Denis M McCarthy

Denis M McCarthy
Director
Professor of Psychological Sciences
mccarthydm@missouri.edu
Research Interests

My research is focused on cognitive, pharmacological, personality, and genetic factors that influence risk for alcohol and substance-related problem behavior, with a particular emphasis on driving after use of substances.

Education
  • Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Kentucky
  • Clinical Internship, University of California, San Diego
  • BA in Psychology and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
Awards
  • Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
  • MU Gold Chalk Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching (2017)
  • MU Arts and Sciences Fellow (2014)
  • Robert S. Daniel Junior Faculty Teaching Award (2007)
Publication

(MU student/postdoc authors in italics)

Motschman, C.A., Warner, O.M., Wycoff, A.M., Davis-Stober, C.P. & McCarthy, D.M. (in press). Context, acute tolerance, and subjective response affect alcohol-impaired driving decisions. Psychopharmacology.

Motschman, C.A., Hatz, L.E., McCarty, K.N., Merkle, E.C., Trull, T.J., McCarthy, D.M. (in press). Event-level predictors of alcohol-impaired driving intentions. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Hatz, L.E., Park, S., McCarty, K.N., McCarthy, D.M., & Davis-Stober, C.P. (2020). Young adults make rational sexual decisions. Psychological Science, 31, 944-956. 

Cyders, M.A., Plawecki, M.H., Corbin, W., King, A., McCarthy, D.M., Ramchandani, V.A., Weafer, J., O’Connor, S.J. (2020). To infuse or ingest in human laboratory alcohol research. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44, 764-776.

McCarty, K.N., McDowell, Y.E., Sher, K.J., & McCarthy, D.M. (2020). Training health services psychologists for research careers in addiction science. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 14, 70-77. 

Davis-Stober, C.P., McCarthy, D.M., Cavagnaro, D.R., Price, M., Brown, N, Park, S. (2019). Is cognitive impairment related to violations of rationality? A laboratory alcohol intoxication study testing transitivity of preference. Decision, 6, 134-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dec0000093

Davis-Stober, C.P., McCarty, K.N., McCarthy, D.M. (2019). Decision making and alcohol: Health policy implications. Policy Insights from the Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 6, 64-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732218818587

Hatz, L.E., McCarty, K.N., Bartholow, B.D., McCarthy, D.M. (2018). Explicit attitudes, working memory capacity, and driving after drinking. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42, 2047-2053. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13856

Hultgren, B.A., Turrisi, R., Mallett, K.A., Ackerman, S., Larimer, M.E., McCarthy, D.M., Romano, E. (2018). A longitudinal examination of decisions to ride and decline rides with drinking drivers. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42, 1748-1755.   https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13818

Arterberry, B.J., Treloar-Padovano, H. & McCarthy, D.M. (2017). Empirical profiles of alcohol and marijuana use, drugged driving, and risk perceptions. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78, 889-898.

McCarty, K.N., Morris, D.H., Hatz, L.E. & McCarthy, D.M. (2017). Differential associations of UPPS-P impulsivity traits with alcohol problems. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78, 617-622.

Morris, D.H., Amlung, M., Tsai, C.L., McCarthy, D.M. (2017). Association between overall rate of change in rising breath alcohol concentration and the magnitude of acute tolerance of subjective intoxication via the Mellanby method. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 32. DOI: 10.1002/hup.2565

Scherer, L.D., Caverly, T.J., Burke, J., Zikmund-Fisher, B.J., Kullgren, J.T., Steinley, D., McCarthy, D.M., Roney, M., Fagerlin, A. (2016). Development of the Medical Maximizer-Minimizer Scale. Health Psychology, 35, 1276-1287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000417 

Morris, D.H., Treloar, H., Tsai, C.L., McCarty, K.N., & McCarthy, D.M. (2016). Acute subjective response to alcohol as a function of reward and punishment sensitivity. Addictive Behaviors, 60, 90-96.

Amlung, M., Morris, D.H., Hatz, L., Teeters, J.B., Murphy, J.B., & McCarthy, D.M. (2016). Drinking and driving-related cognitions mediate the relationship between alcohol demand and alcohol-impaired driving. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 77, 656–660.

Whiteside, S.P.H., McCarthy, D.M., Sim, L.A., Biggs, B.K., Petrikin, J.E., & Mellon, M.W. (2016). Development of the Friendships and Social Skills Test (FASST): A parent report measure. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1777-1788.

