Assistant Professor Faculty Psychology Department bcbray@vt.edu 540-231-4287 119 Williams Hall Blacksburg, VA 24061 Office Hours: M 10:0-11:0 W 10:0-11:0 Other times by appointment

My research focuses on developing and applying advanced statistical methods to questions about the longitudinal development of alcohol and other drug use, with a special emphasis on its relation to the development of comorbid problem behaviors like gambling and risky sexual behavior. My methodological research is motivated by challenges faced in substance abuse research, and it provides new ways to address questions that arise in the area of substance use and comorbid problem behavior.

Specifically, my research addresses the challenge of how to consider multiple dimensions of substance use, gambling and risky sexual behavior when examining developmental relations between substance use and gambling and between substance use and risky sexual behavior. Considering multiple dimensions of substance use including type of substance, quantity of use and frequency of use provides a richer picture of behavior and allows an examination of how dimensions may interact to increase the risk for negative outcomes. Similarly, considering multiple dimensions of gambling like type of activity, venue and wager size allows an examination of how dimensions may interact to increase risk for pathological gambling. Further, considering multiple dimensions of risky sexual behavior like dating, number of sexual partners and condom use allows an examination of how dimensions may interact to increase risk for sexually transmitted infections. By developing and applying methods that model the development of substance use and gambling or substance use and risky sexual behavior simultaneously, a detailed picture of the complex interactions among multiple complex behaviors may be examined.

My approach to dealing with these methodological challenges builds on the latent class model. The methods I develop and apply can be used to identify groups of individuals characterized by similar multidimensional patterns of behavior, describe change over time in behavior, and model longitudinal relations among multiple behaviors. These methods make it possible to identify groups of individuals who may be at high risk for advancing to stages of behavior involving problems in multiple domains, and thereby suggest how prevention programs may be targeted to individuals undergoing different etiological processes.

For additional information, please visit my website at: http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bcbray/

My current CV and NIH biosketch may be downloaded at: http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bcbray/cv.html

Background

• 2007 Ph.D. Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State, University Park, PA
• 2006 M.S. Applied Statistics, Penn State, University Park, PA
• 2005 M.S. Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State, University Park, PA
• 2000 B.S. Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Michigan - Dearborn, Dearborn, MI

Research/Professional Interests

• Discrete latent variable methodology, including latent class and latent transition analysis and their extensions, model interpretation, and issues of model estimation and identifiability
• Problem and pathological gambling, including normative development, risk and protective factors for problems with gambling, prevention and treatment, measurement, and comorbidity of gambling and substance use

Recent Courses Taught

• 5315 - Research Methods (Fall 2009)
• 2094 - Principles of Psychological Research (Spring 2010)