Nora E. Charles, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Department of Psychology The University of Southern Mississippi

Biographical Sketch

August 2011 - July 2015

Dr. Charles completed her postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory and Clinic (NRLC).

In her time with the NRLC, her research focused on family risk for substance use disorder and initiation of substance use and escalation of use from pre- to mid-adolescence. Major recent findings include determining that the children of people with substance use disorders display increased impulsivity even before they engage in any substance use of their own, and that exposure to stressors during childhood mediates the association between inherited risk for substance abuse and offspring substance use. Together, these results suggest pathways through which having a parent with a substance use disorder may increase risk for substance abuse. Dr. Charles postdoctoral training is funded by a grant from NIDA, Training in Drug Abuse Research: Behavior and Neurobiology (T32-DA031115) and an extramural clinical research loan repayment grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Period of Service

August 2011 - July 2015

Research Projects

Consequences of Adolescent Substance Use on the Development of Impulse Control (R01-DA026868)
Relating Brain Maturation to Impulse Control and Substance Use Involvement (R01-DA033997)

After the NRLC

After her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Charles went on to accept a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Charles lab Website

Presentations/Publications with the NRLC

Preadolescent sensation seeking and early adolescent stress relate to at-risk adolescents’ substance use by age 15
Charles, N. E., Mathias, C. W., Acheson, A., and Dougherty, D. M. (2017).

Addictive Behaviors, 69, 1-7.
Early adolescent trajectories of impulsiveness and sensation seeking in children of fathers with histories of alcohol and other substance use disorders
Acheson, A., Lake, S. L., Bray, B. C., Liang, Y., Mathias, C. W., Ryan, S. R., Charles, N. E., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research,. 40, 2,622-2,630
Altered developmental trajectories for impulsivity and sensation seeking among adolescent substance users
Charles, N. E., Ryan, S. R., Bray, B.C., Mathias, C. W., Acheson, A., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Addictive Behaviors, 60, 235-241
Child problems as a moderator of relations between maternal impulsivity and family environment in a high-risk sample.
Friedman, C. K., Ryan, S. R., Charles, N. E., Mathias, C. W., Acheson, A.,and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Substance Use & Misuse, 51, 1264-1273.
Pubertal maturation compression and behavioral impulsivity among boys at increased risk for substance use
Mathias, C. W., Charles, N. E., Liang, Y., Acheson, A., Lake, S. L., Ryan, S. R., Olvera, R. L., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 15, 61-73.
Clinical and social/environmental characteristics in a community sample of children with and without family histories of Substance Use Disorder in the San Antonio area: A descriptive study
Ryan, S. R., Acheson, A., Charles, N. E., Lake, S. L., Hernandez, D. L., Mathias, C. W., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 25, 327-339.
Family functioning as a mediator of relations between family history of Substance Use Disorder and impulsivity
Ryan, S. R., Friedman, C. K., Lake, S. L., Mathias, C. W., Charles, N. E., Liang, Y., Acheson, A., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 15, 17-24.
Increased Pre- and Early-Adolescent Stress in Youth with a Family History of Substance Use Disorder and Early Substance Use Initiation
Charles, N. E., Mathias, C. W., Acheson, A., Bray, B. C., Ryan, S. R., Lake, S. L., Liang, Y, and Dougherty DM. (2015).

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1954-1967.
Childhood stress exposure among preadolescents with and without family histories of substance use disorders
Charles, N. E., Ryan, S. R., Acheson, A., Mathias, C. W., Liang, Y., and Dougherty, D. M. (2015).

Psychology of Addictive Behavior, 29, 192-200.
Behavioral impulsivity and risk-taking trajectories across early adolescence in youths with and without family histories of alcohol and other drug use disorders
Dougherty, D. M., Lake, S. L., Mathias, C. W., Ryan, S. R., Bray, B. C., Charles, N. E., and Acheson, A. (2015).

Virtual Issue on Risk Factors for Adolescent Drinking
Aggression as a Predictor of Early Substance Use Initiation among Youth with Family Histories of Substance Use Disorders
Mathias, C. W., Duffing, T. M., Acheson, A., Charles, N. E., Lake, S. L., Ryan, S. R., Liang, Y., and Dougherty, D. M. (2015).

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 14, 230-240.
Delay discounting differentiates pre-adolescents at high and low risk for substance use disorders based on family history
Dougherty, D. M., Charles, N. E., Mathias, C. W., Ryan, S. R., Olvera, R. L., Liang, Y., and Acheson, A. (2014).

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 143, 105-111.
Ethical considerations in adolescent drug research, a response to “Conflicting ethics of confidentiality in adolescent drug research”
Dougherty, D. M., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Ryan, S. R., Mathias, C. W., Dawes, M. A., Acheson, A., Charles, N. E., Furr, M. A., and Liguori, A. (2014).

Psychopharmacology, 231(8), 1433-1435. DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3183-9
Impulsivity, attention, memory, and decision-making among adolescent marijuana users
Dougherty, D. M., Mathias, C. W., Dawes, M. A., Furr, R. M., Charles, N. E., Liguori, A., Shannon, E. E., and Acheson, A. (2013).

Psychopharmacology, 226, 307-319.
Motivational value and salience of images of infants.
Charles, N. E., Alexander, G. M., Saenz, J. (2013).

Evolution and Human Behavior, 34, 373-381
Psychopathic traits and their association with adjustment problems in girls.
Charles, N. E., Acheson, A., Mathias, C. W., Furr, R. M., and Dougherty, D. M. (2012).

Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 30, 631-642.
Comparing the detection of transdermal and breath alcohol concentrations during periods of alcohol consumption ranging from moderate drinking to binge drinking.
Dougherty, D. M., Charles, N. E., Acheson, A., John, S., Furr, R.M., and Hill-Kapturczak, N. (2012).

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 20, 373-381.
A test of the psychometric characteristics of the BIS-Brief among three groups of youth
Mathias, C. W., Stanford, M. S., Liang, Y., Goros, M., Charles, N. E., Sheftall, A. H., Mullen, J., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Acheson, A., Olvera, R. L., and Dougherty, D. M. (2018).

Psychological Assessment, 30, 847-865.