Ryan Carpenter

Dr. Ryan Carpenter received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Psychological Methods and Statistics from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 2018. He completed his clinical internship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) at Brown University.

Dr. Carpenter’s research program is broadly focused on better understanding behavior in everyday life using technology (e.g., smartphones), momentary sampling methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment), and advanced statistical techniques.

He is especially interested in substance use and, specifically, how substance use disorder manifests in individual acts of use in the natural environment. Much of his work has focused on alcohol, opioid, and cannabis use and co-use, but he is also interested in the use of other substances. His work also examines the effectiveness and feasibility of mobile health (mHealth) interventions to address and prevent substance use in daily life.

A second and related focus of Dr. Carpenter’s research is applying models of negative reinforcement to shed light on the momentary processes through which aversive internal experiences (e.g., negative affect, physical pain) lead some individuals to use substances or engage in self-destructive behaviors, such as nonsuicidal self-injury.

Phone: 314-516-5417