FACULTY

Contact Information

spitts@umbc.edu

Lab:
Sondheim Hall 511
p.410-455-8752

Status:

Accepting new students for Fall 2013

Steven Pitts, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Education

Area of Study

Quantitative Psychology

Research Interests

Dr. Pitts' research interests fall primarily in two areas, quantitative psychology and developmentally limited substance abuse. Within quantitative psychology, he is interested in the consequences of decisions made by researchers during the analysis phase of research that can deleteriously affect the interpretation and/or statistical decisions of the analysis. Developmentally limited substance use concerns the fact that a number of individuals will "spontaneously recover" (mature out of) substance use problems acquired during adolescence. Dr. Pitts is interested in identifying both childhood and family factors that predict who will mature out.

Selected Publications

Aiken, L. S., West, S. G., & Pitts, S. C. (2003). Multiple linear regression. In J. Schinka & W. Velicer (Eds.), Handbook of Psychology (Vol. 2). Research Methods in Psychology (pp. 483-507). New York: Wiley.

Chassin, L., Pitts, S. C., & Prost, H. (2002). Binge drinking trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a high risk sample: Predictors and substance abuse outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 67-78.

West, S. G., Biesanz, J., & Pitts, S. C. (2000). Causal inference and generalization in field settings: Experimental and quasi-experimental designs. In H. Reis and C. Judd (Eds.), Handbook of Research Methods in Personality and Social Psychology (pp. 40-84). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Pitts, S. C., West, S. G., & Tein, J.-Y. (1996). Longitudinal measurement models in evaluation research: Examining stability and change. Evaluation and Program Planning, 19, 333-350.