Sarah A. Thomas, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with a research program on adolescent risk behavior. Dr. Thomas’s research focuses on the use of novel biobehavioral methods, including neurobiological assessments, cardiovascular indices, social stress tasks, and allelic risk factors to investigate predictors and consequences of adolescent engagement in risk behavior, with an emphasis on substance use. Part of Dr. Thomas's research program has investigated dyadic interactions between parents and adolescents to understand how these patterns may contribute to or protect against adolescent risk behaviors. Dr. Thomas is currently investigating neurobehavioral mechanisms associated with adolescent cannabis use to understand factors that increase vulnerability to addiction in adolescence in a NIDA-funded project, using task-based and resting state MRI and behavioral tasks.
Dr. Thomas also researches the intersection of substance use and mental health to identify predictors and consequences of co-occurring disorders, and how substance use may contribute to acute psychiatric risk behaviors. Supported by a BBRF/NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Dr. Thomas is currently investigating how comorbid depressive symptoms in the context of adolescent cannabis use may be associated with biobehavioral markers of progression to addiction, and how these processes differ in adolescents with and without depression.
| Stumper A, Thomas SA, Zaidi ZA, Fydenkevez MA, Maron M, Wolff JC, Peters JR. "Correlates of Menarcheal Age in a Psychiatric Sample of Adolescents." The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, vol. 212, no. 2, 2024, pp. 129-131. |
| Micalizzi L, Meisel SN, Thomas SA, Parnes JE, Graves H, Becker SJ, Spirito A. "Psychometric properties of the family assessment task parental monitoring scenario among adolescents receiving substance use treatment." Journal of substance use and addiction treatment, vol. 158, 2023, pp. 209232. |
| Thomas, Sarah A., Ryan, Sarah K., Gilman, Jodi. "Resting state network connectivity is associated with cognitive flexibility performance in youth in the adolescent brain cognitive development study." Neuropsychologia, 2023, pp. 108708. |
| Thomas, Sarah A., Micalizzi, Lauren, Meisel, Samuel N., Price, Dayna, Spirito, Anthony. "Adolescent Sibling Associations among Alcohol, Cannabis, and Sexual Risk Behavior: A Test of Interdependence." Substance Use & Misuse, 2022, pp. 1-9. |
| Kudinova AY, Bettis AH, Thompson EC, Thomas SA, Nesi J, Erguder L, MacPherson HA, Burke TA, Wolff JC. "COVID-19 Related Daily Stressors, Coping, and Suicidal Ideation in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Youth." Child & Youth Care Forum, vol. 51, no. 3, 2022, pp. 579-592. |
| Burke TA, Bettis AH, Kudinova A, Thomas SA, Nesi J, Erguder L, MacPherson HA, Thompson E, Ammerman BA, Wolff JC. "COVID-19-Specific Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents." Child Psychiatry & Human Development, vol. 53, no. 6, 2022, pp. 1383-1390. |
| Thomas, Sarah, Deros, Danielle E., Jain, Anjali, Jacobs, Irene, De Los Reyes, Andres. "Links between parental monitoring and parent-adolescent conflict: A multi-modal test of bidirectional relations." [], 2022. |
| Linakis JG, Thomas SA, Bromberg JR, Casper TC, Chun TH, Mello MJ, Richards R, Ahmad F, Bajaj L, Brown KM, Chernick LS, Cohen DM, Dean JM, Fein J, Horeczko T, Levas MN, McAninch B, Monuteaux MC, Mull CC, Grupp-Phelan J, Powell EC, Rogers A, Shenoi RP, Suffoletto B, Vance C, Spirito A, Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. "Adolescent alcohol use predicts cannabis use over a three year follow-up period." Substance Abuse, 2021, pp. 1-6. |
| MacPherson HA, Kudinova AY, Schettini E, Jenkins GA, Gilbert AC, Thomas SA, Kim KL, Radoeva PD, Fenerci RLB, Yen S, Hower H, Hunt J, Keller MB, Dickstein DP. "Correction to: Relationship between cognitive flexibility and subsequent course of mood symptoms and suicidal ideation in young adults with childhood-onset bipolar disorder." European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2021. |
