Nancy Barnett

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

Selected publications

• Changes in College Student Anxiety and Depression From Pre- to During-COVID-19: Perceived Stress, Academic Challenges, Loneliness, and Positive Perceptions

  Emerging Adulthood · 2021 · 89 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The COVID-19 pandemic is a major stressor that has negatively impacted global mental health. Many U.S. college students faced an abrupt transition to remote learning in March 2020 that significantly disrupted their routines, likely causing changes in mental health. The current study examined changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms among 990 college students, from before COVID-19 had reached U.S. community spread to 5 months into the pandemic. Results indicate overall increases in anxiety and…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Wrist-worn alcohol biosensors: Applications and usability in behavioral research

  Alcohol · 2021 · 57 citations

  DOI

• Peer selection and influence for marijuana use in a complete network of first-year college students

  Addictive Behaviors · 2021 · 30 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  DOI

• 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. Participa…

  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

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

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…

Similar researchers at Brown University

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• Christopher Kahlerh-96