Devin Banks, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Clinical Psychology

Dr. Devin Banks earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University—Purdue University in 2020. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. She directs the Racial Equity in Addiction across the Lifespan (REAL) Lab at UMSL.

Dr. Banks’ research focuses on improving racial equity in the research and treatment of substance use and related behavioral health outcomes (e.g., sexual behavior, traumatic stress), particularly among Black Americans. Her work seeks to understand the development of substance use among minoritized communities and prevent substance use problems that disproportionately affect those communities. Ultimately, her goal is to improve behavioral health equity via culturally-sensitive prevention at all three levels and across development.

Dr. Banks’ current programs of research concern:

  • Race-related stress and resilience, including how factors such as racial discrimination interact with traditional risk/resilience factors (i.e., psychological, social, and environmental) to influence behavioral health among adolescents and young adults.
  • Community-based and technology-enhanced strategies for addressing inequities in opioid overdose and access to opioid treatment that disproportionately affect Black communities.
  • Racial/ethnic differences in substance use and substance use problems, particularly differences in patterns of concurrent and polysubstance use among adolescents.

Dr. Banks is enthusiastic about mentoring students of all levels and teaches courses related to multicultural psychology. She has clinical expertise in evidence-based treatments for substance use and trauma in youth and adults. She serves as both a research and clinical supervisor.

*Dr. Banks will be accepting applications for graduate students planning to enroll Fall 2023.

Select Publications:

Banks, D. E., Paschke, M. E., Li, X., Fentem, A., Rich, A., Szlyk, H., & Cavazos-Rehg, P. (2022). Opioid use disorder and COVID-19: Treatment and recovery factors among vulnerable populations at the intersection of two U.S. epidemics. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. https://doi.org/1080/02791072.2022.2079443 

Banks, D. E., Carpenter, R. W., Wood, C. A., & Winograd, R. P. (2021). Commentary on Furr‐Holden et al. 2020: As opioid overdose deaths accelerate among Black Americans, COVID‐19 widens inequities—a critical need to invest in community‐based approaches. Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15362

Banks, D. E., Riley, T. N., Bernard, D. L., Fisher, S., & Barnes-Najor, J. (2021). Traditional risk and cultural protection: Correlates of alcohol and cannabis co-use among African American adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 35(6), 671-681. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000756 

Bernard, D. L., Calhoun, C., Banks, D. E., Halliday-Boykins, C., Hughes-Halbert, C., & Danielson, C. K. (2020). Making the “C-ACE” for a culturally informed adverse childhood experiences framework to understand the pervasive impact of racism on Black youth. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-020-00319-9

Banks, D. E., Hensel, D. J., & Zapolski, T. C. (2020). Integrating individual and contextual factors to explain disparities in HIV/STI among heterosexual African American youth: A contemporary literature review and social ecological model. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 1939–1964. 10.1007/s10508-019-01609-6

Banks, D. E., & Zapolski, T. C. (2018). The crossover effect: A review of racial/ethnic variations in risk for substance use and substance use disorder across development. Current Addiction Reports, 5(3), 386-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-018-0220-0

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e-mail

devinbanks@umsl.edu

phone

(314) 516-4524

office

426 Stadler Hall

links

Curriculum Vitae

Lab Website