Contact Information
Room: 714
Research Areas
Research Interests
Addiction
Alcohol Use Disorder
Socio-Contextual Processes
Research Description
My research seeks to understand problematic drinking behaviors through examining interactions between individuals and their context. While much of addiction science has explored the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD) by examining characteristics of the individual, I have instead looked at this question through a contextual lens. Specifically, I am interested in understanding how an individual’s surroundings influence the reinforcement-value gained from alcohol as well as studying the interpersonal and contextual factors that predict drinking behaviors and AUD risk.
In addition, one of my passions lies in translating research findings into impactful real-life applications. As such, given the clearly central role of socio-contextual processes in AUD predictive risk models, I aim to study how one can harness the power of these factors to improve addiction treatment outcomes.
Education
M.A. in Psychology in Education - Global Mental Health and Trauma concentration, Teachers College - Columbia University
B.A. in Psychology, American University of Beirut
Awards and Honors
List of teachers ranked as excellent by students Spring 2019
List of teachers ranked as excellent by students Fall 2019
List of teachers ranked as excellent by students Fall 2018
List of teachers ranked as excellent by students Spring 2018
Psychology Alumni Advisory Board Graduate Student Travel Award 2018
University of Illinois, Psychology Department Fellowship Award 2016
Courses Taught
PSYC 238: Psychopathology and Problems in Living
External Links
Recent Publications
Ariss, T., & Fairbairn, C. E. (2020). The effect of significant other involvement in treatment for substance use disorders: A meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88(6), 526–540.
Kang, D., Fairbairn, C. E., & Ariss, T. (2019). A meta-analysis of the effect of substance use interventions on emotion outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(12), 1106-1123. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000450
Fairbairn, C. E., Briley, D. A., Kang, D., Fraley, R. C., Hankin, B. L., & Ariss, T. (2018). A meta-analysis of longitudinal associations between substance use and interpersonal attachment security. Psychological Bulletin, 144(5), 532-555. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000141
Fairbairn, C. E., Bresin, K., Kang, D., Rosen, I. G., Ariss, T., Luczak, S. E., Barnett, N. P., & Eckland, N. S. (2018). A multimodal investigation of contextual effects on alcohol’s emotional rewards. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 127, 359-373. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000346