Fleming, K.A., Bartholow, B.D., Hilgard, J.B., McCarthy, D.M., O’Neill, S.E., Steinley, D. & Sher, K.J. (2016). The Alcohol Sensitivity Questionnaire: Evidence for construct validity. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40, 880-888.  doi: 10.1111/acer.13015

Bailey, K., Amlung, M.T., Morris, D.H., Price, M.H., Von Gunten, C., McCarthy, D.M. & Bartholow, B.D. (2016). Separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation. Psychopharmacology, 233, 1245-1255. doi: 10.1007/s00213-016-4208-y

Aston, E.R., Merrill, J.E., McCarthy, D.M., & Metrik, J. (2016). Risk factors for driving after and during marijuana use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 77, 309–316. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2016.77.309

Amlung, M. McCarty, K.N., Morris, D.H., Tsai, C.L., & McCarthy, D.M. (2015). Response to Tucker and Vuchinich: Behavioral Economics in the Broader Context of Addiction Science. Addiction, 110, 1430-1431 doi: 10.1111/add.13015 **Invited Comment**

Treloar, H., Piasecki, T.M., McCarthy, D.M., Sher, K.J. & Heath, A.C. (2015). Ecological evidence that affect and perceptions of drink effects depend on alcohol expectancies. Addiction, 110, 1432-1442. doi: 10.1111/add.12982

Amlung, M. McCarty, K.N., Morris, D.H., Tsai, C.L., & McCarthy, D.M. (2015). Increased behavioral economic demand and craving for alcohol following a laboratory alcohol challenge. Addiction, 110, 1421-1428. doi: 10.1111/add.12897

Treloar, H.T., Martens, M.P., & McCarthy, D.M. (2015). The Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale-20: Improved content validity of the serious harm reduction subscale. Psychological Assessment. doi: 10.1037/pas0000071

Lee, M.R., Bartholow, B.D., McCarthy, D.M., Pedersen, S.L., Sher, K.J. (2015). Two alternative approaches to conventional person-mean imputation scoring of the Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol Scale (SRE). Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 29, 231-236. doi: 10.1037/adb0000015

Ale, C.M., McCarthy, D.M., Rothschild, L.M., & Whiteside, S.P.H. (2015). Components of cognitive behavioral therapy related to outcome in childhood anxiety disorders. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 18, 240-251. doi 10.1007/s10567-015-0184-8

Amlung, M.T., Morris, D.H., & McCarthy, D.M. (2014). Effects of acute alcohol tolerance on perceptions of danger and willingness to drive after drinking. Psychopharmacology, 231, 4271-4279. doi: 10.1007/s00213-014-3579-1

Treloar, H.R., Martens, M.P. & McCarthy, D.M. (2014). Testing measurement invariance of the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale in college men and women. Psychological Assessment, 26, 307-313. doi: 10.1037/a0034471

Morris, D.H., Treloar, H.R., Niculete, M.E., & McCarthy, D.M. (2014). Perceived danger while intoxicated uniquely contributes to driving after drinking. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38, 521-528. doi: 10.1111/acer.12252

Zapolski, T. C. B., Pedersen, S. L., McCarthy, D.M., & Smith, G. T. (2014). Less drinking, yet more problems: Understanding African American drinking and related problems. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 188-223. doi:10.1037/a0032113.

Gottlieb, J. C., Cohen, L. M., DeMarree, K. G., Treloar, H.T. & McCarthy, D.M. (2013). The development and psychometric evaluation of the smokeless tobacco expectancy scale (STES). Psychological Assessment, 25, 997-1001. doi: 10.1037/a0032256

Arterberry, B. J., Treloar, H. R., Smith, A. E., Martens, M. P., Pedersen, S. L., & McCarthy, D.M. (2013). Marijuana use, driving, and related cognitions. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27, 854-860. doi: 10.1037/a0030877

Pedersen, S. L. & McCarthy, D.M. (2013). Differences in acute response to alcohol between African Americans and European Americans. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37, 1056–1063. doi: 10.1111/acer.12068

Whiteside, S. P. H., Gryczkowski, M., Ale, C. M., Brown-Jacobsen, A. M. & McCarthy, D.M. (2013). Development of child- and parent-report measures of behavioral avoidance related to childhood anxiety disorders. Behavior Therapy, 325-337.

Fischer, S., Peterson, C.M., & McCarthy, D.M. (2013). A prospective test of the influence of negative urgency on binge eating and purging. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.