About

Nancy P. Barnett is a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and a Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. Her research is conducted at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. She completed her graduate training at the University of Washington and her postdoctoral training at Brown University. Her primary research interests include developing and testing brief interventions for substance use among adolescents and young adults, examining the influence of social networks on alcohol use, and utilizing wearable technologies for the assessment and treatment of alcohol use and related problems. She has received multiple grants from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to support her research efforts. Barnett has contributed to understanding peer influences within social networks, the utility of alcohol biosensors for research and clinical applications, and the development of brief interventions for alcohol misuse. She has served on numerous scientific review committees for the Center for Scientific Review and NIAAA, and in various capacities for the Research Society on Alcoholism. In 2021, she was appointed to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council for the NIAAA. Additionally, she has held leadership roles at the Brown School of Public Health, including serving as the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Senior Advisor to Faculty Affairs from 2016 to 2022.

Research topics

• Social psychology
• Psychology
• Computer Science
• Clinical psychology
• Medicine
• Physical therapy
• Human–computer interaction
• Internal medicine
• Environmental health
• Developmental psychology
• Psychiatry

Selected publications

• High-Intensity Drinking Is Linked to Greater Same-Day Positive and Negative Consequences in Young Adults

  Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs · 2026-02-28

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  OBJECTIVE: Young adults reporting high-intensity drinking (HID, 8+/10+ drinks for females/males) are more likely to experience negative alcohol consequences than those reporting heavy episodic drinking (HED; 4+/5+ drinks for females/males). Identifying for whom and when HID is associated with same-day negative (and positive) consequences may inform intervention approaches. We hypothesized that negative consequences would be more likely on HID vs HED days, and when HID levels were reached more quickly. METHODS: =203, 57% female) completed a 28-day ecological momentary assessment of alcohol use and consequences. Generalized hierarchical linear modeling was used to test hypothesized effects. Analyses also explored the odds of each unique negative (e.g., hangover) and positive (e.g., improved mood) consequence. RESULTS: HID (vs HED) was related to more same-day negative consequences. In exploratory analyses, HID was associated with increased odds of being rude/obnoxious, hurting/injuring oneself, feeling too drunk, nausea, vomiting, sleeping worse, hangover, and memory loss. HID (vs HED) was also related to more same-day positive consequences. In exploratory analyses, HID was associated with increased odds of expressing feelings more easily, feeling more energetic, improved mood, being more sociable, desirable level of intoxication, laughing with others, and a fun/exciting time. Drinking duration was not significantly related to consequences on HID days. CONCLUSION: Same-day positive consequences resulting from HID may help explain why this risky behavior recurs, despite negative consequences. From a prevention and intervention perspective, healthcare providers and clinicians are strongly encouraged to prioritize alcohol interventions for young adults reporting 8-10 drinks per occasion.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Examination of social network members’ influence on daily drinking: A pilot study

  Addictive Behaviors Reports · 2026-02-21

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  • Daily drinks increased with each additional network member who was drinking. • Being with a drinking network member increase daily use by nearly two drinks. • Network members who were frequent drinkers were influential. • Network members who participants expected to drink with were influential. Research on young adult alcohol use often overlooks the influence of specific social network members on daily alcohol use. This pilot study combined egocentric social network methods with a daily diary design to examine how network members influence drinking at the day level. Participants (N = 21) identified six social network members they frequently drank with and saw in person and then reported on these individuals in a 21-day study. Daily reports captured self-reported alcohol use and social network members presence and alcohol use from the previous day. Across 417 morning reports, participants drank on 77 days (18.5%), consuming an average of 2.36 drinks ( SD = 1.70) on those days. Linear mixed-effects models showed that being with a given network member who was drinking was associated with consuming 1.75 more drinks than the participant’s average. Network members who contributed to higher alcohol use were more likely to be people the participant intended to drink with in the future and who had frequently consumed alcohol in the past month, regardless of whether it was with the participant. The findings from this pilot study provide preliminary evidence that the drinking of and anticipating future drinking with certain network members contributes to greater alcohol use and suggests that interventions could use personalized feedback to help individuals recognize the network members who facilitate heavier drinking.

