David B Abrams
David Abrams
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Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Professional overview
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Dr. David Abrams' career focuses on systems and social learning frameworks to inform population health enhancement. He has experience in testing theory, research design, measuring mechanisms of behavior change and outcome, and evaluating clinical trials (behavioral and pharmacological). His interests span topics from basic bio-behavioral mechanisms and clinical treatments to policy across risk factors and behaviors (e.g. tobacco/nicotine; alcohol, obesity, co-morbidity of medical and mental health), disease states (cancer; cardiovascular; HIV-AIDS), levels (biological, individual, organizational, worksite, community, global, and internet based), populations and disparities. His interests converge in the domain of implementation science to cost-efficiently inform evidence-based public health practice and policymaking.
Through transdisciplinary and translational research strategies, Dr. Abrams provides scientific leadership in tobacco control. His current focus is in strengthening global and United States tobacco and nicotine management strategies. Deaths of 1 billion smokers are estimated by 2100 caused overwhelmingly by use of combustible (smoked) tobacco products, not nicotine. Harm minimization is a key overarching systems strategy to speed the net public health benefit of emergent disruptive technologies for cleaner nicotine delivery. The goal is more rapid elimination of preventable deaths, disease burdens, and the widening gap in health disparities driven disproportionately by disparities in smoking.
Dr. Abrams was a professor and founding director of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at Brown University Medical School. He then directed the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Until 2017, he was Professor of Health Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the founding Executive Director of the Schroeder National Institute of Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at Truth Initiative (formerly the American Legacy Foundation).
Dr. Abrams has published over 250 peer reviewed scholarly articles and been a Principal Investigator on numerous NIH grants. He is lead author of The Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook: A Guide to Best Practices. He has served on expert panels at NIH and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on Obesity, Alcohol Misuse and Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation. He has also served on the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) and was President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
For a complete list of Dr. Abrams' published work, click here.
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Education
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BSc (Hons), Psychology and Computer Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaMS, Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJPhD, Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJPostdoctoral Fellow, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI
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Honors and awards
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Research Laureate Award, American Academy of Health Behavior (2014)Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award for Tobacco Research, American Society for Preventive Oncology (2008)Distinguished Alumni Award: Rutgers University, The Graduate School, New Brunswick, NJ (2007)The Musiker-Miranda Distinguished Service Award, American Psychological Association (2006)Distinguished Service Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2006)Outstanding Research Mentor Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2006)Book of the Year Award: Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook. American Journal of Nursing (2005)Distinguished Scientist Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (1998)
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Areas of research and study
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Behavioral ScienceChronic DiseasesEvaluationsImplementation and Impact of Public Health RegulationsImplementation sciencePopulation HealthPublic Health PedagogyPublic Health SystemsResearch DesignSystems IntegrationSystems InterventionsTobacco ControlTranslational science
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Publications
Publications
Developments in the behavioral treatment of obesity
AbstractAbrams, D., & Abrams, D. S. (n.d.). (C. Franks, Ed.).Publication year
1983Abstract~Community-wide heart disease prevention
AbstractAbrams, D., Lassater, T., Elder, J., & Abrams, D. S. (n.d.).Publication year
1981Journal title
Behavioral Medicine UpdateVolume
5Page(s)
251-264Abstract~The effects of expectations of self-intoxication and partner's drinking on anxiety in dyadic social interaction
AbstractAbrams, D., Wilson, G. T., Perold, E. A., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
1981Journal title
Cognitive Therapy and ResearchVolume
5Issue
3Page(s)
