Stephanie Lanza’s career is devoted to advancing prevention research in behavioral health through the development and application of innovative quantitative methods. Much of this work addresses new research questions about age- and time-varying effects related to health behavior. She also collects contemporary data on young adult substance use using intensive measurement via wearable devices. This work is designed to inform within-person risk factors for substance misuse and its consequences.
Dr. Lanza co-directs the Addiction and Innovative Methods (AIM) Lab with Ashley Linden-Carmichael. She served as director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center from 2017-2023.
I am passionate about applying and disseminating innovative statistical methods that hold promise for advancing our knowledge on how to improve health and well-being.
- Stephanie Lanza
Developmental Period(s)
Neonatal/Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence
Level(s) of Analysis
Individuals, Families, Schools
Contact Information
302 Biobehavioral Health Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-7095
SLanza@psu.edu
she/her
Associated Lab(s)
Social Media
Stephanie Lanza’s career is devoted to advancing prevention research in behavioral health through the development and application of innovative quantitative methods. Much of this work addresses new research questions about age- and time-varying effects related to health behavior. She also collects contemporary data on young adult substance use using intensive measurement via wearable devices. This work is designed to inform within-person risk factors for substance misuse and its consequences.
Dr. Lanza co-directs the Addiction and Innovative Methods (AIM) Lab with Ashley Linden-Carmichael. She served as director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center from 2017-2023.
I am passionate about applying and disseminating innovative statistical methods that hold promise for advancing our knowledge on how to improve health and well-being.
- Stephanie Lanza
Contact Information
302 Biobehavioral Health Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-7095
SLanza@psu.edu
she/her
Professional Links
Associated Lab(s)
Developmental Period(s) Studied
Neonatal/Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence
Levels of Analysis
Individuals, Families, Schools
Program on Empathy, Awareness, and Compassion in Education (PEACE) 
Prevention and Methodology Training Program (PAMT) 
Penn State CORE (COllege Relationships and Experiences) 
Families, Adolescents, and Schools Thriving in Everyday Living (FASTEN) Study 
Penn State SELF (Student Engagement, Learning, and Flourishing)
PRC to have strong presence at SPR Annual Meeting, May 30-June 2 
Penn State funds a five-year study of the health and well-being of its students 
An ounce of prevention: Research center aims to stop problems before they start 
College students' sense of belonging related to mental health during pandemic 
Closeness with dads may play a special role in how kids weather adolescence 
Training scientists in substance use prevention the focus of $3.2 million grant 
Food and housing security task force shares progress updates for trustees 
Video: Penn State prevention researchers respond to COVID-19 
Video: Impact of COVID-19 on Penn State Undergraduate Students 
Words used to describe alcohol intoxication may give clues to drinking habits 
Video: “The History and Science of Prevention,” featuring PRC Director Stephanie Lanza 
Sexual minorities face significant health disparities 
The five types of problem drinking are more common at different ages 
Penn State launches new consortium to combat the opioid crisis
- Age-varying associations between attempts to lose weight and nicotine vaping across adolescence: Results from a nationally representative sample
Hochgraf, A. K., Fosco, G. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2022). Journal of Adolescent Heath. Advance online publication.
- Understanding heterogeneity among simultaneous alcohol and marijuana users: Latent classes derived from daily diary data
Lanza, S. T., Sokolovsky, A. W., Linden-Carmichael, A. N., White, H. R., & Jackson, K.M. (2022). Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (83)3, 358-363.
- Change in college student health and well-being profiles as a function of the COVID-19 pandemic
Lanza, S. T., Whetzel, C. A., Linden-Carmichael, A. N., & Newschaffer, C. J. (2022). PLoS ONE 17(5).
- The microrandomized trial for developing digital interventions: Experimental design and data analysis considerations
Qian, T., Walton, A. E., Collins, L. M., Klasnja, P., Lanza, S. T., Nahum-Shani, I., Rabbi, M., Russell, M. A., Walton, M. A., Yoo, H., & Murphy, S. A. (2022). Psychological Methods. Advance online publication.
- Flexibly modeling age trends in the prevalence of co-occurring patterns of substance use and mental health disorders using time-varying effects and latent class analysis
Stull, S. W., Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Cloutier, R. M., Bonny, A. E., & Lanza, S. T. (2022). The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 1-9. Advance online publication.
- Assessing subjective cannabis effects in daily life with contemporary young adult language
Cloutier, R.M., Calhoun, B.H., Lanza, S.T., Linden-Carmichael, A.N. (2022). Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Advance online publication.
- College students' sense of belonging and mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
Gopalan, M., Linden-Carmichael, A., & Lanza, S. (2021). Journal of Adolescent Health. Advance online publication.
- Associations between simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use and next-day negative affect among young adults: The role of sex and trait anxiety
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Hochgraf, A. K., Cloutier, R. M., Stull, S. W., & Lanza, S. T. (2021). Addictive Behaviors, 123.
- Time-varying effect modeling for the behavioral, social and health sciences
Lanza, S.T., & Linden-Carmichael, A.N. (2021). Springer.
- Daily associations between affect and alcohol use among adults: The importance of affective arousal
Jones, D.R., Allen, H.K., Lanza, S.T., Engeland, J.E. (2021). Addictive Behaviors(112).
- Developmental timing of parent-youth intimacy as a protective factor for adolescent adjustment problems
Hochgraf, A. K., Fosco, G. M., Lanza, S. T., & McHale, S. (2021). Journal of Family Psychology. Advance online publication.
