RIA: Principal Investigator - Ronda L. Dearing, PhD

Principal Investigator

Clinical Psychology

Primary Research Areas

Help-seeking and access to substance abuse treatment; shame and guilt; addiction treatment outcome; relations between views about substance abuse treatment and subsequent treatment entry.

Current Research

Therapeutic Alliances in Alcoholism Treatment(funded by NIAAA). In this study, the therapeutic alliance, from the perspective of the patient, is being studied regularly over the course of outpatient treatment and its relationship to treatment variables (such as attendance) and posttreatment functioning (including drinking behavior) evaluated. The study is intended to advance knowledge on therapeutic alliances, the enhancement of which is anticipated to improve treatment outcomes. The study is being conducted in collaboration with Principal Investigator Gerard Connors and Drs. Stephen A. Maisto of Syracuse University, and Joseph Lucke of RIA.

Video Vignettes: Measuring Risk Perception in Alcohol Related Sexual Assaults (funded by NIAAA). Development of a new computerized video vignette measure to assess women's ability to perceive risks for sexual assault during heterosexual drinking situations (in collaboration with Principal Investigator Kathleen A. Parks, PhD, and Co-investigators Maria Testa, PhD and Amy Hequembourg, PhD.).

Ongoing Research

Exploration of shame in residential aftercare: Feasibility of a shame resilience intervention (funded by RIA Research Development Program). This pilot study is investigating the feasibility of implementing a shame resilience intervention with problem drinkers in two local residential aftercare facilities.

Help-Seeking for Alcohol Problems: A Prospective Study (funded by NIAAA). Exploring problem drinkers' attitudes about alcohol-related problems and alcohol treatment. Investigating how these attitudes and other factors relate to subsequent treatment entry (in collaboration with Gerard J. Connors, PhD and Kimberly S. Walitzer, PhD).

Impulse Control as a Mechanism of Change in the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence (funded by NIAAA). Multi-modal assessment of impulse control as a mechanism of change before, during, and after cognitive behavioral treatment for alcohol dependence (in collaboration with Principal Investigator Rebecca J. Houston, PhD and Co-investigators Gerard J. Connors, PhD and Gregory G. Homish, PhD).

Investigating the relations of shame-proneness and guilt-proneness to alcohol and drug problems (in collaboration with June Tangney, PhD, George Mason University.)

Representative and Recent Publications

Dearing, R. L., & Tangney, J. P. (Eds.) (in press). Shame in the therapy hour. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Dearing, R. L., & Twaragowski, C. (2010). The social psychology of help seeking. In J. E. Maddux and J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Social Psychological Foundations of Clinical Psychology (pp. 395-415). New York: Guilford.

Stuewig, J., Tangney, J. P., Mashek, D., Forkner, P., & Dearing, R. (2009). The moral emotions, alcohol dependence, and HIV risk behavior in an incarcerated sample. Substance Use and Misuse, 44, 449-471.

Parks, K., Hequembourg, A., & Dearing, R. (2008). Women’s social behavior when meeting new men: The influence of alcohol and childhood sexual abuse. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 145-158.

Maisto, S. A., Connors, G. J., & Dearing, R. L. (2007). Alcohol use disorders. Toronto: Hogrefe & Huber.

Walitzer, K. S., & Dearing, R. L. (2006). Gender differences in alcohol and substance use relapse. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 128-148.

Dearing, R. L., Maddux, J. E., & Tangney, J. P. (2005). Predictors of psychological help seeking in clinical and counseling psychology graduate students. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36, 323-329.

Dearing, R. L., Stuewig, J., & Tangney, J. P. (2005). On the importance of distinguishing shame from guilt: Relations to problematic alcohol and drug use. Addictive Behaviors, 30, 1392-1404.

Dearing, R. L., Barrick, C., Dermen, K. H., & Walitzer, K. S. (2005). Indicators of client engagement: Influences on alcohol treatment satisfaction and outcomes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 71-78.

Tangney, J. P., Boone, A., & Dearing, R. (2005). Forgiving the self: Conceptual issues and empirical findings. In E. L. Worthington, Jr. (Ed.), Handbook of forgiveness (pp. 143-158). New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Tangney, J. P., & Dearing, R. L. (2002). Gender differences in morality. In R. F. Bornstein and J. M. Masling (Eds.), Empirical studies in psychoanalytic theories: Vol. 10. The psychodynamics of gender and gender role (pp. 251-269). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Tangney, J. P., & Dearing, R. L. (2002). Shame and Guilt. New York: Guilford Press.