Cara Struble

Assistant Professor
Psychology

Broadly, my research interests aim to (1) increase our understanding of individual factors on substance use behaviors and outcomes and to (2) leverage this knowledge to develop and test efficacious treatments for substance use disorders. I am particularly interested in examining substance use risks, behaviors, and consequences within LGBTQ+ populations. I am more recently developing a program of research investigating scalable digital technologies, adapted for LGBTQ+ populations, to improve access to evidence-based treatments for substance use and co-occurring mental health problems. My lab works closely with academic collaborators at Geisel School of Medicine, Columbia University, and Wayne State University.

Examples of specific projects include

Characterizing cannabis use and internalizing symptomatology among LGBTQ+ young adults

Evaluating opioid overdose risk and treatment disparities among non-LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ adults recruited nationally

Developing a digital app for treating co-occurring cannabis use and major depressive disorders

Developing and validating a cannabis exposure inventory measure

Examining the effects of advertising claims on cannabis purchase behaviors

Struble, C.A. (2025). Psychedelics – A Cure for Sexual Trauma or a Risk Factor in Recreational and Treatment Settings?. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 12(36). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-025-00372-x

Struble, C. A.., Alschuler, D., Wall, M., Hasin, D. S., Borodovsky, J. T., Aharonovich, E., Livne, O., Habib, M. I., & Budney, A. J. (ACCEPTED). Identifying Subtypes of Cannabis Use Disorder: A Latent Class Analysis Among Daily Cannabis Consumers and Associated Sociodemographic and Cannabis Characteristics. The Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Borodovsky, J. T., Murphy, E., Hasin, D. S., Livne, O., Wall, M., Aharonovich, E., Wisell, C., Struble, C. A., Habib, M., & Budney, A. J. (Published online September 8, 2025). Self-Titration of Cannabis Consumption: An Epidemiological Perspective. Journal of Psychiatric Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.09.014

Livne, O., Borodovsky, J., Budney, A. J., Wisell, C. G., Habib, M. I., Struble, C. A., Chen, L., Liu, J., Wall, M., Aharonovich, E., & Hasin, D. S. (2025). Age Differences in Cannabis Consumption Patterns and in Associations Between Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Intake and Cannabis Use Disorders Among Adults with Daily Use. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 10.1177/25785125251360976. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/25785125251360976 

Habib, M. I., Budney, A. J., Struble, C. A., Hasin, D. S., Livne, O., Aharonovich, E., Wisell, C., Fragione, S. N., & Borodovsky, J. T. (2025). Estimating Cannabis Consumption in Milligrams of THC From Self-Reported Hit Size. Cannabis (Albuquerque, N.M.)8(2), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.26828/cannabis/2025/000285

Borodovsky, J. T., Hasin, D. S., Wall, M., Struble, C. A., Habib, M. I., Livne, O., Liu, J., Chen, L., Aharonovich, E., & Budney, A. J. (2025). Quantity of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol consumption and cannabis use disorder among daily cannabis consumers. Addiction (Abingdon, England)120(4), 676–685. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16700

Achar, J., Budney, A. J., & Struble, C. A. (Senior Author) (2025). Patient-provider interactions about cannabis for therapeutic purposes vary as a function of provider type: A pilot study. The American Journal on Addictions34(3), 277–288. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13656

Verplaetse, T. L., Carretta, R. F., Struble, C. A., Pittman, B., Roberts, W., Zakiniaeiz, Y., Peltier, M. R., & McKee, S. A. (2024). Gender Differences in Alcohol Use Disorder Trends from 2009-2019: An Intersectional Analysis. Alcohol, 123, 101–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2024.11.003

Collins, A. C., Lekkas, D., Struble, C. A., Trudeau, B. M., Jewett, A. D., Griffin, T. Z., Nemesure, M. D., Price, G. D., Heinz, M. V., Nepal, S., Pillai, A., Mackin, D. M., Campbell, A. T., Budney, A. J., & Jacobson, N. C. (2024). From mood to use: Using ecological momentary assessments to examine how anhedonia and depressed mood impact cannabis use in a depressed sample. Psychiatry Research339, 116110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116110

Thomas, K. A., Struble, C. A., Stenersen, M. R., & Moore, K. (2024). The Association Between State-Level Prenatal Substance Use Policies and Rates of Maternal Mortality in the United States: A Legal Epidemiology Study. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 52(S1), 75–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/jme.2024.67

Livne, O., Budney, A.J., Borodovsky, J.T., Shmulewitz, D., Walsh, C., Struble, C.A., Habib, M., Aharonovich, E., & Hasin, D.S. Age differences in patterns of cannabis use among an online US sample of adults who consume cannabis frequently. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse50(2), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2024.2309340.

Struble, C. A., Borodovsky, J. T., Habib, M. I., Livne, O., Walsh, C. A., Aharonovich, E., Hasin, D. S., & Budney, A. J. (2024). Evaluating age-related disparities in cannabis-related problems among LGBT+ versus non-LGBT+ adults. Addictive behaviors148, 107861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107861

Struble, C. A., Borodovsky, J. T., Habib, M. I., Hasin, D. S., Shmulewitz, D., Livne, O., Walsh, C., Aharonovich, E., & Budney, A. J. (2023). Extending Gender- and Sex-Based Analyses in Cannabis Research: Findings from an Online Sample of Gender Diverse Young Adult Consumers. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 10.1089/can.2023.0069. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2023.0069

Struble, C. A., Thomas, K., Stenersen, M. R., Moore, K. E., Burke, C., Pittman, B., & McKee, S. A. (2022). Sexual minority disparities in opioid and benzodiazepine misuse among adults with opioid use disorder. The American journal on addictions31(3), 200–209. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13258

Struble, C. A., Bauer, S. J., Lundahl, L. H., Ghosh, S., & Ledgerwood, D. M. (2022). Electronic cigarette use among sexual minority and heterosexual young adults in a U.S. national sample: Exploring the modifying effects of advertisement exposure. Preventive medicine155, 106926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106926

Struble, C. A., Lister, J. J., Urbiel, J., Nyaku, A. N., & Arfken, C. L. (2022). Comparisons of injection and non-injection opioid use among Black people in methadone treatment: A pilot in Detroit. Addictive behaviors126, 107182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107182

Struble, C. A., Ellis, J. D., & Lundahl, L. H. (2019). Beyond the Bud: Emerging Methods of Cannabis Consumption for Youth. Pediatric clinics of North America66(6), 1087–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2019.08.012

Areas of Expertise

Health Disparities
Substance Use
Treatment Development

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, NIDA T32 Science of Co-Occurring Disorders, CTBH, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth (2024)
Predoctoral Psychology Fellow, APA-accredited Internship, Yale University School of Medicine (2021)
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Wayne State University (2021)
M.A., General Psychology, Montclair State University (2015)
B.S., Psychology, Stockton University (2010)
Portrait of Cara Struble
Assistant Professor