Match tier Confirmed
Presence Current · Arkansas
Last published 2026
Sources OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed 2026-08-06

Thad R. Leffingwell

Affiliation confirmed via AI analysis of OpenAlex, ORCID, and web sources.

High Impact

Professor

Faculty Researcher

21 h-index 81 pubs 1,812 cited

  • Humans
  • Female
  • Male
  • Students
  • Young Adult
  • Universities
  • Alcohol Drinking
  • Adult
  • Adolescent
  • Alcohol Drinking in College
  • Feedback, Psychological
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Social Norms
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Risk-Taking

Biography and Research Information

OverviewAI-generated summary

Thad R. Leffingwell's research program investigates factors influencing college student well-being, with a particular focus on substance use, mental health, and risk behaviors. His work has explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use patterns among college students and examined the effectiveness of protective behavioral strategies for marijuana use. Leffingwell has also investigated the relationship between short-term mating orientation and alcohol use, as well as risky sexual behavior.

Additional areas of study include understanding perceptions of nonsuicidal self-injury and social norms surrounding alcohol consumption, particularly within American Indian/Alaska Native college student populations. He has also examined student reactions to campus smoking bans. Leffingwell's scholarship includes work on minoritized graduate student identity and mental health risks. He has received NIH funding for a mixed-method study on protective behavioral strategies in risky drinking contexts.

Leffingwell is a highly cited researcher with an h-index of 21 and over 1,800 citations. He has published 81 works and recently collaborated with Lindsay S. Ham, Lucy E. Napper, and Byron L. Zamboanga on multiple publications.

Metrics

  • h-index: 21
  • Publications: 81
  • Citations: 1,812

Selected Publications

  • Cannabis, ENDS, and Tobacco Co-use and Co-exposures Among ECHO Adolescents and Emerging Adults (2026)
    medRxiv DOI OpenAlex
  • The role of distress tolerance in treatment of posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders: a systematic review (2026)
  • A Psychometric Evaluation of the Reasons for Limiting Heavy Drinking Scale in a National Sample of College Students (2025)
    Substance Use & Misuse DOI OpenAlex
  • Minoritized graduate student identity, well-being, and mental health risks for suicidality. (2024)
    Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Protective behavioral strategies convey greater protection against alcohol-related problems for members of Greek life than non-members (2023)
    Current Psychology DOI OpenAlex
  • Intentions to Reduce Alcohol Use Following Brief Alcohol-Related Health Messages Among College Students (2022)
    Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Social norms of alcohol use among American Indian/Alaska Native college students. (2022)
    Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 2 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Evaluating the Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana Scale (PBSM) short-form: Support for a two-factor structure and measurement invariance (2022)
    Drug and Alcohol Dependence 6 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Mental Health Risk Profiles and Related Substance Use During Coronavirus Pandemic Among College Students Who Use Substances (2022)
    International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 20 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Incorporating Values into Personalized Feedback Interventions for Young Adult Drinking: A Pilot Randomized Trial (2021)
    Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Short-term mating orientation as a predictor of alcohol use and risky sexual behavior (2021)
    Journal of American College Health 5 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Displacement imposition scale assesses reactions of cigarette and e-cigarette users impacted by a campus-wide smoking ban (2021)
    Journal of American College Health 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Understanding Perceptions of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Descriptive and Injunctive Norms (2021)
    Psychiatric Quarterly 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Motivational Interviewing (2020)
    The Wiley Encyclopedia of Health Psychology 4 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Depressive symptoms as a moderator of college student response to computerized alcohol intervention (2020)
    Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 5 citations DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Federal Grants 1 $75,000 total

NIH Co-PI Jun 2024 - May 2026

Protective Behavioral Strategies in Risky Drinking Contexts: A Mixed Method Study

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism $75,000 R03

Collaboration Network

16 Collaborators 13 Institutions 1 Country

Top Collaborators

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