Nicole Weiss

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Psychology; Clinical Psychology
  • Phone: 401.277.5492
  • Email: nicole_weiss@uri.edu
  • Website
  • Accepting Students: Ph.D.

Biography

NOTE: Dr. Weiss will be accepting new Ph.D. students for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Dr. Weiss is an Associate Professor and Director of the STRESS Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island as well as Director of the COBRE on Opioids and Overdose’s Community Engaged Research Core at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Weiss received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Jackson State University, following completion of her Clinical Internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Weiss completed a NIDA T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Substance Abuse Prevention Research at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Weiss is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed articles, and her research is currently supported by grants from NIAAA, NIDA, and NIGMS, and has been recognized through several awards (e.g., APS Rising Star, ISTSS Outstanding Mentorship Award, URI Early Career Faculty Research and Scholarship Excellence Award).

Research

Dr. Weiss’ program of research focuses on the co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Her basic research leverages intensive longitudinal data—such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and wearable biosensors—to evaluate dynamic and idiographic processes underlying PTSD symptoms and substance use over time. She is also interested in PTSD-SUD among systemically excluded and marginalized groups, including traumatic stressors unique to these populations (e.g., historical trauma, racial microaggressions) as well as cultural characteristics (e.g., acculturation, racial-ethnic identity) that influence their post-trauma outcomes (e.g., SUD). Her treatment studies develop, implement, and evaluate culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches for SUD.

Complementing this work, Dr. Weiss spearheads research on positive emotion dysregulation. She has developed and validated multidimensional measures to evaluate positive emotion dysregulation (e.g., momentary Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scales for EMA; Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Positive). Further, Dr. Weiss is the first to theorize and empirically test a role of positive emotion dysregulation in co-occurring PTSD-SUD. Her findings show that individuals with PTSD are less accepting of positive emotions and more likely to exhibit behavioral dyscontrol in the context of positive emotions, and, in turn, are more likely to use substances to dampen their positive emotions. Dr. Weiss’ research in this area aims to influence meaningful changes for clinical practice where positive emotional processes are often overlooked.

Education

  • Yale University School of Medicine, National Institute on Drug Abuse T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Substance Abuse Prevention Research, 2013-2016
  • University of Mississippi Medical Center, Clinical Internship, 2012-2013
  • Jackson State University, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, 2007-2013
  • Syracuse University, B.A. in Psychology, 2003-2007

Selected Publications

(of 200 total)

* = mentored student at the time of work

Weiss, N. H., Dixon-Gordon, K. L., Brick, L. A., Goldstein, S. C.,* Schick, M. R.,* Laws, H., Kiefer, R.,* Contractor, A. A., & Sullivan, T. P. (in press). Measuring emotion dysregulation in daily life: An experience sampling study. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping.

Weiss, N. H., + Spillane, N. S., + Goldstein, S. C.,* Kiefer, R.,* Raudales, A. M.,* Nalven, T., Egan, A., Trinh, C. D., Moore, R. S., & Gone, J. P. (2023). Ground-up approach to understanding the impacts of historical trauma in one reserve-dwelling First Nations community. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 91, 717-730.
+indicates joint first authorship

Weiss, N. H., Schick, M. R.,* Raudales, A. M.,* Forkus, S. R.,* Thomas, E. D.,* Contractor, A. A., & Sullivan, T. P. (2023). Experimental investigation of the influence of positive emotion dysregulation on risk-taking following idiographic emotion inductions. Clinical Psychological Science, 11, 490-508.

Weiss, N. H., Brick, L. A., Schick, M. R.,* Forkus, S. R.,* Raudales, A. M.,* Contractor, A. A., & Sullivan, T. P. (2022). Posttraumatic stress disorder strengthens the daily associations between emotion dysregulation and substance use: A micro-longitudinal study of community women experiencing intimate partner violence. Addiction, 117, 3150-3169.

Weiss, N. H., Brick, L. A., Forkus, S. R.,* Goldstein, S. C.,* Thomas, E. D.,* Schick, M. R.,* Barnett, N. P., Contractor, A. A., & Sullivan, T. P. (2022). Modeling reciprocal relations between emotion dysregulation and alcohol use using dynamic structural equation modeling: A micro-longitudinal study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 46, 1460-1471.

