Psychology Colloquium Guest Speaker Devin Banks

The Department of Psychology is hosting Devin Banks, MS for a talk entitled, "Addressing Health Disparities in Substance Use: Cultural and Methodological Considerations." Devin Banks is a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis and focuses on the prevention of disparities related to substance use and sexual risk behavior among the socio-demographically disadvantaged. The talk will take place Friday March 6th from 2:00-3:30 on Kastle Hall Room 213. Abstract: African Americans, Hispanics, and people belonging to other racial/ethnic minority groups face disproportionate rates of substance use problems, including substance use disorder, morbidity, and mortality. However, during adolescence, these groups have historically demonstrated lower risk for substance use relative to the majority. Due to their “low risk” during adolescence, traditional risk models of adolescent substance use have traditionally overlooked these groups and have fallen short in explaining their use. Given recent increases in adolescent substance use among racial/ethnic minority groups, now is a critical time for improving models of substance use to explain risk and resilience among these youth. Integrating culturally-relevant factors with methodological approaches that explore the breadth and depth of substance use are key to informing and improving prevention efforts cross-culturally.