Center for the Study of Health & Risk Behaviors (CSHRB)
In Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Our goal is to reduce harm related to addictive & other health risk behaviors & improve the health of all people through research, training, practice & policy initiatives.
- Black Americans’ contributions to the field of mental health have been long overlooked. Check out these trailblazers! mhanational.org/resources/bl...
- This study offers guidance on specific changes needed in the addiction treatment system to make treatment more appealing, effective & equitable for Black people. These changes have the potential to create a treatment system more patient-centered & trustworthy than currently so bit.ly/4qm3P1M
- #CSHRB Post Doc Nick Livingston's study findings suggest that patient characteristics associated with buprenorphine initiation may differ by health care setting. However, retention among subgroups of patients appears similar across settings bit.ly/49X23iH
- Black History Month is a time for celebration, reflection, education around the Black community. It's also a time to recall our duty to dismantle racism, including in health systems, where bias, systemic barriers & medical mistreatment often lead to poorer health outcomes for this community
- U.W. study by researcher & #CSHRB colleague Beatriz Carlini found that cannabis users with psychotic disorders, like schizophrenia, report higher rates of physical ailments, such as nausea, dizziness, and heart problems — which they attribute to cannabis use
- #CSHRB study was successful in identifying an enhanced version of our pilot CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) intervention that has large effects on PTSD symptoms & alcohol misuse (i.e., the loss framing + growth mindset intervention variant) bit.ly/4pTJArP
- #CSHRB co-authored study results say elevated anxious affect was concurrently associated with coping motives for cannabis use & longer duration of intoxication at the event-level but only among those with more severe CU problems bit.ly/3NIYhR7
- YA drinkers experience at least some AUD (alcohol use disorders) symptoms in daily living. #CSHRB co-authored findings stress the importance of measuring daily experiences of AUD & how critical it is to consider a broad range of operationalizing how specific symptoms are experienced bit.ly/4qwUeGk
- #CSHRB co-authored study results challenge the traditional negative reinforcement model in certain populations, namely among veterans with PTSD highlighting the importance of considering PTSD status & other individual factors when examining the effects of cannabis use on mental health bit.ly/4sLssHG
- #CSHRB co-authored study provides compelling evidence that daily affective states— particularly negative affect, depressed mood, anxious mood & perceived stress—are potent, real-time predictors of clinically significant PTSD symptom increases among veterans bit.ly/3NadIBH
- SAVE THE DATE: Burnout at the Intersections: Race, Justice, and Behavioral Health. This webinar is part of the Race, Equity and Social Justice Call-to-Action Series presented by the Harborview Behavioral Health Institute on January 29 from 10 - 11:30 AM. Register here: bit.ly/4bujE2m
- Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month is an annual campaign that serves to support people thinking about or seeking help for their substance use, their family, friends, and loved ones, and practitioners who offer treatment. Learn more bit.ly/4aQ5DvW
- #CSHRB study results suggest that THRIVE digital app may be a promising strategy to improve social functioning in sexual assault survivors: those in the intervention condition showed larger increases in perceived support from friends, & decreases in conformity drinking motives bit.ly/4pvKdrj
- #CSHRB study findings suggest that skill utilization is a key factor driving intervention efficacy, with alcohol reduction strategies potentially offering consistent protection against heavy drinking over time bit.ly/4bcJGXP
- #CSHRB study says alcohol & cannabis use among young adults remain a public health concern & novel interventions that personalize intervention content based on daily or ecological momentary assessments (EMA) data offer a unique opportunity to potentially enhance intervention effects bit.ly/45oPJ7Z
- Most alcohol use disorder (AUD) descriptors were stigmatizing (1 in 5 highly stigmatizing), with men showing slightly higher prevalence than women bit.ly/4pDsxuV
- #CSHRB co-authored study demonstrated that applying an intersectional approach to exploring variation in interpersonal discrimination can capture experiences that would otherwise be invisible thus advancing a more comprehensive & nuanced understanding of interpersonal discrimination bit.ly/4rZNq5c
- Good news of a new publication from #CSHRB's co-authored LAHRA project on rural Latinx young adults to identify relevant adult roles, transitions & events from their unique perspectives at ages 21 & 26 bit.ly/4p0gHul
- One of the biggest mental health innovations of the past decade is therapy via text message www.dtnext.in/edit/mental-...
