Scholarly and Research Interests:

Currently, I am most active in research focusing on the influence of alcohol on sexual behavior. My work emphasizes the view that both alcohol expectancy theory and alcohol myopia theory are useful frameworks for understanding post-drinking sexuality. Grounded in these theories, my colleagues, students and I conduct laboratory-based experiments examining the potentially disinhibiting effects of alcohol on sexual perception, sexual aggression, and HIV/AIDS related sexual risk taking. Typically, these experiments involve assessment of individual differences including alcohol expectancies, administration of beverages, presentation of sexual or sexually aggressive stimuli, and assessment of sexual outcomes, such as arousal, perception, and likelihood of risk-taking. We presently have several manuscripts in preparation or under review, reporting findings from recently completed experiments. In a series of papers, we report that acute alcohol intoxication influences sexual risk-taking decisions during a hypothetical encounter. In another series of papers, we report that acute intoxication also influences women’s reactions to a hypothetical date rape.

Another primary interest area focuses on how cultural factors and racial stereotypes interact with the above topics. For example, I am interested in how racial stereotypes influence sexual perceptions and victim-blaming in alcohol-related sexual assaults. In an earlier paper (George & Martinez, 2002), we found more victim-blaming about interracial than intraracial rapes. In two papers being prepared, we report that sexual perceptions differ based on the race of the characters depicted in a first-date scenario and based on the characters’ alcohol consumption. These data have intensified my interest in racial stereotypes about sexuality and the perceptual consequences of such stereotypes.

A third primary interest area concerns racism, ethnicity, and cultural factors broadly. In our edited volume (Barrett & George, 2005), Dr. Kim Barrett, chapter contributors, and I consider multicultural competence in psychological service delivery generally and especially in legal settings. In two books being prepared, Dr. Barrett and I consider the formative impact of childhood racism experiences on later adulthood adjustment (Barrett & George, in preparation; Barrett, George, & Yi, in preparation). Also, since 1998, I continue to serve as director of the UW’s Institute for Ethnic Studies in the United States. In this role, I have the pleasure of being able to review small grant applications from UW faculty members proposing scholarship related to American Ethnic groups. These applications hail from a wide variety of disciplines across the humanities, arts, and sciences; and several applications are funded each year.

My secondary areas of interest include theories and therapies pertaining to addictions – especially Relapse Prevention applications; sex offenders; couple relationships; and the adult sexuality of survivors of child sexual abuse. In 2005, we published three book chapters related to Relapse Prevention applications to sexuality; a related review paper is also in press. Recently, several colleagues and I have found preliminarily that prior child sexual abuse may affect how women respond to laboratory situations involving sexuality. We hope to investigate this possibility further. Finally, the Couple Therapy Project spearheaded by the late Dr. Neil Jacobson and UCLA’s Dr. Andrew Christensen is largely completed; current and former graduates remain involved in publishing findings from this project, which is the largest clinical trial conducted on marital therapy to date.

Representative Publications:

Andrasik, M.P., Woods, B., & George, W.H. (in press). The need for culturally competent Harm Reduction and Relapse Prevention interventions for African Americans. In G. A. Marlatt, M. E. Larimer, & K. Witkiewitz (Eds.), Harm Reduction 2nd Edition.

Davis, K. C., Schraufnagel, T., George, W. H., & Norris, J. (in press). The use of alcohol and condoms during sexual assault. American Journal of Men's Health.

Hendershot, C. S, Marlatt, G. A., & George, W. H., (in press). Relapse prevention and the maintenance of optimal health. In S. Shumaker, J. K. Ockene, & K. Riekert (Eds.), The Handbook of Behavior Change, 3rd edition. New York: Springer Publishing Co.

Stephens, K., & George, W. H. (in press). Rape Prevention with College Men: Evaluating Risk Status. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

George, W.H., Davis, K. C., Schraufnagel, T., Norris, J., Heiman, J. R., Schacht, R. L., Stoner, S. A., & Kajumulo, K. F. (2008). Later that night: Descending alcohol intoxication and men’s sexual arousal. American Journal of Men's Health, 2, 76-86. DOI: 10.1177/0123456789123456

Hendershot, C. S., Dillworth, T. M., Neighbors C., & George, W.H. (2008). Differential Effects of Acculturation on Drinking Behavior in Chinese- and Korean- American College Students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs, 69, 121-128.

