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Professor
Colorado State University Department of Psychology
I conduct thematic research that focuses on the etiology and negative outcomes of sensation seeking, emotion dysregulation and impulsivity across the lifespan. More specifically, I study how certain genotypes and personality types influence the onset and course of disorders and the engagement in risky behaviors, such as drug misuse, risky sexual behavior, and delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood. I employ advanced multivariate statistical techniques to further understanding of the complex relations among genes, personality types, psychopathology, and risky behavior as causal mechanisms of negative outcomes such as substance dependence, contraction of sexually transmitted infections, injury, incarceration, and death. Ultimately, the goal of my research is to further understanding of how prevention and intervention efficacy vary as a function of the interplay of genetic, personality, and environmental factors.