Dr. Dennis Donovan is the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, as well as a Professor in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He has a B.S. in Psychology from Seattle University, an M.A. in Psychology from Western Washington University, and a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington. Dr. Donovan has been ADAI's director since 1993 and has been a UW faculty member since 1981.

Primary Research Interests:

• Cognitive-behavioral approaches to substance abuse and its treatment
• Relapse prevention
• Patient-treatment matching
• Assessment of addictive behaviors
• Treatment-seeking behavior among substance abusers

Current Projects:

• Driver Improvement Study. This study aims to determine the relationship among drinking behavior, driving aggression, and driving behaviors though the use of self-reports, and then to develop and implement a new driver improvement program designed to reduce drunk driving and driving aggression. more...

• The Healing of the Canoe. This three-year project will plan, implement, and evaluate a community-based and culturally-based intervention aimed at connecting Native American youth to their cutlural heritage, as a means to reduce substance abuse and other health problems. The project will be highly collaborative with the Suquamish Tribe, a reservation community in the Pacific Northwest. more...

• National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network - Washington Node. A multisite network of regional research and training centers working in conjunction with community-based treatment programs to implement and evaluate behavioral and pharmacological interventions with demonstrated efficacy in community-based programs. more...

• Pharmacological and Behavioral Treatments with Alcoholics. (COMBINE) This NIAAA study will evaluate the independent and interactive effects of naltrexone and acamprosate pharmacological treatments when combined with cognitive behavioral therapies for alcohol-dependent individuals. more...

• Road Rage. This project will study "road rage" or aggressive driving by analyzing data from Washington state's Aggressive Drivers Apprehension Team (ADAT) database of aggressive driving arrests and comparing it to state-wide and regional databases about the general driving population. more...

View all ADAI projects Dr. Donovan has participated in, both current and completed.

Selected Professional Activities:

• Assistant Editor for the Americas: Addiction, 2002-present

• Ad-Hoc Reviewer: Addiction; Addictive Behaviors; Alcohol, Alcohol and Alcoholism; Alcohol Health and Research World; Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research; American Psychologist; Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors; Cognitive Research and Therapy; Comprehensive Psychiatry; Criminal Justice and Behavior; Criminology; Journal of Abnormal Psychology; Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; Journal of Applied Social Psychology; Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology; Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Journal of Studies on Alcohol; Journal of Substance Abuse; Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment; Medical Care; Program Evaluation and Planning; Psychological Assessment; Psychology of Addictive Behaviors; Violence and Victims

Recent and Representative Publications:

1. Saxon AJ, Kivlahan DR, Doyle S, Donovan DM. Further validation of the Alcohol Dependence Scale as an index of severity. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2007;68(1):149-56. (Pubmed abstract) (DOY 07-02)

2. Doyle SR, Donovan DM, Kivlahan DR. The factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2007;68(3):474-9. (Pubmed abstract) (DOY 07-01)

3. Donovan DM, Kivlahan DR, Doyle SR, Longabaugh R, Greenfield SF. Concurrent validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and AUDIT zones in defining levels of severity among out-patients with alcohol dependence in the COMBINE study. Addiction 2006;101(12):1696-704. (Pubmed abstract) (DON 06-02)

4. Anton RF, O'Malley SS, Ciraulo DA, Cisler RA, Couper D, Donovan DM, Gastfriend DR, Hosking JD, Johnson BA, LoCastro JS, Longabaugh R, Mason BJ, Mattson ME, Miller WR, Pettinati HM, Randall CL, Swift R, Weiss RD, Williams LD, Zweben A, COMBINE Study Research Group. Combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral interventions for alcohol dependence. The COMBINE Study : A randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2006;295(17):2003-2017. (Pubmed abstract)  (DON 06-01)

5. Donovan DM. [Introduction to] Section 4: Assessment in combined pharmacotherapy and behavior therapy trials of alcoholism treatment: Issues and domains. J Stud Alcohol 2005; Suppl. 15:92-93. (Pubmed abstract) (DON 05-08)

6. Pettinati HM, Weiss RD, Dundon W, Miller WR, Donovan DM, Ernst DB, Bounsaville BJ. A structured approach to medical management: A psychosocial intervention to support pharmacotherapy in the treatment of alcohol dependence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2005;Suppl No. 15:170-178. (Pubmed abstract) (DON 05-07)

7. Donovan DM, Mattson ME, Cisler RA, Longabaugh R, Zweben A. Quality of life as an outcome measure in alcoholism treatment research. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2005;Suppl No. 15:119-139. (Pubmed abstract) (DON 05-06)

8. Cisler RA, Kivlahan DR, Donovan DM, Mattson ME. Assessing nondrinking outcomes in combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy cilnical trials for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2005;Suppl No. 15:110-118. (Pubmed abstract) (DON 05-05)

9. Donovan DM ; Marlatt GA (eds.) Assessment of Addictive Behaviors / 2nd edition. New York : Guilford Press, 2005, 480 p. (Amazon.com)

   View more publications by Dr. Donovan.

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