  PublisherDOI

• Alcohol quantity mediates the association between daily alcohol and cannabis co-use and alcohol consequences

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2026-01-13

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Alcohol and cannabis are commonly used substances for young adults, and person-level co-use (i.e., concurrent or simultaneous use of both) is associated with increased likelihood of experiencing positive and negative alcohol-related consequences. However, findings regarding within-person effects (i.e.,day-level) co-use on consequences are mixed, possibly due to inconsistency in including alcohol quantity (i.e., total number of standard drinks consumed) when examining the association between co-use and consequences. In the present study, we examined whether the number of drinks mediates the association between co-use and positive or negative alcohol consequences at the day level. METHODS: Data from morning reports in a 28-day field-based study of young adults reporting frequent past 60-day alcohol and cannabis use (N = 115) were used to test multilevel mediation models. RESULTS: We found significant mediation for both positive and negative alcohol consequences; consuming more alcoholic drinks on co-use days, relative to alcohol-only days, was associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing negative consequences and a lower likelihood of positive consequences. These results suggest that daily number of drinks is a significant driver of the relationship between co-use and alcohol-related consequences at the day-level. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of increased cannabis use among young adults, this finding provides critical information for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the alcohol-related consequences associated with co-use days. Overall, reducing total alcohol consumption remains a prominent harm-reduction strategy among this population.

  PublisherDOI

• When are bystanders more likely and confident to act: Validation of the Bystanders to Alcohol Risk Scales—Willingness and self-efficacy.

  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors · 2026-05-04

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the psychometrics of two new measures of willingness and self-efficacy to intervene in alcohol-related risk situations involving others. Items assess the constructs across bystander scenarios that vary by situation (before, during, after risk), one's relation to the target (friend/stranger), and the gender of the target (man/woman). METHOD: 22.0 years, 46.0% women, 70.7% White, 23.3% Latinx) completed the new measures and related measures to assess validity, and a subsample was retested 2 weeks later. Multivariate variance decomposition was used to determine how the scenario components influenced variance; bivariate correlations evaluated validity, and intraclass correlations evaluated test-retest reliability. RESULTS: Models for willingness and self-efficacy constructs fit the data well. The largest component contributing to both measures was the general component, reflecting overall willingness/self-efficacy regardless of situation, relation, and gender components (αs > .90). For willingness, the next largest component was situation, with "after" drinking showing the greatest variability but the lowest mean. For self-efficacy, the second most important component was relation to the target, with friend showing higher self-efficacy than stranger. Participants indicated higher willingness and self-efficacy when the target was a woman, and women participants reported higher willingness than men. Validity was supported by significant correlations with bystander behaviors and alcohol-related constructs. Test-retest reliability indicated moderate stability for both measures (intraclass correlations = 0.50-0.64). CONCLUSIONS: These measures provide valid and reliable tools for measuring bystander intervention willingness and self-efficacy in alcohol-related risk situations and offer utility for the evaluation of bystander intervention programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• A Need for Strategies to Reduce Alcohol Use After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Technology-Based Intervention and Study Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

  JMIR Research Protocols · 2026-01-07

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Individuals who undergo metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) are at an increased risk of developing a postoperative alcohol use disorder. Therefore, preventive strategies are needed to mitigate this risk. A technology-based intervention has reduced alcohol use among other populations and could be used after MBS. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe a technology-based intervention to reduce alcohol use after MBS and to report the study protocol. METHODS: The intervention consists of 2 computerized brief intervention sessions followed by 3 months of daily, tailored, personalized SMS text messages in which the intervention content adapts to an individual's readiness to change. The intervention will be tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial with assessments completed at baseline, 1 month after baseline, after the intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: This project was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in September 2020. Enrollment of 60 participants in the trial occurred from November 2023 to August 2024. We anticipate that this intervention will be feasible and acceptable. We hypothesize that the intervention group will have a lower proportion of individuals who report alcohol use at the postintervention and follow-up assessments. We also expect that those in the intervention group will show an increased rating for the importance of avoiding alcohol use. We plan to explore the direction of effects for other outcomes, including hazardous alcohol use, attitudes toward drinking, psychiatric symptoms, and eating and lifestyle behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: A technology-based approach could be a feasible and acceptable method of delivering preventive strategies to individuals after MBS. The long-term goal is to develop an effective, scalable, and sustainable intervention to mitigate the risk of hazardous alcohol use and alcohol use disorder after MBS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04788316; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04788316. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/80068.