251-264AbstractThirty-two male social drinkers were randomly assigned to four conditions in a 2 ×2 factorial design that controlled for differential expectations concerning alcohol consumption in a dyadic social interaction. Subjects were led to believe that they had consumed either alcohol or tonic water (no alcohol was actually administered)prior to interacting with a female confederate. Half of each of these groups were told that the confederate was another subject in the study who had just consumed a moderate amount of alcohol; the other half were simply informed that the confederate was another subject. Multiple measures of anxiety, including heart rate, observational ratings, and self-report, were obtained. Subjects who believed that the female had been drinking showed significantly less anxiety than their counterparts who did not have this information. There were no major effects of the self-intoxication expectation. The theoretical significance of these findings is discussed.The influence of attribution of alcohol intoxication on interpersonal interaction patterns
AbstractAbrams, D., Wilson, G., Perold, E., & Abrams, D. S. (n.d.).Publication year
1981Journal title
Journal of Cognitive Therapy and ResearchVolume
5Page(s)
251-264Abstract~Effects of intoxication levels and drinking pattern on social anxiety in men
AbstractAbrams, D., Wilson, G. T., Abrams, D. B., & Lipscomb, T. R. (n.d.).Publication year
1980Journal title
Journal of Studies on AlcoholVolume
41Issue
3Page(s)
250-264Abstract~Effects of Tolerance on the Anxiety-Reducing Function of Alcohol
AbstractAbrams, D., Lipscomb, T. R., Nathan, P. E., Wilson, G. T., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
1980Journal title
Archives of General PsychiatryVolume
37Issue
5Page(s)
577-582AbstractThirty-two male social drinkers were arranged into two tolerance groups, based on changes in standing stability after ingestion of alcohol. Subjects consumed either a large (1.0 g/kg) or small (0.5 g/kg) dose of alcohol. On finishing their drinks, subjects were requested to interact with a female confederate whose continued silence induced anxiety. Heart rate, skin conductance, overt behavior, and self-report measures were taken. Heart rate increased more at the small than the large dose, consistent with the tension-reduction hypothesis. Further, heart rate of high-tolerance subjects increased significantly more than that of low-tolerance subjects, which suggests that alcohol was less effective at tension reduction for the high-tolerance group. Finally, measures of both skin conductance and heart rate showed significant dose-by-tolerance interactions. High-tolerance subjects were more aroused than were low-tolerance subjects at the small but not at the large dose, suggesting that high-tolerance subjects must consume more alcohol to achieve the same autonomic effect experienced by the low-tolerance subjects.A clinician's guide to new developments in the behavioral treatment of obesity
AbstractAbrams, D., & Abrams, D. S. (n.d.).Publication year
1979Journal title
Behavior Therapy ReviewVolume
1Issue
2Page(s)
1-14Abstract~Behavior therapy
AbstractAbrams, D., Franks, C., & Abrams, D. S. (n.d.). (A. Kazdin, A. Bellack, & M. Hersen, Eds.).Publication year
1979Abstract~Effects of alcohol on social anxiety in women : Cognitive versus physiological processes
AbstractAbrams, D., Abrams, D. B., & Wilson, G. T. (n.d.).Publication year
1979Journal title
Journal of abnormal psychologyVolume
88Issue
2Page(s)
161-173AbstractRandomly assigned 32 female social drinkers (18-25 yr old undergraduates) to 4 conditions in a 2 × 2 factorial design that controlled for drink content and expectations. Ss were administered either an alcoholic or a nonalcoholic beverage and were led to believe that their drinks contained or did not contain alcohol. After finishing their drinks Ss participated in a study of social anxiety in which they were requested to interact with a male confederate of the experimenter. Multiple measures, including heart rate, skin conductance, and overt behavioral and self-report responses, were recorded. Ss who expected alcohol showed significant elevations in physiological arousal and were rated as more anxious on observational measures of social behavior. Self-report measures failed to yield any differences among groups. Implications for the tension reduction theory of alcohol use and the importance of multiple response measures are discussed. (11/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).Effects of alcohol on social anxiety in women : Cognitive versus physiological processes
AbstractAbrams, D., & Wilson, G. T. (n.d.).Publication year
1979Journal title
Journal of abnormal psychologyVolume
88Issue
2Page(s)
161-173AbstractRandomly assigned 32 female social drinkers (18-25 yr old undergraduates) to 4 conditions in a 2 × 2 factorial design that controlled for drink content and expectations. Ss were administered either an alcoholic or a nonalcoholic beverage and were led to believe that their drinks contained or did not contain alcohol. After finishing their drinks Ss participated in a study of social anxiety in which they were requested to interact with a male confederate of the experimenter. Multiple measures, including heart rate, skin conductance, and overt behavioral and self-report responses, were recorded. Ss who expected alcohol showed significant elevations in physiological arousal and were rated as more anxious on observational measures of social behavior. Self-report measures failed to yield any differences among groups. Implications for the tension reduction theory of alcohol use and the importance of multiple response measures are discussed. (11/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).Effects of alcohol on the nonverbal communication of anxiety : The impact of beliefs on nonverbal behavior
