The Adolescent Research Laboratory (ARL) is a clinical research program located in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University. Our interests are in the scientific study of the onset, development and treatment of a range of substance use disorders in adolescence. Currently, we are focusing on investigations related to improving the quit rate of teen smoking. These studies include multilevel analyses of contexts (e.g., family, peer, community, and local and state-wide policy influences) and cessation rates, the assessment of nicotine dependence and smoking patterns among teens, and the role of physiological withdrawl versus subjective "craving" in smoking relapse.  Additionally, we are proud to be collaborating with two of the nation's top adolescent smoking cessation researchers, Dr. Geri Dino and Dr. Kimberly Horn, and the interdisciplinary researchers in the Translational Tobacco Reduction Research (T2 R2) program. Along with Drs. Horn and Dino, we are developing and testing a systematic, interactive web-based intervention for teen smoking cessation based on the American Lung Association’s gender-sensitive, group-based teen smoking cessation program, Not-On-Tobacco (N-O-T)

We are also interested in the role of parent-adoelscent relationships in the development of risk behavior, especially substance use. Studies in this area include the interactive role of parent and adolsecent communication and the preventitive role of parental monitoring.

Finally, we are interested in the role of individual behavioral factors that relate to substance use onset and development. Specificaly, we are conducting studies on the role of delay discounting (and related dimensions of impulsivity), intelligence, gender and the interaction of these factors in the risk for later substnace use problems.

To learn more about our research, our people, our collaborators, and opportunities to contribute to our work, please browse our site. If you are interested in participating in one of our studies, or if you have quesitons or comments, please feel free to contact us.