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Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders
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Debi A. LaPlante, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Instructor of Psychiatry,
Harvard Medical School
Biographical Sketch
Debi LaPlante, Ph.D., is an Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Division on Addictions, Harvard Medical School. She is involved in several emerging research projects including, but not limited to: (1) an NIAAA-funded multi-year longitudinal study, which uses the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, to examine the psychiatric comorbidity profiles of repeat driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUI) offenders, (2) state (Nevada) and federally funded (NIDA) randomized clinical trials of the Your First Step to Change guide for problem gambling, and (3) an NIMH-funded meta-analytic study to develop a strength of evidence treatment outcome matrix for behaviorally expressed addictions (e.g., problem gambling, compulsive shopping). She has also has been involved in DOA research, such as: (1) a comprehensive evaluation of the State of Iowa gambling treatment program (Shaffer, LaBrie, LaPlante, & Kidman, 2002; Shaffer, LaBrie, LaPlante, Kidman, & Donato, 2004), (2) the development of a standardized public health tool for estimating environmental exposure to behavioral health toxins, the Regional Index of Gambling Exposure (Shaffer, LaBrie, & LaPlante, 2004), (3) the development of a theoretical model that conceptualized addiction as a syndrome (Shaffer, LaPlante et al., 2004), and (4) analyzing and interpreting the behavioral and substance use correlated of gambling behavior in the first ever national sample of college students (LaBrie, Shaffer, LaPlante, & Wechsler, 2003; Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, in press).
Currently Dr. LaPlante is senior editor of the online research review, the BASIS (www.basisonline.org). The BASIS publishes weekly science reviews on the latest research studies of gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Dr. LaPlante serves on the editorial board of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors and is an ad hoc reviewer for numerous other journals. Dr. LaPlante also has consulted for the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling in the development of a problem gambling self-change toolkit, Your First Step to Change, and Family Health Productions, Inc. in the development of a youth alcohol prevention video toolkit, Alcohol: True Stories. Dr. LaPlante played a lead role in the development of the EMERGE (Executive, Management and Employee Responsible Gaming Education) program.
One of Dr. LaPlante's primary research interests is on addiction in special populations. Her work in this area has revealed the importance of considering sociodemographics in the study of addiction. For example, in published studies she and her colleagues have shown that comprehensive sociodemographic profiles explain prototypically gendered phenomena, such as the "telescoping effect" (i.e., the tendency for women to start addictive behavior later in life, but progress more rapidly to a full blown addictive disorder and treatment seeking) (Nelson, LaPlante, LaBrie, & Shaffer, in press) and gravitation towards one object of addiction versus another (e.g., the tendency for women who have problems with gambling to play slot machines versus poker) better than gender alone (LaPlante, Nelson, LaBrie, & Shaffer, 2006). Furthermore, her research has shown that women in treatment for addictive behavior (i.e., repeat DUI offenders) have more complicated and extensive psychiatric histories than men (LaPlante, Nelson, Odegaard, LaBrie, & Shaffer, under review). This indicates that it might take more problems for women to reach the point of treatment and that in many cases their addictive behavior might be secondary to other psychiatric disorders.
Selected Publications
Original Articles
LaPlante, D. A., Nelson, S. E., Odegaard, S. S., LaBrie, R. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (2008). Substance and psychiatric disorders among men and women repeat driving under the influence offenders who accept a treatment-sentencing option. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 69(2), 209-217.
LaPlante, D & Ambady, N. Multiple message: Facial recognition advantage for compound expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2000; 24:211-224.
LaPlante, D & Ambady, N. Saying it like it isn't: Responding to mixed messages from men and women in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2002; 32(12):2435-2457.
Ambady N, LaPlante D, Nguyen T, Rosenthal R, Chaumeton N, & Levinson W. Surgeons' tone of voice: a clue to malpractice history. Surgery. 2002;132(1):5-9.
LaPlante, D & Ambady, N. On how things are said: Voice tone, voice intensity, verbal content, and perceptions of politeness. Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 2003; 22(4):434-441.
LaBrie RA, Shaffer HJ, LaPlante DA, & Wechsler H. Correlates of college student gambling in the United States. J Am Coll Health. 2003; 52(2):53-62.
Shaffer HJ, LaBrie RA, & LaPlante D. Laying the foundation for quantifying regional exposure to social phenomena: considering the case of legalized gambling as a public health toxin. Psychol Addict Behav. 2004; 18(1):40-8.
Shaffer HJ, LaBrie RA, LaPlante DA, Nelson SE, & Stanton MV. The road less traveled: moving from distribution to determinants in the study of gambling epidemiology. Can J Psychiatry. 2004; 49(8):504-16.
