My research is broadly interested in the investigation of psychological risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV), the role played by alcohol use in understanding how these risk factors dynamically operate, and in understanding how these factors may translate into effective treatments for IPV perpetrators. Our lab has examined these areas using innovative research methods and empirically supported models of IPV.
SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS
–Cognitive and Emotional Risk Factors among Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence.
Our lab examines cognitive distortions and anger arousal during laboratory affect induction; in other words, what goes through the minds of IPV perpetrators during emotionally charged relationship conflicts, and do these factors predict laboratory aggression?
–The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication on Anger and Aggressive Behavior.
Our lab examines the acute effects of alcohol intoxication on aggression during imagined relationship conflict among those at high risk for IPV.
— The Stages and Processes of Behavior Change among IPV Offenders Mandated to Treatment.
We are interested in whether and how men mandated to attend batterers intervention programs change their behavior and refrain from future violence.
— Brief Interventions for Partner Violence Perpetrators.
We are interested in developing and testing interventions for IPV perpetrators that build on our risk factor and descriptive findings.
— P.T.S.D., Alcohol Use, and Intimate Partner Violence.
We are interested in evaluating the proximal associations among alcohol use, P.T.S.D. symptoms, and IPV among individuals exposed to combat-related traumas.