Department of Psychology

College of Humanities and Sciences

Current StudentsGive

Molly A. Bowdring

Assistant Professor

Faculty

Education and Training

NHLBI-Funded T32 Fellowship, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine

Clinical Psychology Fellowship, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine

PhD, Clinical and Biological Health Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

MS, Clinical and Biological Health Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

BS, Psychology, Virginia Tech

Research Interests

As a researcher and clinician, I am dedicated to reducing high-risk substance use, with a primary focus on alcohol. I combine training in clinical, health, and social psychology, as well as public health. My work has two main goals: 1) identify behavioral, social, and environmental factors that influence substance use and 2) test new approaches for reducing high-risk use. My primary methods involve lab-based experimental studies, online cross-sectional surveys, ecological momentary assessment, and clinical trials.

I am committed to research that keeps up with the ever-evolving substance use landscape and that provides useful information for clinical practice and public health. Recently, I’ve focused on studying non-alcoholic beverages that mirror alcohol (i.e., non-alcoholic beer/wine/liquor/mocktails), with relevance for high-risk alcohol use prevention and intervention. Other topics I study include addiction treatment access and efficacy (e.g., telehealth and ways to manage cravings), how alcohol affects people in a social context (e.g., changes in mood and attractiveness perceptions), and drug policy.

I am also committed to supporting representativeness within academia.

I welcome opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and to mentor trainees interested in related areas!

Note. I will be recruiting a Psychology graduate student to join in Fall of 2027.

Select Publications

See Google Scholar Profile for full publication list

  1. Bowdring (2025). Could alcohol-free and low-alcohol beverages be used to extinguish alcohol cravings? Addiction. http://doi.org/10.1111/add.70295
  2. Bowdring, M. A., Mian, M. N., Young-Wolff, K. C., & Prochaska, J. J. (2025). Federal and state gaps in regulation of hemp-derived THC beverages. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 108181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108181
  3. Cristello, J. V., Bowdring, M. A.*, Waddell, J. T., & Scholars for Elevating Equity and Diversity (SEED) (2025). Reconsidering research experiences as admission criteria for clinical psychology and clinical science PhD programs. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 19(4), 286–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000522

*First three authors share first-authorship.

  1. Bowdring, M. A. & Sayette, M. A. (2023). Beer googles or liquid courage? Alcohol, attractiveness perceptions, and partner selection among males. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 84(4): 598-604. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.22-00355
  2. Bowdring, M. A., Loftus, P., Wang, S. D., Pang, R. D., & Kirkpatrick, M. G. (2023). Interactive associations between abstinence plans and romantic partner conflict and support with cigarette smoking. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 243: 109756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109756