasiewicz, P. R., Vincent, P. C., Bradizza, C. M., Connors, G. J., Maisto, S. A., & Mercer, N. D. (2008). Factors affecting agreement between severely mentally ill alcohol abusers’ and collaterals’ reports of alcohol and other substance use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 78-87.

Gonzalez, V. M., Bradizza, C. M., Vincent, P. C., Stasiewicz, P. R., & Paas, N. D. (2007). Do individuals with a severe mental illness experience greater alcohol and drug-related problems? A test of the supersensitivity hypothesis. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 477-490.

Bradizza, C. M., Collins, R. L., Vincent, P. C., & Falco, D. L. (2006). It does the job: Young adults discuss their malt liquor consumption. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 1559-1577.

Bradizza, C. M., & Stasiewicz, P. R. (2003). Qualitative analysis of high-risk drug and alcohol-use situations among severely mentally ill substance abusers. Addictive Behaviors, 28, 157-169.

Stasiewicz, P. R. & Bradizza, C. M. (2002). Alcohol Abuse. In M. Hersen (Ed), Clinical Behavior Therapy: Adults and Children. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Stasiewicz, P. R. & Bradizza, C. M. (2002). Alcohol use disorders. In: M. Hersen & L. K. Porzelius (Eds.), Diagnosis, Conceptualization, and Treatment Planning for Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Collins, R. L. & Bradizza, C. M. (2001). Social and cognitive learning processes. In: N. Heather, T. J. Peters & T. R. Stockwell (Eds.), Handbook of Alcohol Dependence and Related Problems. Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons.

Bradizza, C. M., & Stasiewicz, P. R. (1999). Introduction to the special issue: Addictions in special populations. Addictive Behaviors, 24, 737-740.

Bradizza, C. M., Reifman, A., & Barnes, G. M. (1999). Social and coping reasons for drinking: Predicting alcohol misuse in adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60, 491-499.

Maisto, S. A., Carey, K. B., & Bradizza, C. M. (1999). Social learning theory. In K. E. Leonard & H. T. Blane, (Eds.), Psychological theories of drinking and alcoholism (2nd ed., pp. 107-163). New York: Guilford Press.