Research Interests
Since 1996, Dr. Smith’s practice and research experience has focused on treating and preventing substance use disorders. He has practice experience with varied substance misusing populations including: adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system, adults addicted to crack cocaine, and addicted mothers involved with child welfare. Dr. Smith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and has experience implementing numerous empirically-supported treatments, including: Motivational Interviewing, the Community Reinforcement Approach, The Seven Challenges®, and Strengths Oriented Family Therapy (SOFT). His research currently focuses on what treatments work best for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders. For example, with generous support from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), he is developing a peer-enhanced treatment for use with young adults with alcohol problems. Additionally, he is interesting in studying the effects of Motivational Interviewing among adolescents with alcohol and other substance use disorders. Because of his productivity in these two areas, he was awarded the Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award in 2012 from the Society for Social Work and Research.
Education
BS, Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 1996
MSW, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 2000
PhD, Social Work, University of Iowa, 2006
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, School of Social Work
Director, Center for Prevention Research and Development (CPRD), School of Social Work
Professor, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Recent Publications
Garthe, R. C., Iverson, M., Epinger, E., Smith, D. C., Powell, T., & Mahoney, M. (2025). Strategies and Lessons Learned From Providing Training and Technical Assistance Support to Gun Violence Prevention Grantees. Health Promotion Practice, Article 15248399251341848. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399251341848
Kosgolla, J., Smith, D. C., Reinhart, C., & Evans, J. (2025). Mapping adolescent substance use recovery capital with bayesian networks: distinct protective and risk factor patterns by recovery status. Addiction Research and Theory. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2025.2537139
Schneider, W. J., Smith, D. C., Lee, C. A., Kovacevic, L., Reinhart, C. A., & Begum, S. (2025). The Geography of Intergenerational Income Mobility and Substance Use Among Adolescents in a Large Statewide Survey. Substance Use and Misuse, 60(9), 1276-1285. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2494810
Cioffi, C. C., Flinn, R. E., Pasman, E., Gannon, K., Gold, D., McCabe, S. E., Kepner, W., Tillson, M., Colditz, J. B., Smith, D. C., Bohler, R. M., O'Donnell, J. E., Hildebran, C., Montgomery, B. W., Clingan, S., & Lofaro, R. J. (2024). Beyond the 5-year recovery mark: Perspectives of researchers with lived and living experience on public engagement and discourse. International Journal of Drug Policy, 133, Article 104599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104599
Smith, D. C., Evans, J. M., Reinhart, C. A., Taylor, S. E., Begum, S., & Jenkins, K. V. (2024). Adolescent Perceptions of Substance Use Problem Resolution and Recovery. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 42(2), 168-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/07347324.2023.2292028