Stoner, S. A., Norris, J., George, W. H., Morrison, D. M., Zawacki, T., Davis, K. C., & Hessler, D. M. (2008). Women’s condom use assertiveness and sexual risk-taking: Effects of alcohol intoxication and adult victimization. Addictive Behaviors, 33, 1167-1176.

Davis, K.C., Hendershot, C.S, George, W.H., Norris, J., & Heiman, J.R., (2007). Alcohol’s effects on sexual decision making: An integration of alcohol myopia and individual differences. Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs, 68, 843-851.

Hendershot, C. S, &. George, W. H., (2007). Alcohol and sexuality research in the AIDS era: Trends in publication activity, target populations and research design. AIDS and Behavior, 11, 227-237.

Hendershot, C. S, Stoner, S. A., George, W. H., & Norris, J. (2007). Alcohol use, expectancies and sexual sensation seeking as correlates of HIV risk behavior in heterosexual young adults. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 365-372.

Lindgren, K. P., George, W. H., & Shoda, Y. (2007). Sexual intent perceptions: The role of perceiver experience and the "real person reduction.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 346-369.

Lopez, P. A., George, W.H., & Davis, K. C., (2007). Do hostile sexual beliefs affect men’s perceptions of sexual-interest messages? Violence & Victims, 22, 226-242.

Schacht, R. L., George, W. H., Heiman, J. R., Norris, J., Davis, K. C., Stoner, S. A., & Kajumulo, K. F. (2007). Effects of alcohol intoxication and instructional set on women’s sexual arousal vary based on sexual abuse history. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 655-65.

Stoner, S. A., George, W. H., Norris, J., & Peters, L. M. (2007). Liquid courage: Alcohol fosters risky sexual decision-making in individuals with sexual fears. AIDS and Behavior, 11, 217-226.

Davis, K. C., Norris, J., George, W. H., Martell, J., & Heiman, R. J. (2006b). Men’s likelihood of sexual aggression: The influence of alcohol, sexual arousal, and violent pornography. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 581-589.

George, W. H., Davis, K. C., Norris, J., Heiman, R. J., Schacht, R., Stoner, S. A., & Kajumulo, K. F. (2006). Alcohol and erectile response: The effects of high dosage in the context of demands to maximize sexual arousal. Experimental & Clinical Psychopharmacology, 14, 461-470.

George, W.H., Stoner, S. A., Davis, K. C., Lindgren, K. P., Norris, J. & Lopez, P.A. (2006). Postdrinking sexual perceptions and behaviors toward another person: Alcohol expectancy set and gender differences. The Journal of Sex Research, 43, 282-292.

Wheeler, J. G., George, W. H., & Marlatt, G. A. (2006). Relapse prevention for sexual offenders: Considerations for the “Abstinence Violation Effect.” Sexual Abuse: Journal of Research and Treatment, 18, 233-248.

Davis, K. C., George, W. H. & Norris, J. (2004). Women’s responses to unwanted sexual advances: The role of alcohol and inhibition conflict. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 333-343.

George, W.H., & Martinez, L. (2002). Victim blaming in rape: Effects of victim and perpetrator race, type of rape, and participant racism. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 110-119.

George, W. H., & Stoner, S. A. (2000). Understanding alcohol and sexual behavior. Annual Review of Sex Research, 11, 125-157.

George, W. H., Frone, M. R., Cooper, M. L., Russell, M., Skinner, J. B., & Windle, M. (1995). A revised Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire: Factor structure confirmation and invariance in a general population sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 56, 177-185.

George, W. H., & Norris, J. (1991). Alcohol, disinhibition, sexual arousal, and deviant sexual behavior. Alcohol Health and Research World, 15, 133-138.

Crowe, L. C., & George, W. H. (1989). Alcohol and human sexuality: review and integration. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 374-386.

Curriculum Vitae

Recently Published: Race, Culture, Psychology, and Law by Kimberly Holt Barrett and William H. George