Research Interests
Since 1996, Dr. Smith’s practice and research experience has focused on treating and preventing substance use disorders. He has practice experience with varied substance misusing populations including: adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system, adults addicted to crack cocaine, and addicted mothers involved with child welfare. Dr. Smith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and has experience implementing numerous empirically-supported treatments, including: Motivational Interviewing, the Community Reinforcement Approach, The Seven Challenges®, and Strengths Oriented Family Therapy (SOFT). His research currently focuses on what treatments work best for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders. For example, with generous support from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), he is developing a peer-enhanced treatment for use with young adults with alcohol problems. Additionally, he is interesting in studying the effects of Motivational Interviewing among adolescents with alcohol and other substance use disorders. Because of his productivity in these two areas, he was awarded the Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award in 2012 from the Society for Social Work and Research.
Education
BS, Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 1996
MSW, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 2000
PhD, Social Work, University of Iowa, 2006
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, School of Social Work
Director, Center for Prevention Research and Development (CPRD), School of Social Work
Professor, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Recent Publications
Evans, J. M., Smith, D. C., Lee, A., Cohen, F. Y., & Reinhart, C. A. (2026). Exploring the Dimensions of Substance Use Recovery: A Qualitative Study Among Adults in Illinois. Substance Use and Misuse. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2568942
Kelly, S., Bakhireva, L. N., Buresh, C., Camenga, D., Castaneda, R., Kaliamurthy, S., Smith, D. C., Tolou-Shams, M., Horigian, V. E., Marsch, L., & Karnik, N. S. (Accepted/In press). Setting an agenda for adolescent substance use research in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, Article 209979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2026.209979
Kosgolla, J., Smith, D. C., Reinhart, C., & Evans, J. (2026). Mapping adolescent substance use recovery capital with bayesian networks: distinct protective and risk factor patterns by recovery status. Addiction Research and Theory, 34(2), 132-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2025.2537139
Lee, A., Smith, D. C., & Campbell, C. C. (2026). Impact of Substance Use Terminology on MSW Students: A Randomized Vignette Study. Research on Social Work Practice, 36(6), 817-825. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315251338224
Reinhart, C. A., Begum, S., Kovacevic, L., Bhatt, T., Kosgolla, J., & Smith, D. C. (2026). Underage Access to Alcohol Through Curbside and Home Delivery: Prevalence and Consequences. Prevention Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-026-01984-2