| MacPherson, Heather A., Kudinova, Anastacia Y., Schettini, Elana, Jenkins, Gracie A., Gilbert, Anna C., Thomas, Sarah A., Kim, Kerri L., Radoeva, Petya D., Fenerci, Rebecca L. Babcock, Yen, Shirley, Hower, Heather, Hunt, Jeffrey, Keller, Martin B., Dickstein, Daniel P. "Relationship between cognitive flexibility and subsequent course of mood symptoms and suicidal ideation in young adults with childhood-onset bipolar disorder." European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 31, no. 2, 2021, pp. 299-312. |
| Nesi, Jacqueline, Burke, Taylor A., Bettis, Alexandra H., Kudinova, Anastacia Y., Thompson, Elizabeth C., MacPherson, Heather A., Fox, Kara A., Lawrence, Hannah R., Thomas, Sarah A., Wolff, Jennifer C., Altemus, Melanie K., Soriano, Sheiry, Liu, Richard T. "Social media use and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis." Clinical Psychology Review, vol. 87, 2021, pp. 102038. |
| Thompson EC, Thomas SA, Burke TA, Nesi J, MacPherson HA, Bettis AH, Kudinova AY, Affleck K, Hunt J, Wolff JC. "Suicidal thoughts and behaviors in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents pre- and post- COVID-19: A historical chart review and examination of contextual correlates." Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, vol. 4, 2021, pp. 100100. |
| Wolff JC, Thomas SA, Hood E, Bettis AH, Rizzo CJ, Liu RT. "Application of the actor-partner interdependence model in parent-adolescent emotion regulation and depression." Journal of affective disorders, vol. 277, 2020, pp. 733-741. |
| Micalizzi L, Brick LA, Thomas SA, Wolff J, Esposito-Smythers C, Spirito A. "Cannabis Use and Emotional Awareness Difficulties in Adolescents with Co-Occurring Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders." Substance Use & Misuse, vol. 55, no. 7, 2020, pp. 1-9. |
| Thomas SA, Brick LA, Micalizzi L, Wolff JC, Frazier EA, Graves H, Esposito-Smythers C, Spirito A. "Parent-adolescent relationship characteristics and adolescent cannabis use: A growth curve analysis." The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, vol. 46, no. 5, 2020, pp. 659-669. |
| Wolff JC, Thompson E, Thomas SA, Nesi J, Bettis AH, Ransford B, Scopelliti K, Frazier EA, Liu RT. "Emotion dysregulation and non-suicidal self-injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis." European Psychiatry, vol. 59, 2019, pp. 25-36. |
| Thomas, Sarah A., Jain, Anjali, Wilson, Tristan, Deros, Danielle E., Jacobs, Irene, Dunn, Emily J., Aldao, Amelia, Stadnik, Ryan, De Los Reyes, Andres. "Moderated Mediation of the Link between Parent-Adolescent Conflict and Adolescent Risk-Taking: the Role of Physiological Regulation and Hostile Behavior in an Experimentally Controlled Investigation." Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, vol. 41, no. 4, 2019, pp. 699-715. |
| Thomas SA, Christensen RE, Schettini E, Saletin JM, Ruggieri AL, MacPherson HA, Kim KL, Dickstein DP. "Preliminary analysis of resting state functional connectivity in young adults with subtypes of bipolar disorder." Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 246, 2019, pp. 716-726. |
| MacPherson, Heather A., Ruggieri, Amanda L., Christensen, Rachel E., Schettini, Elana, Kim, Kerri L., Thomas, Sarah A., Dickstein, Daniel P. "Developmental evaluation of family functioning deficits in youths and young adults with childhood-onset bipolar disorder." Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 235, 2018, pp. 574-582. |
| Thomas SA, Wilson T, Jain A, Deros DE, Um M, Hurwitz J, Jacobs I, Myerberg L, Ehrlich KB, Dunn EJ, Aldao A, Stadnik R, De Los Reyes A. "Toward Developing Laboratory-Based Parent-Adolescent Conflict Discussion Tasks that Consistently Elicit Adolescent Conflict-Related Stress Responses: Support from Physiology and Observed Behavior." Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 26, no. 12, 2017, pp. 3288-3302. |
