Adam Leventhal , Ph.D.

Research Interests

Dr. Leventhals research focuses on the etiology of drug addiction, with a particular emphasis on tobacco and stimulants (i.e., amphetamine and cocaine). He is broadly interested in why some people are prone to addiction while others are not. His studies utilize experimental and survey-based approaches to examine psychobiological factors that underlie drug use. Research topics include: (1) influence of emotional traits (e.g., depression, personality) on substance use and other health-related behaviors; (2) drug intoxication and withdrawal; (3) smoking cessation; and (4) the interrelation between genetic and psychological risk factors for addiction. The overall goal is to generate research findings that inform the prevention and treatment of substance use and other behavioral risk factors for disease.

Degrees

University of Houston, PHD, 2007
University of Houston, MA, 2005

Fellowships

Brown University, Post-doc, 2007 - 2009
The University of Texas—M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Pre-doc, 2004 - 2006

Professional Experience

Adjunct Instructor, Psychology, Newbury College, Brookline, MA, 2007 - 2007
Lecturer, Dept. of Psychology, Brandies University, Waltham, MA, 2008 - 2008

Awards

National Institute of Health Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program, 2008
National Institute on Drug Abuse Director’s Junior Investigator Travel Award for the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, 2008
National Institute on Drug Abuse Early Career Investigators Travel Award for the American Psychological Associate, 2008
National Institute on Drug Abuse Junior Investigator Travel Award for Addiction Research on Women and Gender for the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, 2005
University of California, Santa Barbara Chancellor’s Fellowship for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, 2001

Strong, D. R., Kahler, C. W., Leventhal, A. M., Abrantes, A. M., Richardson, E. E., Niaura, R., & Brown, R. A. (in press). Impact of bupropion and CBT for depression on positive affect, negative affect, and urges to smoke during cessation treatment. Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

Kahler, C.W., Spillane, N. S., Metrik, J., Leventhal, A. M., Monti, P. M. (in press). Sensation seeking as a predictor of treatment compliance and smoking cessation treatment outcomes in heavy social drinkers. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior.

Kahler, C. W., Daughters, S., & Leventhal, A. M., Rogers, M. L., Clark, M. A., Colby, S. M., Boergers, J., Ramsey, S. E., Abrams, D. B., Niaura, R., Buka, S. L. (in press). Personality, psychiatric disorders, and smoking in middle aged adults. Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

Kahler, C. W., Spillane, N.S., Leventhal, A. M., Strong, D. R., Brown, R. A., & Monti, P. M. (in press). Hostility and smoking cessation treatment outcome in heavy social drinkers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

Leventhal, A. M., Kahler, C.W., Ray, L.A., & Zimmerman, M. (2009). Refining the nicotine dependence-depression link: Patterns of depressive symptoms in psychiatric patients with current, past, and no history of nicotine dependence. Addictive Behaviors, 34(3), 279-303.

Leventhal, A. M., Francione Witt, C., & Zimmerman, M. (2008). Associations between depression subtypes and substance use disorders. Psychiatry Research, 161(1), 43-50.

Leventhal, A. M., Waters, A. J., Breitmeyer, B.G., Miller E. K., Tapia E., & Li, Y. (2008). Subliminal processing of smoking-related and affective stimuli in tobacco addiction. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16(4), 301-312.

Leventhal, A. M., Pettit, J. W., & Lewinsohn, P. M. (2008). Characterizing major depression phenotypes by presence and type of psychomotor disturbance in adolescents and young adults. Depression & Anxiety, 25(7), 575-592.

Leventhal, A. M., Kahler, C. W., Ray, L. A., Stone, K., Young, D., Chelminski, I., & Zimmerman, M. (2008). Anhedonia and amotivation in psychiatric outpatients with fully remitted stimulant use disorder. The American Journal on Addictions, 17(3), 218-223.

Leventhal, A. M., Lewinsohn, P. M., & Pettit, J. W. (2008). Prospective relations between melancholia and substance use disorders. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 34(3), 259-267.

Leventhal, A. M., Ramsey, S. E., Brown, R. A., LaChance, H. A., & Kahler, C. W. (2008). Dimensions of depressive symptoms and smoking cessation. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 10(3), 507-517.

Leventhal, A. M., Waters, A. J., Boyd, S., Moolchan, E. T., Heishman, S. J., Lerman, C., & Pickworth, W. (2007). Associations between Cloninger’s temperament dimensions and acute tobacco withdrawal. Addictive Behaviors, 32(12), 2976-2989.

Kahler, C. K., Daughters, S. B., Leventhal, A. M., Gwaltney, C. J., & Palfai, T. P. (2007). Implicit associations between smoking and social consequences among smokers in cessation treatment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(9), 2066-2077.

Ray, L.A., Miranda, R. Jr., Kahler, C. W., Leventhal , A. M., Monti, P. M., Swift, R., & Hutchison, K.E. (2007). Pharmacological effects of naltrexone and intravenous alcohol on craving for cigarettes among light smokers: A pilot study. Psychopharmacology, 193(4), 449-456.

Leventhal, A. M., Martin, R. L., Seals, R. W., Tapia, E., & Rehm, L. P. (2007). Investigating the dynamics of affect: Psychological mechanisms of affective habituation to pleasurable stimuli. Motivation and Emotion, 31(2), 145-157.

Leventhal, A. M., Waters, A. J., Boyd, S., Moolchan, E. T., Lerman, C., & Pickworth, W. B. (2007). Gender differences in acute tobacco withdrawal: Effects on subjective, cognitive, and physiological measures. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 15(1), 21-36.

Leventhal, A. M., Chasson, G. S., Tapia, E., Miller, E. K., & Pettit, J. W. (2006). Measuring hedonic capacity in depression: A psychometric analysis of three anhedonia scales. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(12), 1545-1558.

Leventhal, A. M., & Schmitz, J. M. (2006). The role of drug use outcome expectancies in substance abuse risk: An interactional-transformational model. Addictive Behaviors, 31(11), 2038-2062.

Leventhal, A. M., Mooney, M. E., DeLaune, K. A., & Schmitz, J. M. (2006). Using addiction severity profiles to differentiate among cocaine-dependent patients with and without comorbid major depression. The American Journal on Addictions, 15(5), 362-369.

Mooney, M. E., Leventhal, A. M., & Hatsukami, D. (2006). Attitudes and knowledge about nicotine and nicotine replacement therapy. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 8(3), 435-446.

Leventhal, A. M., & Rehm, L. P. (2005). The empirical status of melancholia: Implications for psychology. Clinical Psychology Review, 25(1), 25-44.

Kahler, C. W., Leventhal, A.M., & Brown, R. A. (in press). Behavioral interventions in smoking cessation. In A.W. Graham, T.K. Schultz, M.F. Mayo-Smith, R.K. Ries, & B.B. Wilford (Eds.), Principles of addiction medicine (4rd. ed.). Arlington, VA: American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Leventhal, A. M. (2007). Clinical insights from research on gender differences in tobacco withdrawal. The Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory and Application, 26(10), 8.

Waters, A. J., & Leventhal, A. M. (2006). The clinical relevance of implicit cognition in addiction. In M. Munafo & I. Albery (Eds.): Cognition and Addiction. London: Oxford University Press, pp. 249-278.

Leventhal, A. M. (2006). Distress tolerance treatments for substance abuse. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 41(3), 7-10.

Leventhal, A. M. (2004). Virtual reality approaches to addiction treatment. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 39(1), 23-25.

Leventhal, A. M. (2003). Reactions to Segal, Williams, and Teasdale’s mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. Psychotherapy Bulletin, 38(2), 30-32.