  PublisherDOI

• The utility of bluetooth and smartphone technology to detect peer contact.

  Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology · 2026-02-09

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  = 55; 40% women) completed a 3-week protocol, during which peers carried a small Bluetooth beacon that was detected by participant smartphones. Participants indicated the presence of peers on beacon signal-contingent ecological momentary assessment reports and three daily random reports. Feasibility of participant recruitment was low, primarily due to Android OS updates requiring app revisions that interrupted recruitment. However, feasibility of peer enrollment was high, occurring rapidly but at a lower-than-expected number. Response latencies to signal-contingent and random reports were similar, indicating good feasibility of the ecological momentary assessment report procedures. Acceptability, reflected in high retention for participants and peers, participant self-report ratings, and good ecological momentary assessment report response rates (76%-79%), was high. Functionality was moderate; problems with the app were reported by almost half of participants, and functionality ratings were lower than for acceptability. For validity, the beacon detection technology identified 61% of participant-reported encounters (true positives), with 5.6% false positives. False negatives (39%) were likely due to peer noncompliance or misreporting. Results support the initial utility of Bluetooth-based passive detection for identifying peer presence in real time, offering potential for use in just-in-time interventions targeting health-risk behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Wearable Intervention for Alcohol Use Risk and Sleep in Young Adults

  JAMA Network Open · 2025-05-30 · 9 citations

  articleOpen access

  Importance: Young adults in the US have the highest prevalence of alcohol use disorder; technology-based interventions may help to reduce drinking. Objective: To test the efficacy of a multimodal digital intervention of wearable feedback and coaching for improving at-risk drinking and sleep health in young adults. Design, Setting, and Participants: This parallel phase 2 randomized clinical trial was conducted from December 17, 2018, to May 19, 2021, at a research clinic in Connecticut. Participants were young adults (aged 18-25 years) from the local community (web and social media ads, public flyers) with sleep concerns, 3 or more heavy drinking occasions (≥5 drinks/occasion for men; ≥4 drinks/occasion for women) in the past 2 weeks, and a positive Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test risk score. Analyses were conducted from November 10, 2023, to September 19, 2024, using an intention-to-treat approach. Interventions: Wearable feedback and coaching plus web-based sleep advice plus smartphone self-monitoring or 1 of 2 control conditions, consisting of advice alone (control A) or advice plus self-monitoring (control A plus SM) for 2 weeks and follow-up to week 12. All participants wore sleep and alcohol biosensors. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome consisted of total number of drinks in weeks 4 to 12. Secondary outcomes included sleep disturbance, sleep-related impairment, and alcohol-related consequences in weeks 4 to 12. An exploratory outcome was also assessed, reduction of 1 or more levels in World Health Organization (WHO) drinking risk from baseline to week 4. Models compared the wearable feedback and coaching with advice and self-monitoring with each control condition and changes from weeks 4 to 8 and 12 within each condition on baseline-adjusted outcomes. Results: A total of 120 participants were enrolled (61 [51%] women; 10 [8%] Asian; 9 [8%] Black; 19 [16%] Hispanic; 96 [80%] White; 1 [1%] multiracial; 4 [3%] other race or ethnicity), with a mean (SD) age of 21.16 (1.75) years. Sixty participants were randomized to the intervention, 30 to the control A group and 30 to the control A plus SM group. Total number of drinks (primary outcome) did not differ by condition or by condition × time, but number of drinks was significantly higher at weeks 4 vs 12 (49%) across conditions. For secondary outcomes, no condition effects were observed for drinking consequences and sleep disturbance, but sleep-related impairment and WHO risk-level reduction (exploratory outcome) differed by condition. Compared with the control A group, the intervention group reported clinically meaningful lower sleep-related impairment scores (mean [SE] least square mean difference, 3.09 [1.08]; 95% CI, 0.96-5.23) and were more than 3 times more likely to have reductions in WHO risk level (odds ratio, 3.85; 95% CI, 1.34-11.07; Cohen d = 0.72). Sleep disturbance improvement was associated with WHO risk-level reduction. Conclusions and Relevance: This randomized clinical trial did not detect a significant effect of the intervention on the primary outcome of total drinks or secondary outcomes of sleep disturbance or drinking consequences. The intervention significantly improved other measures of sleep health and drinking reduction compared with the control A condition and warrants further testing in larger samples. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03658954.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A technology-based intervention to reduce alcohol use after metabolic and bariatric surgery: feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes

  Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases · 2025-08-18 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Social Achievement Goals and Alcohol Use Outcomes in a Network of College Students

  Substance Use & Misuse · 2025-05-15

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Social achievement goals are individuals' orientations toward attaining competence in social situations. Social achievement goals have been linked to outcomes such as belongingness, loneliness, and bullying perpetration among college students. Given that college students consume alcohol for social reasons, it is possible that a person's orientation toward social competence could be related to their drinking. This research examined whether the dimensions of social achievement goal orientations predict alcohol-related outcomes. METHODS: = 20.6 years) at one mid-sized, private university in the northeast assessments: one in the Fall (T1) and one in the Spring of their junior year (T2), in which they completed measures of social achievement goal orientation and alcohol use outcomes, with associations analyzed using network autocorrelation models. RESULTS: T1 social demonstration-approach goals (i.e., need to gain popularity and receive positive evaluations from friends) was positively associated with T2 heavy drinking, maximum drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. T1 social development goals (i.e., an individual's desire to grow socially by building meaningful relationships and improving interpersonal competence) was negatively associated with T2 alcohol-related consequences. T1 social demonstration-avoidance goals was not associated with any T2 alcohol-related outcomes. CONCLUSION: Individuals with high social demonstration-approach goals may be susceptible to peer influence and may be more likely to experience consequences when they drink; they could be targeted for interventions addressing social influence.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Factors that increase risk for alcohol‐induced blackouts in high‐intensity drinking young adults

  Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research · 2025-05-20

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Alcohol-induced blackouts are prospectively associated with negative drinking outcomes. While typically requiring heavy drinking, blackouts are not reported on all heavy drinking events or by all individuals who drink heavily. This study extends previous research by identifying the young adults most likely to experience blackouts assessed prospectively. Hypotheses focused on previously supported (female sex, White race, younger age, family history of alcohol problems, lower subjective response to alcohol, and higher tolerance) and novel predictors (possible traumatic brain injury; TBI) of alcohol-induced blackouts. METHODS: = 22.07) recruited for high-intensity drinking (8/10+ drinks/occasion for females/males) completed a baseline survey and a 28-day ecological momentary assessment protocol. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test between-person predictors of fragmentary (temporary) or en bloc (permanent) blackout likelihood during the 28 days, and moderators of the effect of day-level estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) on blackout likelihood. RESULTS: Controlling for event-level and average eBAC, both types of blackouts were more likely among those with higher subjective response to alcohol. Fragmentary blackouts were more likely among younger participants and those with possible prior TBI. Day-level eBAC was more strongly associated with both types of blackouts among non-Hispanic White participants and those with lower mean eBACs. Day-level eBAC was most strongly associated with fragmentary blackouts among those with a first-order family history of alcohol problems. CONCLUSIONS: Younger age and greater sensitivity to alcohol may confer risk for blackouts above and beyond intoxication levels. Future work is needed to understand mechanisms that explain why these factors confer risk for blackouts.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Reducing Hazardous Alcohol Use in Social Networks using Targeted Intervention

  NIH · $3.7M · 2015–2023

• NIH Grant R01AA013970

  NIH · $3.2M · 2010

• NIH Grant R01AA012158

  NIH · $862k · 2005

• NIH Grant R21AA020943

  NIH · $412k · 2015

Frequent coauthors

• Peter M. Monti

  306 shared

• Suzanne M. Colby

  Providence College

  299 shared

• Damaris J. Rohsenow

  Brown University

  109 shared

• Kristina M. Jackson

  Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation

  106 shared

• Anthony Spirito

  Providence College

  105 shared

• Matthew K. Meisel

  Brown University

  83 shared

• Christopher W. Kahler

  Brown University

  83 shared

• Brian Borsari

  74 shared

Education

• Ph.D.

  University of Washington

• Other

  Brown University

Awards & honors

• Member of the National Advisory Council for the National Ins…