Colin Mahoney

Assistant Professor

Photo: Colin Mahoney
Email: 
ColinMahoney@unm.edu
Office: 
Logan Hall Room 167
Education: 
Ph.D., Idaho State University, 2018
Curriculum vitae
 

Research Area/s:

Clinical Psychology,  Diversity and Health Data Across the Lifespan

Research Interests:

  • Co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD)
  • Violence against women (i.e., sexual assault, IPV, community violence)
  • Military trauma among veterans (i.e., combat trauma, MST)
  • Marginalized and minority populations
  • Integrated trauma-focused treatments
  • Behavioral assessment
  • Mixed methods
  • Community-engaged research

Profile:

Accepting students? Dr. Mahoney is interested in accepting a PhD student in this upcoming application cycle for Fall 2026 admission. Applicants for both the Clinical area as well as the Diversity and Health Data Science Across the Lifespan area are encouraged to apply to his lab. Please email Dr. Mahoney if you are interested in pursuing graduate studies under his mentorship.

My research focuses on identifying risk, maintenance, and protective factors for the symptoms and diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) among women, particularly marginalized and minority women, following exposure to interpersonal violence (i.e., sexual violence, intimate partner violence [IPV], community violence) and among veterans of all gender identities following exposure to military trauma (e.g., combat trauma, military sexual trauma [MST]) through (1) experimental, (2) prospective, and (3) qualitative studies. The intention is to investigate these processes to inform, enhance, and develop evidence-based assessments and treatments for co-occurring PTSD and SUD. I am particularly interested in using this knowledge to develop behavioral assessment tools as well as conduct clinical trials testing the efficacy of culturally relevant, brief face-to-face interventions and digital health interventions.

Beyond Work Activities

Dr. Mahoney loves to spend time outdoors in New Mexico with friends and family and particularly enjoys hiking, camping, rafting, and kayaking. He also enjoys going to see live music, especially bluegrass music and indie rock. Lastly, he loves to travel, cook, and play hockey in his free time.

Selected Publications

(* denotes undergraduate or graduate student co-authors)

Mahoney, C. T., *Beck, B. M., *Dixon, K. E., *Horne, S. D., & Lawyer, S. R. (2024). Conceptualizing impulsivity as a construct in relation to PTSD symptom severity among women. Journal of Traumatic Stress. doi.org/10.1002/jts.23060.

 

Moshier, S. J., Mahoney, C. T., Bovin, M. J., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2024). Session-level effects of Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure on individual symptoms of PTSD among US Veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000880.

 

Mahoney, C. T., *Dixon, K. E., *Daugherty, Y. T., *Bindbeutel, K. M., *Horne, S. D., Littleton, H., Dworkin, E. R., Livingston, N. A., & Galano, M. M. (2023). Structural pathways between PTSD symptoms and alcohol use consequences among women. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01068-0.

Mahoney, C. T., Lawyer, S. R., *Pemberton, S., & *Marchant, K. M. (2022). A laboratory examination of risky sexual behavior for sexually traumatized women. Journal of Traumatic Stress. doi.org/10.1002/jts.22866.

 

*Newberger, N. G., *Hinds, Z., Mahoney, C. T., Herbitter, C., Bryant, W. T., & Livingston, N. A. (2022). Real-time associations between discrimination, cannabis use, and mood among sexual and gender minority individuals. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. doi.org/10.1037/adb0000836.

 

Mahoney, C. T., *Cestodio, V., *Porter, K. J., & *Marchant, K. M. (2022). The moderating roles of emotion regulation and coping self-efficacy on the association between PTSD symptom severity and drug use among female sexual assault survivors. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, & Policy. doi.org/10.1037/tra0001194.

 

Livingston, N. A., Farmer, S., Mahoney, C. T., Marx, B. P., & Keane, T. M. (2021). The role of PTSD symptom clusters and criterion in predicting future high-risk drug and alcohol use among returning veteran men and women. Psychological Services. doi.org/10.1037/ser0000538.

Lab

Dr. Mahoney directs the Mixed Methods Promoting Wellness & Recovery (MPWR) Lab. The MPWR lab is primarily focused on understanding mechanisms underlying the comorbidity of PTSD and SUD, particularly among college and community women. Lab members’ works have focused on IPV-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) and associated health risk behaviors (e.g., substance misuse, risky sexual behavior, disordered eating), protective behavioral strategies (PBS) for alcohol and cannabis co-use among women sexual assault survivors, childhood trauma and its impact on adult emotion regulation processes, obstacles impeding help-seeking behavior among veteran and community women trauma survivors, PTSD symptom profiles and their relations with specific classes of substances, and the experiences of marginalized individuals with histories of both trauma and discrimination. Current members of the MPWR Lab are at both UNM and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). They are:

Reagan Fitzke (3rd-Year PhD Student; UNM)

Britta Beck (4th-Year PhD Student; UCCS)

Shantel Horne (2nd-Year MA Student; UCCS)

Ellie McLane (2nd-Year MA Student; UCCS)