RIA: Principal Investigator - Kenneth E. Leonard, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Kenneth E. Leonard, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychology

Primary Research Areas

Marital/family processes; parenting and infant development; interpersonal aggression; bar violence; domestic violence.

Current Projects

Study of Health and Adult Relationship Experiences (funded by NIAAA). Examination of personality, health behaviors (such as smoking and drinking), attention and memory skills, and intimacy and conflict in relationships. (in collaboration with Maria Testa, Ph.D., Brian M. Quigley, Ph.D., and Rebecca J. Houston, Ph.D.).

Alcohol and Couples Communication Study (funded by NIAAA). Investigation of how acute alcohol consumption influences the communication behaviors of men and women in a married or cohabiting relationship (in collaboration with Principal Investigator Maria Testa, Ph.D. and Brian M. Quigley, Ph.D.)

Alcohol and Early Marriage (funded by NIAAA). Examining drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems in young couples from the time of application for a first marriage license, up to and including celebration of their seventh anniversaries.

Parenting and Infant/Child Development in Alcoholic Families (funded by NIAAA). Examining the influence of parental characteristics such as stress, depression and alcohol problems on the family and on the social and emotional development of children (in collaboration with Co-investigator Rina Das Eiden, Ph.D.).

On-going Research

Alcohol and Bar Violence (funded by NIAAA). Examined the prevalence and predictors of alcohol-related violence among young adults between the ages of 18-30 (in collaboration with Co-investigators R. Lorraine Collins, Ph.D., of UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, and Brian M. Quigley, Ph.D.).

Representative and Recent Publications

Homish, G. G., Leonard, K. E. (2007). The drinking partnership and marital satisfaction: The longitudinal influence of discrepant drinking. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 43-51.

Edwards, E. P., Eiden, R. D., Colder, C., & Leonard, K. E. (2006). The development of aggression in 18 to 48 month old children of alcoholic parents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 393-407.

Edwards, E. P., Eiden, R. D., & Leonard, K. E. (2006). Behavior problems in 18- to 36- month old children of alcoholic fathers: Secure mother-infant attachment as a protective factor. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 395-407.

Eiden, R. D., Edwards, E. P., & Leonard, K. E. (2006). Children's internalization of rules of conduct: Role of parenting in alcoholic families. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20, 305-315.

Quigley, B. M., & Leonard, K. E. (2006). Alcohol expectancies and intoxicated aggression. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11, 484-496.

Homish, G. G., & Leonard, K. E. (2005). Marital quality and congruent drinking. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 66, 488-496.

Homish G. G., & Leonard, K. E. (2005). Spousal influence on smoking behaviors in a U.S. community sample of newly married couples. Social Science and Medicine, 61, 2557-67.

Leonard, K. E. (2005). Alcohol and intimate partner violence: When can we say that heavy drinking is a contributing cause of violence? Addiction, 100, 422-425.

Leonard, K. E., & Homish, G. G. (2005). Changes in marijuana use over the transition into marriage. Journal of Drug Issues, 35, 409-430.

Schumacher, J. A., & Leonard, K. E. (2005). Husbands' and wives' marital adjustment, verbal aggression, and physical aggression as longitudinal predictors of physical aggression in early marriage. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 28-37.