We know that people who have experienced trauma are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as substance use and HIV/sexual risk. Research conducted in the STRESS Lab aims to explain why trauma - and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in particular - is associated with risky behaviors and for whom this relationship exists.

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Why are trauma-exposed people who experience PTSD symptoms more likely to engage in risky behaviors?  Much of the work in the STRESS Lab focuses on the role of emotion dysregulation in the relation between PTSD symptoms and risky behaviors. Our work suggests that trauma-exposed individuals who experience PTSD symptoms are more likely to engage in risky behaviors because they have difficulties regulating their emotions. Moreover, our recent studies suggest that these individuals have difficulties regulating both negative and positive emotions. Work is undergoing to explore the role of emotion dysregulation stemming from positive emotions in PTSD and related risky behaviors.

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For whom are the associations among PTSD symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and risky behaviors strongest? Not all individuals who develop PTSD symptoms engage in risky behaviors or report difficulties regulating their emotions. Research in the STRESS Lab aims to better understand the influence of cultural and contextual factors, such as race/ethnicity and gender, on the ways in which PTSD symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and risky behaviors relate to one another. 

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The STRESS Lab utilizes cutting-edge methods (experience sampling, psychophysiological assessment) and data analytic strategies (hierarchical linear modeling, structural equation modeling) to answer these - and other - questions.

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Research within the STRESS Lab is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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For more information about our grants, current projects, and publications, click the links located above.