Shaffer HJ, LaPlante DA, LaBrie RA, Kidman RC, Donato AN, & Stanton MV. Toward a syndrome model of addiction: multiple expressions, common etiology. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2004; 12(6):367-74.
Shaffer HJ, LaBrie RA, LaPlante DA, Kidman RC, & Donato AN. The Iowa Gambling Treatment Program: Treatment Outcomes for a Follow-up Sample. J Gambl Stud. 2005; 21(1):59-71.
Shaffer HJ, Donato AN, LaBrie RA, Kidman RC, & LaPlante DA. The epidemiology of college alcohol and gambling policies. Harm Reduct J. 2005; 2(1):1.
LaPlante DA, Nelson SE, LaBrie RA, Shaffer HJ. Men & women playing games: gender and the gambling preferences of Iowa gambling treatment program participants. J Gambl Stud. 2006; 22(1):65-80.
Nelson, SE LaPlante, DA LaBrie, RA Shaffer, HJ. The Proxy Effect: Gender and Gambling Problem Trajectories of Iowa Gambling Treatment Program Participants. J Gambl Stud. 2006;(Online First).
Nelson, T LaBrie, RA LaPlante, DA Stanton, M Shaffer, HJ Wechsler, H. Sports betting and other gambling in athletes, fans, and other college students. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2006;(in press).
LaBrie, RA, Nelson, SE, LaPlante, DA, Peller, AJ, Caro, G, & Shaffer, HJ. Missouri Casino Self-Excluders: Distributions across Time and Space. J Gambl Stud. 2006; (in press).
Nelson, S.E., LaPlante, D.A., Peller, A.J., LaBrie, R.A., Caro, G., & Shaffer, H.J. (in press). Implementation of a Computerized Psychiatric Assessment Tool at a DUI Treatment Facility: A Case Example, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research.
LaBrie, R.A., LaPlante, D.A., Peller, A.J., Christensen, D.F., Greenwood, K.L., Straus, J.H., Garmon, M.S., Browne, C., & Shaffer, H.J. (in press). The interdependence of behavioural and somatic health: implications for conceptualizing health and measuring treatment outcomes. International Journal of Integrated Care.
LaBrie, R.A., LaPlante, D.A., Peller, A.J., Christensen, D.E., Greenwood, K.L., Straus, J.H., Garmon, M.S., Browne, C., & Shaffer, H.J. (in press). The Interdependence of Behavioral and Somatic Health: Implications for Conceptualizing Health and Measuring Treatment Outcomes. International Journal of Integrated Care.
Reviews/Chapters/Editorials
Ambady, N, LaPlante, D, & Johnson, E. Thin slice judgments as a measure of interpersonal sensitivity. In: J Hall & F Bernieri (Eds.), Interpersonal Sensitivity: Measurement and Applications. New Jersey: Erlbaum; 2001.
Shaffer, HJ & LaPlante, D. Recovering from Pathological Gambling. Responsible Gaming Quarterly. 2002.
LaPlante, D & Shaffer, HJ. Evaluating disordered gambling; Screening, assessment, and diagnosis. Responsible Gaming Quarterly. 2002.
Shaffer, HJ & LaPlante, D. Treating Gambling Disorders. In: GA Marlatt & D Donovan (Eds.), Relapse Prevention. New York: Guilford; 2005.
Books, Monographs, and Textbooks
Shaffer, HJ, LaBrie, RA, LaPlante, DA, & Kidman, RC. The Iowa Department of Public Health Gambling Treatment Service: Four Years of Evidence. In: Final Report. Boston, MA: Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions; 2002 Jan. Report No.: 101105-200.Sponsored by the State of Iowa Department of Public Health.
Shaffer, HJ, LaBrie, RA, LaPlante, DA, Kidman, RC, & Donato, AN. Evaluating the Promise of an Alcohol Education Program: Alcohol: True Stories. In: Final Report. Boston, MA: Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions; 2003. (Sponsored by Family Health Productions and the Carlisle Foundation.)
Shaffer, HJ, LaBrie, RA, Caro, G, LaPlante, DA, & Nelson, SE. Disordered Gambling in Missouri: Regional Differences in the Need for Treatment. In: Final Report. Boston, MA: Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions; 2004. (Sponsored by the Missouri Port Authority.)
Shaffer, HJ, LaBrie, RA, LaPlante, DA, Kidman, RC, & Nelson, SE. The Iowa Gambling Treatment Program Evaluation Services Project: Follow-up Study. In: Final Report. Boston, MA: Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions; 2005 Jan.Report No.: 20305-200.Sponsored by the State of Iowa Department of Public Health. (Sponsored by the Missouri Port Authority.)
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