Elizabeth D'Amico
Media Resources
This researcher is available for interviews.
To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or e-mail media@rand.org.
Education
Overview
Biography
Elizabeth D'Amico is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is also a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. D'Amico is nationally recognized for her work developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions for adolescents. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and the interventions she has developed all utilize motivational interviewing (MI). She currently has three grants in the field that evaluate MI interventions with youth and two that evaluate MI interventions with young adults. They focus on at-risk youth with a first-time alcohol or drug misdemeanor offense; adolescents with asthma; employees in a work setting; people who have received a first-time DUI; and a large randomized controlled trial of Project CHOICE, which is evaluating a voluntary after-school intervention in 16 middle schools across Southern California. In 2009, D'Amico received the Mentor of the Year award at RAND for her work in mentoring junior investigators. She was also editor for the APA Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) newsletter from 2007 to 2010. D'Amico received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas.
Research Focus
Recent Projects
- Assessing the effects of a voluntary brief alcohol and drug intervention in 16 middle schools across three school districts in Southern California
- Development and testing of a group motivational intervention for first-time alcohol and drug offenders in a teen court setting
- Development and testing of a web-based motivational interviewing intervention for DUI educational settings
Selected Publications
D'Amico, E.J., Feldstein Ewing, S.W., Engle, B., Hunter, S.B., Osilla, K.C., & Bryan, A., in press. "Group motivational interviewing for young people at risk for alcohol and other drug use," in S. Naar-King and M. Suarez, Motivational Interviewing with Adolescents and Families, New York, NY: The Guilford Press, 2010
Shih, R.A., Miles, J.N., Tucker, J.S., Zhou, A.J., & D'Amico, E.J., in press, "Racial/ethnic differences in adolescent substance use: Mediation by individual, family, and school factors," Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 71:640-651, 2010
D'Amico, E.J., Barnes, D., Gilbert, M.L., Ryan, G., & Wenzel, S.L., "Developing a tripartite prevention program for impoverished young women transitioning to young adulthood: Addressing substance use, HIV risk, and victimization by intimate partners," Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 37:112-128, 2009
D'Amico, E.J., Miles, J.N.V., Stern, S.A., & Meredith, L.S., "Brief motivational interviewing for teens at risk of substance use consequences: A randomized pilot study in a primary care clinic," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 35:53-61, 2008
D'Amico, E.J., & Edelen-Orlando, M., "Pilot test of Project CHOICE: A voluntary after school intervention for middle school youth," Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21:592-598, 2007
Honors & Awards
- Mentor of the Year, RAND Health
Recent Media Appearances
Interviews: CNN; KPBS/NPR; Los Angeles Times; Time Magazine; Washington Post
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2012 RAND Corporation.