Weiss, N. H., Thomas, E. D.,* Schick, M. R.,* Reyes, M. E.,* & Contractor, A. A. (2022). Racial and ethnic differences in emotion regulation: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 78, 785-808.

Weiss, N. H., Kiefer, R.,* Goncharenko, S.,* Raudales, A. M.,* Forkus, S. R.,* Schick, M. R.,* & Contractor, A. A. (2022). Emotion regulation and substance use: A meta-analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 230, 109131.

Weiss, N. H., Dixon-Gordon, K. L., Peasant, C., & Sullivan, T. P. (2018). An examination of the role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 31, 775-780.

Weiss, N. H., Bold, K. W., Sullivan, T. P., Armeli, S., & Tennen, H. (2017). Testing bidirectional associations among emotion regulation strategies and substance use: A daily diary study. Addiction, 112, 695-704.

Weiss, N. H., Sullivan, T. P., & Tull, M. T. (2015). Explicating the role of emotion dysregulation in risky behaviors: A review and synthesis of the literature with directions for future research and clinical practice. Invited paper for a special issue of the journal Current Opinion in Psychology on emotion regulation, 3, 22-29.

Weiss, N. H., Gratz, K. L., & Lavender, J., (2015). Factor structure and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of difficulties in the regulation of positive emotions: The DERS-Positive. Behavior Modification, 39, 431-453.

Gratz, K. L., Weiss, N. H., & Tull, M. T. (2015). Examining emotion regulation as an outcome, mechanism, or target of psychological treatments. Invited paper for a special issue of the journal Current Opinion in Psychology on emotion regulation, 3, 85-90.

Selected Honors and Awards

  • 2022 Outstanding Mentorship Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
  • 2022 University of Rhode Island College of Health Sciences Research Excellence Award (Highest Research Award for Faculty in the College of Health Sciences)
  • 2021 Recognition for being in the top 1% of all cited scholars worldwide in Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders between 2011 and 2021, Expertscape
  • 2019 University of Rhode Island Early Career Faculty Research and Scholarship Excellence Award in Social Sciences and Humanities (Highest Research Award for Early Career Faculty in Social Sciences and Humanities)
  • 2016 Rising Star, Association for Psychological Science
  • 2014-2017 National Institute of Health Clinical Research Loan Repayment Award, National Institute on Drug Abuse, L30DA038349

Selected Student Honors and Awards

  • Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award - Shannon Forkus (2021), Silvi Goldstein (2021), Alexa Raudales (2023), Emmanuel Thomas (2023), Reina Kiefer (2023), and Noam Newberger (2024)
  • URI Graduate Student Research and Scholarship Excellence Award in Social Sciences and Humanities (Highest Research Award for Graduate Students in Social Sciences and Humanities) - Shannon Forkus (2019), Silvi Goldstein (2022), Alexa Raudales (2023), and Emmanuel Thomas (2024)
  • URI Undergraduate Student Research and Scholarship Excellence Award in Social Sciences and Humanities (Highest Research Award for Undergraduate Students in Social Sciences and Humanities) - Nazaret Suazo (2019), Aleksandra Fryc (2020), and Stephen Coutu (2024)
  • Stanley Berger Social Justice Award (given to one graduate student each year in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island who demonstrates a commitment to social justice) - Silvi Goldstein (2020), Alexa Raudales (2023), and Emmanuel Thomas (2024)
  • URI Dean’s Fellowship (Awarded to Three Graduate Students with the Most Academic Promise) - Shannon Forkus (2019), Silvi Goldstein (2020), Alexa Raudales (2021), Emmanuel Thomas (2022), and Reina Kiefer (2023)
  • URI First-Year Doctoral Fellowship (Awarded to Graduate Students in Recognition of Promise as Researchers and Scholars) – Jewelia Ferguson (2022) and Enya Meade (2023)
  • URI Carpenter Prize (Best Research Paper in the Psychology Department) - Nazaret Suazo (2019) and Aleksandra Fryc (2020)
  • URI Janet Kulberg Research Poster Award (Best Research Poster in the Psychology Department) - Allison Tobar-Santamaria (2019), Sarah DelBonis (2021), Courtney Holmes (2022), and Stephen Coutu (2024)

More Information

Download Curriculum Vitae (PDF)