Steven Pitts, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Degree: Ph.D., 1999 Arizona State University

Area: Quantitative Psychology

Office: MP 323 x (410) 455-2362
E-mail: spitts@umbc.edu
Fax: (410) 455-1055

Website: Not supplied by instructor

Research Interests

My research interests fall primarily in two areas, quantitative psychology and developmentally limited substance abuse. Within quantitative psychology, I am 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. I am interested in identifying both childhood and family factors that predict who will mature out.

Selected Publications

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.

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.

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.

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.

Graduate Student Mentees
not provided by the instructor

Teaching

Data Analytic Procedures I (PSYC 611) - (primarily univariate analysis)
Data Analytic Procedures II (PSYC 711) - (primarily multivariate analysis)
Experimental Psychology I (PSYC 331)
Experimental Psychology II (PSYC 332)