Cara Struble
Assistant Professor
374 Williams Hall
207.581.2049
cara.struble@maine.edu
**Note to applicants: Dr. Struble plans to recruit a graduate student to start in Fall 2025
Research Interests:
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
Selected Publications:
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 behaviors, 148, 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 addictions, 31(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 medicine, 155, 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 behaviors, 126, 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 America, 66(6), 1087–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2019.08.012