AbstractAbrams, D., Woolfolk, A. E., Abrams, L. M., Abrams, D. B., & Wilson, G. T. (n.d.).Publication year
1979Journal title
Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal BehaviorVolume
3Issue
4Page(s)
205-218AbstractThree male and three female raters were shown videotapes of 29 male subjects who were speaking to a silent female confederate. Raters were asked to make 10 judgments about the subjects' behavior. The subjects had been assigned to one of two expectancy conditions in which they were led to believe the drink they consumed prior to meeting the confederate contained alcohol and tonic or tonic only. Actually, half of the subjects in each expectancy condition received alcohol and half received tonic only. Judgments of the female raters viewing the videotapes were congruent with physiological measures of the subjects' anxiety. Those subjects who believed they received alcohol were perceived by female raters as more relaxed, less anxious, less inhibited, and more dominant than subjects who believed they received tonic. The actual content of the drink had no significant effects on the raters' judgements of the subjects' behavior. Male raters were unable to discriminate among the experimental conditions. Implications for possible gender of rater effects in behavioral assessment procedures as well as for the impact of beliefs on nonverbal communication are discussed.Self-monitoring and reactivity in the modification of cigarette smoking
AbstractAbrams, D., Abrams, D. B., & Wilson, G. T. (n.d.).Publication year
1979Journal title
Journal of consulting and clinical psychologyVolume
47Issue
2Page(s)
243-251AbstractThe reactive effects of self-monitoring (SM) as a function of varying the specific nature of the target behavior and the perceived negative consequences of the behavior were investigated with 40 20-55 yr old chronic smokers (at least 15 cigarettes/day for 2 yrs). Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions from stratified blocks based on initial smoking rates: (a) SM nicotine plus health hazard information; (b) SM nicotine with no health hazard information; (c) SM cigarettes plus health information; and (d) SM cigarettes with no health information. Ss self-monitored during a 4-wk nondemand phase and during a 4-wk treatment phase or until they quit smoking. The 2 nicotine SM groups showed greater reactivity. There were no differences among groups as a function of exposure to health hazard information. Results are discussed in relation to models of self-control and previous investigations of other parameters of reactive SM. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).The nonverbal communication of social anxiety: A validation of the impact of beliefs on behavior.
AbstractAbrams, D., Woolfolk, A., Abrams, L., Abrams, D. S., & Wilson, G. (n.d.).Publication year
1979Journal title
Journal of Environmental Science and Nonverbal BehaviorVolume
3Page(s)
205-218Abstract~Effects of alcohol on sexual arousal in male alcoholics
AbstractAbrams, D., Wilson, G. T., Lawson, D. M., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).Publication year
1978Journal title
Journal of abnormal psychologyVolume
87Issue
6Page(s)
609-616AbstractDuring successive daily sessions, each of 8 29-44 yr old chronic male alcoholics received, in counterbalanced order, doses of beverage alcohol (.08, .4, .8, and 1.2 g/kg) prior to viewing nonerotic and erotic films. Measures of penile tumescence obtained by means of a penile plethysmograph showed a significant negative linear effect of increasing alcohol doses during the heterosexual and homosexual films. Ss' expectations about the effect of alcohol on sexual arousal and behavior were discrepant with these physiological findings. Consistently, Ss reported that alcohol would have no effect on their sexual arousal or would increase it. Results are discussed with reference to other studies, and it is concluded that penile tumescence is a convenient, reliable, and discriminating measure of male sexual arousal. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).Effects of alcohol on social anxiety and physiological arousal : Cognitive versus pharmacological processes
AbstractAbrams, D., Wilson, G. T., & Abrams, D. S. (n.d.).Publication year
1977Journal title
Cognitive Therapy and ResearchVolume
1Issue
3Page(s)
195-210AbstractThirty-two male social drinkers were randomly assigned to one of two expectancy conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they consumed contained either vodka and tonic or tonic only. For half of the subjects in each expectancy condition, the beverage actually contained vodka; the others drank only tonic. After their drinks, subjects' heart rates were monitored during a brief social interaction with a female confederate. Self-report and questionnaire measures of social anxiety were taken before and after the interaction. Subjects who believed that they had consumed alcohol showed significantly less increase in heart rate than those who believed that they consumed tonic only, regardless of the actual content of their drinks. There was no effect of alcohol per se. The theoretical implications of these results are briefly discussed.