- Dynamic associations of parent-adolescent closeness and friend support with adolescent depressive symptoms across ages 12-19
Mak, H. W., Fosco, G.M., & Lanza, S. T. (2021). Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31, 299-316.
- The socio-environmental context of simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use among young adults: Examining day-level associations
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Allen, H. K., & Lanza, S. T. (2021). Drug and Alcohol Review, 40(4), 647-657.
- The language of subjective alcohol effects: Do young adults vary in their feelings of intoxication?
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Allen, H. K., & Lanza, S. T. (2020). Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 29(6), 670-678. Advance online publication.
- Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use in daily life: Implications for level of use, subjective intoxication, and positive and negative consequences
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Van Doren, N., Masters, L. D., & Lanza, S. T. (2020). Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 34(3), 447- 453.
- Temporal dynamics of treatment receipt in a text message intervention for physical activity: Single-group, within-person trial
Conroy, D. E., Yang, C.-H., Lanza, S. T., Smyth, J. M., & Lagoa, C. M. (2020). JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 22, 8(4), e14270.
- Penn State CORE (COllege Relationships and Experiences) descriptive statistics
- Sensitivity and specificity of information criteria
Dziak, J. J., Coffman, D. L., Lanza, S. T., Li, R., & Jermiin, L. S. (2020). Briefings in Bioinformatics, 21, 553-565.
- Age-varying associations of parental knowledge and antisocial peer behavior with adolescent substance use
Mak, H.W., Russell, M.A., Lanza, S.T., Feinberg, M.E., & Fosco, G.M. (2020). Developmental Psychology, 56, 298-311.
- "Buzzwords": Crowdsourcing and quantifying U.S. young adult terminology for subjective effects of alcohol and marijuana use
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Masters, L. D., & Lanza, S. T. (2020). Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 28(6), 632-637. Advance online publication.
- Affect relative to day-level drinking initiation: Analyzing ecological momentary assessment data with multilevel spline modeling
Russell, M. A., Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Lanza, S. T., Fair, E. V., Sher, K. & Piasecki, T. M. (2020). Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 34(3), 434-446.
- Age trends in alcohol use behavior patterns among U.S. adults ages 18-65
Bray, B. C., Dziak, J. J., & Lanza, S. T. (2019). Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 205, 107689. PMCID: PMC6957076
- College degree attainment by age of first marijuana use and parental education
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Kloska, D. D., Evans-Polce, R., Lanza, S. T., & Patrick, M. E. (2019). Substance Abuse, 40, 66-70. PMCID: PMC6535370
- Sexual minority-related discrimination across the life course: Findings from a national sample of adults in the United States
Rice, C. E., Fish, J. N., Russell, S. T., & Lanza, S. T. (2019).Journal of Homosexuality, 68 (2), 252-268. PMCID: PMC7073284
- Inverse propensity score weighting with a latent class exposure: estimating the causal effect of reported reasons for alcohol use on adulthood problem alcohol use 16 years later
Bray, B. C., Dziak, J. J., Patrick, M. E., & Lanza, S. T. (2019). Prevention Science, 20, 394-406. PMCID: In process
- Sexual minority health disparities: An examination of age-related trends across adulthood in a national cross-sectional sample
Rice, C. E., Vasilenko, S. A., Fish, J. N., & Lanza, S. T. (2019). Annals of Epidemiology, 31, 20-25. PMCID PMC:6606453
- Time-varying moderation of treatment outcomes by illness duration and comorbid depression in generalized anxiety disorder
Newman, M. G., Shin, K. E., & Lanza, S. T. (2019). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(3), 282-293. PMCID: PMC6632089
- Flexibly modeling alcohol use disorder risk: How many drinks should we count?
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Russell, M. A., & Lanza, S. T. (2019). Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 33, 50-57. PMCID: PMC6521945
- Dynamic features of problematic drinking: Alcohol use disorder latent classes across ages 18-64
Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Dziak, J. J., & Lanza, S. T. (2019). Alcohol and Alcoholism, 54, 97-103. PMCID: PMC6324653
- Time since first acting on same-sex attraction and recreational drug use among men who have sex with men (MSM): Is there an effect of "gay age"?
Rice, C. E., Vasilenko, S. A., Lanza, S. T., Davis, J. A., Fields, K. S., Ervin, M., & Norris Turner, A. (2018). Substance Use and Misuse, 53(5), 852-858. PMCID PMC:6124658
- Is young adulthood a critical period for suicidal behavior among sexual minorities? Results from a US national sample
Fish, J. N., Rice, C. E., Lanza, S. T., & Russell, S. T. (2018). Prevention Science. PMCID:PMC6163093
- Sexual behavior latent classes among men who have sex with men: Associations with sexually transmitted diseases
Rice, C. E., Norris Turner, A., & Lanza, S. T. (2017). Journal of Sex Research, 54(6), 776-783. PMCID: PMC5479140
- The age-varying association of student status with excessive alcohol use: Ages 18 to 30 years
Evans-Polce, R. J., Maggs, J. L., Staff, J., & Lanza, S. T. (2017). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41(2), 407-413. PMCID: PMC5272785
- Age-related changes in associations between reasons for alcohol use and high-intensity drinking across young adulthood
Patrick, M. E., Evans-Polce, R., Kloska, D. D., Maggs, J. L., & Lanza, S. T. (2017). Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78(4), 558-570. PMCID: PMC5551660
