Will M. Aklin, M.A. Office: 1123N BioPsyc E-mail: waklin@psyc.umd.edu

Background Information

Will M. Aklin received his B.A. in 2001 at Clark Atlanta University, graduating Summa Cum Laude and with High Honors in Psychology. Will earned his M.A. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003 and is expected to receive his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2007. He recently matched at Yale University School of Medicine – Division of Substance Abuse for clinical internship slated to begin this July (2006). Stemming from his research, he was awarded a National Research Service Award grant from NIDA, the George Phillips Award from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland for outstanding contributions to topics involving community and public concerns, and the Student Research Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT, formerly AABT).

Research Interests

Will’s research agenda involves a translational approach cutting across both the basic and applied domains with specific interest in the mechanisms underlying the development and continuance of risk behaviors. He has been involved in studies utilizing laboratory methodologies to better understand the psychological processes underlying clinical phenomenon (e.g., substance abuse). His research aims span across three areas which include: (1) discerning the nature of mechanisms of change as a function of substance abuse treatment; (2) identification of factors that predict substance abuse treatment outcome success and/or failure; and (3) underlying the development of adolescent risk-taking behaviors. Will’s dissertation project will examine affect and disinhibition variables that have been found to be related to the development and maintenance of substance use. The study explores the extent to which these variables change throughout the course of substance abuse treatment.

Outside Interests

When not conducting research and clinical work, Will enjoys playing golf, football, basketball, working out and spending time with family and friends.

Selected Publications

Aklin, W. M., & Turner, S. M. (in press). Toward Understanding Ethnic and Cultural Factors in the Interviewing Process. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Training.

 Hopko, D. R., Lejuez, C. W., Osborne, A., Daughters, S. B., Aklin, W. M., & Strong, D. R. (in press). Construct validity of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART): Relationship with MDMA use by inner-city drug users in residential treatment. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment.

 Aklin, W. M., Lejuez, C. W., Zvolensky, M. J., Kahler, C. W., & Gwadz, M. (2005). Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking propensity with inner-city adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 215-228.

 Lejuez, C. W., Aklin, W. M., Bornovalova, M., & Moolchan, E. T., (2005). Differences in risk-taking propensity across inner-city adolescent ever- and never-smokers. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 7, 71-79.

 Lejuez, C. W., Aklin, W. M., Jones, H. A., Richards, J. R., Strong, D. R., Kahler, C. W., & Read, J. P. (2003). Differentiating smokers and nonsmokers using self-report measures of personality and behavioral risk-taking tasks. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11, 26-33.

Grants