- #CSHRB co-authored study says timely outreach following a suicide ideation screen was associated with improved treatment access, sustained treatment engagement & symptom reduction. Results support tech-enabled crisis outreach within a comprehensive mental health platform bit.ly/4oR2TT7
- #CSHRB co-authored study says a culturally adapted behavioral intervention, combining Motivational Enhancement Therapy & Strengths Based Case Management, delivered by Spanish-speaking community health workers significantly reduced unhealthy alcohol use among Latino/as bit.ly/4nNG9SB
- #CSHRB co-authored study says individuals released from jail with history of domestic violence (DV)-related offenses were at higher risk for suicide death compared to the general population as well as people released from jail without history of DV-related offenses in King County, WA bit.ly/43eE9LR
- #CSHRB co-authored study says antisocial behavior (ASB) symptoms in adolescence may be a precursor to alcohol use disorder (AUD) in emerging adulthood; whereas AUD & ASB symptoms may follow independent trajectories through adulthood bit.ly/47eNEwT
- #CSHRB preliminary study findings support prior investigations demonstrating that alterations of mesocorticolimbic connectivity are associated with cannabis users & craving in individuals at risk for cannabis use disorder
- #CSHRB study results highlight the critical interplay of alcohol & social settings on performance monitoring processes. Social cohesion tends to increase performance monitoring for players. At least in cooperative tasks, feedback effects between players & observers become synchronized bit.ly/4oBwhMI
- Environmental factors play a key role in shaping alcohol use behavior patterns. #CSHRB co-authored study identified these settings as influences on drinking: evenings/weekends, celebrations, bars, presence of alcohol-related cues, distracting activities & crowded, mixed-gender spaces bit.ly/48D0W7z
- #CSHRB co-authored study results highlight the potential for integrating passive & active data to improve symptom prediction & early intervention efforts for PTSD & CUD in veterans. Future research should explore long-term engagement strategies & clinical applications bit.ly/4ow6Iwu
- Congrats to #CSHRB's Christine Lee & colleagues re Check In With Yourself and new websites to help people cope bit.ly/3Jgf4sY
- #CSHRB study says re alcohol use, depressive symptoms predicted lower odds of drinking alcohol on a given month; if young adults did drink then depressive symptoms predicted heavier drinking. For cannabis, depressive symptoms predicted both greater odds of using cannabis & heavier use bit.ly/47epBwZ
- #CSHRB study points to the promise of brief, technology-based interventions to help promote recovery & symptom reduction in trauma-exposed populations. The study evaluated enhancements to a promising CBT text intervention for PTSD + AM (alcohol misuse) bit.ly/478Ts9O
- #CSHRB study found significant reductions in negative trauma cognitions following a brief cognitive intervention delivered in the early recovery period after a recent sexual assault. Reductions in trauma cognitions did not mediate the effect of the intervention on PTSD symptoms bit.ly/3VU3pCZ
- #CSHRB study says greater within-family anti-social behavior (ASB) in adolescence predicted moderate increases in alcohol use disorder (AUD) in emerging adulthood; whereas adolescent AUD did not predict subsequent ASB bit.ly/3IFImkC
- #CSHRB thesis suggests that individuals without existing risk-mitigation strategies for HIV show the greatest vulnerability alcohol & chemsex effects on sexual risk behavior & would likely benefit the most from intervention bit.ly/3Il5Pre
- #CSHRB thesis concludes increased alcohol consumption is predicted by higher depression symptomatology & alcohol-related problems, highlighting the relationship between depression, behavioral activation & alcohol use in young adults bit.ly/4mUeUFH
- #CSHRB thesis concludes prevention programs for trading harms could focus on educating young adults prone to high financial stress, sensation seeking traits & positive social norms of trading about the potential risks of trading bit.ly/48xRaTX
