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Psych professor to research biases toward sufferers of substance abuse with research endowment
March 25, 2019 | George Mattingly II
University of Houston-Clear Lake Assistant Professor of Psychology Christine Walther will explore biases toward people who suffer from substance abuse with help from
the Marilyn Mieszkuc Professorship in Women’s Studies, an annual endowment that supports
faculty research across a variety disciplines that involve gender issues.
Walther, who specializes in developmental psychology, was recognized as 2018-2019
honoree for this year’s award by the Women’s and Gender Studies program at UH-Clear Lake. Her research focuses on the intersection of social influences and
individual differences in understanding alcohol and drug abuse problems among adolescents
and young adults.
With the endowment, Walther will expand her research on identifying biases toward
people who suffer from substance abuse based on various identities.
“Drug abuse is usually presented in two ways,” Walther said. “There’s the idea that
abuse is a biological dependence, and on the other side, the idea that abuse is a
matter of impulse control. I want to figure out when people are applying these different
models. I think that gender is going to play a role in this because women’s patterns
of abuse, familial roles and access to treatment are different from men.”
Her ultimate goal is to use her findings to develop better training mechanisms for
professionals who treat patients who have suffered from substance abuse. The endowment,
she said, will help her compensate participants to create a larger and more diverse
sample group, and to run statistical analyses.
The endowment was established in 2003 by university friend Ben Mieszkuc to memorialize
his wife, Marilyn, a local attorney and civic leader who strongly supported educational
equality for women. She died in 2001.
UHCL offers an undergraduate minor and a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies housed in the Department of Psychology with courses
in anthropology, criminology, history, humanities, literature, psychology, sociology
and writing. Learn more at www.uhcl.edu/human-sciences-humanities/departments/psychology.