Patricia Cavazos-Rehg

Patricia Cavazos-Rehg

Professor of Psychiatry

Additional Titles & Roles


  • Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Psychiatry
  • Co-Director, K12 Career Development Award Program in Substance Use and Substance Use Disorder
  • Associate Director, KL2 Career Development Award Program, Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Clinical Research Training Center
  • Director, Postdoctoral Mentored Training Program in Clinical Investigation, Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Clinical Research Training Center

Education & Training


  • PhD: State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 2004
  • BA: University of Houston, Houston, TX, 1998

Research Interests


Research interests include mental health epidemiology and understanding how policy and social media shape health risk behaviors of young people.

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Key Publications


    • Baiden, P., Szlyk, H., Cavazos-Rehg, P., Onyeaka, H., Peoples, J., & Kasson, E. Use of electronic vaping products and mental health among adolescent high school students in the United States: The moderating effect of gender, Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2022 Mar;147:24-33.
    • Cavazos-Rehg PA, Byansi W, Doroshenko C, Neilands T, Anako N, Sensoy Bahar O, Kasson E, Nabunya P, Mellins C, Ssewamala FM. Evaluating potential mediators for the impact of a family-based economic intervention (Suubi+Adherence) on the mental health of children and adolescents living with HIV in Uganda. 2021 Social Science and Medicine. 280, 113946.
    • Kasson, E. Vazquez, M., Doroshenko, C., Fitzsimmions-Craft, E., Wilfley, D., Taylor, B., & Cavazos-Rehg, PA. Exploring social media recruitment strategies and preliminary acceptability of an mHealth tool for teens with eating disorder. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: Special Edition. 2021; 8(15), 7979.
    • Cao, C, Xu T, Liu Q, Koyanagi A, Yang l, Carvalho A, Cavazos-Rehg PA, Smith L, Hu L.. Prevalence, correlates and misconceptions of depression symptoms in the United States, NHANES 2015-2018. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2020 May 15; 269: 51-57.
    • Cavazos-Rehg PA, Grucza R, Krauss MJ, Smarsh A, Anako N, Kasson E, Kaiser N, Sansone S, Winograd R, Bierut LJ. Utilizing social media to explore overdose and HIV/HCV risk behaviors among current opioid misusers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2019 Dec 1; 205:107690.
    • Krauss MJ, Sowles SJ, Sehi A, Spitznagel EL, Berg CJ, Bierut LJ, Cavazos-Rehg PA. Marijuana advertising exposure among current marijuana users in the U.S. Drug Alc Depend 2017: 174, 192-200.

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    Funded Research Projects


    NIDA R01 (MPI):Recreational Marijuana Marketing and Young Adult Consumer Behavior
    NIDA R34 (PI):mHealth to help pregnant and postpartum women in recovery for opioid use disorder
    NIMH R34 (MPI):Leveraging Social Media to Identify and Connect Teens with Eating Disorders to a Mobile Guided Self-Help Mobile Intervention
    NIMHD T37 (MPI):Training LEADers to Accelerate Global Mental Health Disparities in Research (LEAD)
    SAMHSA(PI):Missouri’s Opioid Response Grant (SOR)
    NIDA K02 (PI):Leveraging Social Media for Substance use Behavioral Insight
    NIMH R01(Co-I): Bridges-Round 2: Evaluating the Long-term Impact of a Family Economic Empowerment Intervention on HIV Risk Prevention and Care Continuum Outcomes among Orphaned Youth Transitioning to Young Adulthood
    Arnold Ventures(Co-I):State-level Barriers and Facilitators for Evidence-Based Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder Among the Uninsured Population
    NIDA U01 (Co-I):1/2 – Optimizing access, engagement and assessment to elucidate prenatal influences on neurodevelopment: The Brains Begin Before Birth (B4) Midwest Consortium
    NCATS(Significant Contributor):Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (KL2); Institutional Career Development Core (Fraser, KL2 Core Director)
    NSF(MPI):RAPID: Social Media Based Algorithms and Interventions to Tackle the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis