SoAP Box Sound Bites

"What do you think is the most interesting or important area of research in addiction psychology and why?"

For me, the application of mobile health technology to support substance use disorder recovery is presently the most interesting and possibly most important area of addiction research. These technologies have the potential to cover critical gaps across the continuum of addiction care and support individuals with limited access to treatment.

David Eddie, PhD

Harvard Medical School

I think young people’s use of social media and video games are a highly impactful aspect of development at this point in time.  For some youth, these behaviors are excessive at times, and get in the way of them meeting their goals in life, with adverse effects on emotional wellbeing.  Using screens is inevitable for communication, school work, and recreation, and some handle this access differently than others. I think this is an interesting and important area of research.  

Susan F. Tapert, PhD

University of California San Diego

One of the most important areas is the prevention of nicotine and marijuana dependence in the next generation. Perceived risk of marijuana is decreasing, and the nicotine and marijuana product industry is rapidly evolving and heavily marketed, but academic publishing and dissemination of evidence-based treatments is comparatively slow.

Ricarda Pritschmann, PhD Candidate

University of Florida

There are so many exciting and novel interventions being developed and tested right now! But, we need to include dissemination and implementation as part of the research process. It is essential to determine how an intervention can be rolled out in the real world in a feasible and acceptable way so that we can impact public health.

Melissa Lewis, PhD

University of North Texas Health Science Center

Substance use-related behavior change in online contexts. The ubiquity and scalability of social network sites - though not without their ethical problems - offer new methodological and intervention opportunities. There is great potential to leverage this immersion not only to enhance our understanding of substance use but also to test the utility of easy-to-access online resources and services.  

Brandon G. Bergman, PhD

Harvard Medical School