- #CSHRB study featured this week via the Harvard Medical Schools' BASIS research article review underscores the need to address addictive issues holistically. The study found more frequent co-use is related to stronger correlations between problem gambling & problematic alcohol use bit.ly/3Vndw2V
- Join Center for Suicide Prevention & Recovery (CSPAR) for a Suicide Research Spotlight! Detecting Suicide Risk from Short Term Risk Factors and Google Searches: A Prospective Longitudinal Study Over One-Year Thursday, Sept 18, 2025 at 9-10 am PST bit.ly/3VloLZF
- #CSHRB co-authored study finds low support for drug checking for fentanyl & first responders' distribution of FTS. Drug checking may have the most utility for PWUD who were trying to avoid fentanyl; however, its potential benefits may not be fully realized bit.ly/4pkmGe8
- #CSHRB study sought to identify potential avenues for disrupting the theorized syndemic relationships between PTSD, substance misuse & HIV for Native Americans. Both interventions reduced PTSD symptoms, substance use & sexual behaviors that may increase risk of HIV transmission bit.ly/3Ij2rNl
- The Department of Health and Human Services has pulled back a government report warning of a link between cancer & drinking even small amounts of alcohol, according to the authors of the research. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/h...
- Consistent with #CSHRB hypotheses, BRITE intervention led to consistent & robust decreases in PTSD compared to symptom monitoring for sexual assault survivors. Contrary to expected BRITE was not superior to symptom monitoring of alcohol misuse: both conditions improved on this outcome bit.ly/4gosSOt
- The presence of a romantic partner may up the risk of engaging in simultaneous alcohol & cannabis (SAM) use at the daily level, & SAM use with a partner present is associated with high-risk drinking behaviors & more positive alcohol-related consequences compared to alcohol-only use bit.ly/47zZWkb
- #CSHRB study says Latinx YAs experienced more pandemic-related stressors than Non-Latinx (NL) White YAs. Across 2020–2022 and adjusting for use in 2019, Latinx YAs reported more cannabis use days and NL Asian YAs reported fewer cannabis and alcohol use days than NL White YAs bit.ly/45wiKhs
- #CSHRB author hypothesized participants who disclosed victimization(s) would report lower levels of negative outcomes vs those who did not disclose victimization(s). Instead, participants who didn't disclose their victimization(s) reported significantly fewer sexual risk behaviors bit.ly/44VB43c
- How to Help Your Man Go to the Doctor url:https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/well/prevention/men-asking-for-help-doctor
- #CSHRB co-authored study says sleep difficulties fell substantially following trauma-focused intervention, but global sleep difficulties remained high. This adds to research suggesting sleep disturbance may be better conceptualized & treated as comorbid with PTSD rather than secondary bit.ly/4nU63oO
- #CSHRB co-authored study says there were no statistically significant differences in depressive symptoms comparing adolescent Latinx Children of Non-Immigrants (CONI) & non-Latinx White CONI to Latinx Children of Immigrants (COI). Latinx CONI had greater elevated depressive symptoms bit.ly/4lWG3Yr
- #CSHRB co-authored study suggest no differences in Promoting First Relationships® (PFR), from English into Spanish, effectiveness by preferred language, self-identified ethnicity & US nativity on the study outcomes, with the exception of stronger PFR-related gains in several instances bit.ly/3GjzjEO
- #CSHRB co-authored study indicates survivors’ perceptions of the social reactions received after their assault varied considerably & they were more likely to perceive an interaction as upsetting when the specific “negative” reactions of controlling & infantilization were present bit.ly/3ZYvYBL
- When COVID-19 emerged in 2020, #CSHRB's Christine Lee & her research team set out to study the pandemic’s effects on mental health & substance use among young adults. Their research morphed into an interactive online tool called “Check-In with Yourself.” bit.ly/3ZZRmqe