| Augenstein TM, Thomas SA, Ehrlich KB, Daruwala S, Reyes SM, Chrabaszcz JS, De Los Reyes A. "Comparing Multi-Informant Assessment Measures of Parental Monitoring and Their Links with Adolescent Delinquent Behavior." Parenting, vol. 16, no. 3, 2016, pp. 164-186. |
| Thomas SA, Weeks JW, Dougherty LR, Lipton MF, Daruwala SE, Kline K, De Los Reyes A. "Allelic Variation of Risk for Anxiety Symptoms Moderates the Relation Between Adolescent Safety Behaviors and Social Anxiety Symptoms." Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, vol. 37, no. 4, 2015, pp. 597-610. |
| De Los Reyes A, Augenstein TM, Aldao A, Thomas SA, Daruwala S, Kline K, Regan T. "Implementing psychophysiology in clinical assessments of adolescent social anxiety: use of rater judgments based on graphical representations of psychophysiology." Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, vol. 44, no. 2, 2015, pp. 264-79. |
| De Los Reyes A, Augenstein TM, Wang M, Thomas SA, Drabick DAG, Burgers DE, Rabinowitz J. "The validity of the multi-informant approach to assessing child and adolescent mental health." Psychological Bulletin, vol. 141, no. 4, 2015, pp. 858-900. |
| De Los Reyes A, Lerner MD, Thomas SA, Daruwala S, Goepel K. "Discrepancies between parent and adolescent beliefs about daily life topics and performance on an emotion recognition task." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 41, no. 6, 2013, pp. 971-82. |
| De Los Reyes A, Thomas SA, Goodman KL, Kundey SM. "Principles underlying the use of multiple informants' reports." Annual review of clinical psychology, vol. 9, 2013, pp. 123-49. |
| De Los Reyes A, Thomas SA, Swan AJ, Ehrlich KB, Reynolds EK, Suarez L, Dougherty LR, MacPherson L, Pabón SC. "It Depends on What You Mean by 'Disagree'": Differences between Parent and Child Perceptions of Parent-Child Conflict." Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, vol. 34, no. 3, 2012, pp. 293-307. |
| De Los Reyes, Andres, Aldao, Amelia, Thomas, Sarah A., Daruwala, Samantha, Swan, Anna J., Van Wie, Michael, Goepel, Katherine, Lechner, William V. "Adolescent Self-Reports of Social Anxiety: Can They Disagree with Objective Psychophysiological Measures and Still Be Valid?." Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, vol. 34, no. 3, 2012, pp. 308-322. |
| Thomas, S. A., Aldao, A., & De Los Reyes, A. "Implementing clinically feasible psychophysiological measures in evidence-based assessments of adolescent social anxiety." Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, vol. 43, 2012, pp. 510-519. |
| Thomas SA, Hoste RR, Le Grange D. "Observed connection and individuation: relation to symptoms in families of adolescents with bulimia nervosa." The International journal of eating disorders, vol. 45, no. 7, 2012, pp. 891-9. |
| Thomas, S. A., Daruwala, S. E., Goepel, K. A., & De Los Reyes, A. "Using the Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination in adolescent social anxiety assessments." Child & Youth Care Forum, vol. 41, no. 6, 2012, pp. 547-559. |
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | PhD | University of Maryland |
| 2008 | MA | University of Chicago |
| 2005 | BA | Boston University |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Brick, Leslie Ann | Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior |
| Frank, Michael | Edgar L. Marston Professor of Psychology, Professor of Brain Science |
| Jones, Rich | Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Professor of Neurology |
| Liu, Richard | Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research) |
| Metrik, Jane | Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Research), Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research) |
| Spirito, Anthony | Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior |
| Thompson, Elizabeth | Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior |
| Wolff, Jennifer | Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Clinician Educator |
Carney Institute for Brain Science Affiliated Faculty
E.P. Bradley Hospital
