Research Associate, The Methodology Center
The Methodology Center
The Pennsylvania State University
400 Calder Square II
State College, PA 16801
814-865-1225
Education
Ph.D., Penn State, 2007 (Human Development and Family Studies)
M.A.S., Penn State, 2006 (Applied Statistics)
M.S., Penn State, 2005 (Human Development and Family Studies)
B.S., University of Michigan-Dearborn, 2000 (Mathematics and Applied Statistics)
Research Interests
My research focuses on developing and applying advanced statistical methods to questions about the longitudinal development of alcohol and other drug use, with a special emphasis on its relation to the development of comorbid problem behaviors like gambling and risky sexual behavior. My methodological research is motivated by challenges faced in substance abuse research, and it provides new ways to address questions that arise in the area of substance use and comorbid problem behavior. Toward that end, I work on causal inference and longitudinal, latent variable modeling, including latent class and latent transition analysis and their extensions.
Current Grants
Consequences of Adolescent Substance Use on the Development of Impulse Control
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
2010-2015; Role: Co-investigator (PI: Donald M. Dougherty)
Relating Brain Maturation to Impulse Control and Substance Use Development
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
2012-2017; Role: Co-investigator (PIs: Ashley Acheson & Donald M. Dougherty)
Current Projects and Collaborators
At the Methodology Center, I work with Stephanie Lanza and Donna Coffman on causal inference and latent class analysis.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications
Lanza, S. T., Tan, X., & Bray, B. C. (2013). Latent class analysis with distal outcomes: A flexible model-based approach. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 20, 1-20. doi: 10.1080/10705511.2013.742377 PMC Journal-in process. (abstract)
Smith, R. C., Coyle, P. T., Baldner, C., Bray, B. C., & Geller, E. S. (2013). A field investigation of perceived behavioral control and blood alcohol content: A pattern-oriented approach. Addictive Behaviors, 38(4), 2080-2083. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.01.003 (abstract)
Foti, R. J., Bray, B. C., Thompson, N. J., & Allgood, S. F. (2012). Know thy self, know thy leader: A pattern-oriented approach to examining leader perceptions. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(4), 702-717. (abstract)
Tisminetzky, M., Bray, B. C., Miozzo, R., Aupont, O., & McLaughlin, T. J. (2012). Classes of depression, anxiety and functioning in acute coronary syndrome patients. American Journal of Health Behavior, 36(1), 20-30. NIHMSID: NIHMS466122 (abstract)
White, S. W., Bray, B. C., & Ollendick, T. H. (2012). Examining shared and unique aspects of social anxiety disorder and autism spectrum disorder using factor analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(5), 874-884. doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1325-7 (abstract)
Tisminetzky, M., Bray, B. C., Miozzo, R., Aupont, O., Locke, S., & McLaughlin, T. J. (2011). Identifying symptom profiles of depression and anxiety in patients with an acute coronary syndrome using latent class and latent transition analysis. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 42(2), 195-210. NIHMSID: NIHMS466148 (abstract)
White, S. W., Ollendick, T. H., & Bray, B. C. (2011). College students on the autism spectrum: Prevalence and associated problems. Autism, 15(6), 683-701. doi:10.1177/1362361310393363 (abstract)
Mathias, C. W., Blumenthal, T. D., Dawes, M. A., Liguori, A., Richard, D. M., Bray, B. C., ... Dougherty, D. M. (2011). Failure to sustain prepulse inhibition in adolescent marijuana users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 116(1-3), 110-116. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.11.020 PMCID: PMC3091950 (abstract)
Bray, B. C., Lanza, S. T., & Collins, L. M. (2010). Modeling relations among discrete developmental processes: A general approach to associative latent transition analysis. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 17(4), 541-569. doi: 10.1080/10705511.2010.510043 PMCID: PMC3094019 (abstract)
Lanza, S. T., & Bray, B. C. (2010). Transitions in drug use among high-risk women: An application of latent class and latent transition analysis. Advances and Applications in Statistical Sciences, 3(2), 203-236. PMCID: PMC3171700 (abstract)
Davidson, J. E., Irizarry, M. C., Bray, B. C., Wetten, S., Galwey, N., Gibson, R. ... Monsch, A. U. (2010). An exploration of cognitive subgroups in Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 16(2), 233-243. doi:10.1017/S1355617709991160 PMCID: PMC2903844 (abstract)
White, H. R., Bray, B. C., Fleming, C. B., & Catalano, R. F. (2009). Transitions into and out of light and intermittent smoking from adolescence into emerging adulthood. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 11(2), 211-219. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntn017 PMCID: PMC2658905 (abstract)
Koukounari, A., Webster, J. P., Donnelly, C. A., Bray, B. C., Naples, J., Bosompem, K., & Shiff, C. (2009). Sensitivities and specificities of diagnostic tests and infection prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium estimated from data on adults in villages northwest of Accra, Ghana. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 80(3), 435-441. PMCID: PMC2726788 (abstract)
Ridenour, T. A., Bray, B. C., & Cottler, L. B. (2007). Reliability of use, abuse, and dependence of four types of inhalants in adolescents and young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 91(1), 40-49. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.05.004 PMCID: PMC2040516 (abstract)
Bray, B. C., Almirall, D., Zimmerman, R. S., Lynam, D., & Murphy, S. A. (2006). Assessing the total effect of time-varying predictors in prevention research. Prevention Science, 7(1), 1-17. doi:10.1007/s11121-005-0023-0 PMCID: PMC1479302 (abstract)
Book Chapters
Lanza, S. T., Bray, B. C., & Collins, L. M. (2012). An introduction to latent class and latent transition analysis. In J. A. Schinka, W. F. Velicer, & I. B. Weiner (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Research methods in psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 691-716). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Ridenour, T. A., Bray, B. C., Scott, H. S., & Cottler, L. B. (2008). Classification and assessment of substance use disorders in adolescents. In C. A. Essau (Ed.), Adolescent addiction: Epidemiology, assessment, and treatment (Practical resources for the mental health professional). Burlington, MA: Academic Press.