MIRECC / CoE

Biography:  Dr. Ashrafioun completed his PhD in clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University. He completed his APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and is currently in his first year as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center. 

Research Interests: Dr. Ashrafioun’s primary research focus is on processes underlying the comorbidity of substance use and pain.  His goal is to learn more about how these processes may influence substance use behavior, pain severity and interference, psychopathology, suicide risk, and treatment response.  He hopes that this research can inform (1) suicide prevention efforts, (2) the identification of high risk individuals to facilitate appropriate referral, (3) methods to increase treatment retention and adherence, and (4) the development of novel interventions to treat pain and substance use disorders. He has been involved with several randomized clinical trials assessing pharmacologic interventions for the comorbidity between chronic pain and addiction.  He has also evaluated the relationships between craving and pain-related characteristics among patients in substance use disorder treatment. 

Recent Publications:

Ashrafioun, L., Bonar, E. E., & Conner, K. R. (in press). Health attitudes and suicidal ideation among university students. Journal of American College Health.

Ashrafioun, L., Pigeon, W., Conner, K. R., Leong, S., & Oslin, D. W. (in press). Prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among veterans in primary care referred to a mental health evaluation. Journal of Affective Disorder.

Britton, P., Stephens, B., Wu, J., Kane, C., Gallego, A., Ashrafioun, L., Tu, X., & Conner, K. R. (in press). Comorbid depression and alcohol use disorders and prospective risk for suicide attempt in the year following inpatient hospitalization. Journal of Affective Disorders.

Ashrafioun, L., Bohnert, K. M., Jannuasuch, M., & Ilgen, M. A. (2015). Characteristics of substance use disorder treatment patients using medical cannabis for pain. Addictive Behaviors, 42, 185-188.

Ashrafioun, L., Bohnert, A. S. B., Jannausch, M., & Ilgen, M. A. (2015). Evaluation of the Current Opioid Misuse measure among substance use disorder treatment patients. Journal of Substance Abuse, 55, 15-20.

Ashrafioun, L., Edwards, P.C., Bonhert, A. S. B., & Ilgen, M. A. (2014). Prescription pain medication misuse in dentail clinics. American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 40, 312-316.

Bonar, E. E., Ashrafioun, L., & Ilgen, M. A. (2014). Synthetic cannabis use among patients in residential substance use disorder treatment: Prevalence, motives, and correlates. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 143, 268-271.

Bohnert, K. M., Perron, B., Ashrafioun, L., Kleinberg, F., Jannausch, M., & Ilgen, M. (2014). Positive posttraumatic stress disorder screens among first-time medical cannabis patients: Prevalence and association with other drug use. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 1414-1417.

Kostek, J. & Ashrafioun, L. (2014). A tired winner: The effects of cognitive depletion and winning blackjack on risky decision making. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30, 423-434.

Ashrafioun, L. & Carels, R. A. (2014). Prescription opioid use among university students: assessment of post-cue exposure craving. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 586-592.

Ashrafioun, L. & Bonar, E. E. (2014). Tanning addiction and psychopathology: further evaluation of anxiety disorders and substance abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 70, 473-480.

Davis, A. K., Osborn, L. A., Leith, J., Rosenberg, H, Ashrafioun, L. et al. (2014). Psychometric evaluation of the Marijuana Reduction Strategy Self-Efficacy Scale with a community sample of marijuana users. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28, 575-579.

Ashrafioun, L. & Bonar, E. E. (2014). Psychometric properties of the Craving to Tan Questionnaire. American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 39, 1750-1754.

Hoffman, E., Davis, A. K., Ashrafioun, L., Kraus, S., Bannon, E. E., Kryszak, E. et al. (2013). A field study evaluating  behavioral strategies to reduce drinking as a function of Breath Alcohol Concentration. Addictive Behaviors, 38, 1940-1943.

Ashrafioun, L., Kostek, J., & Ziegelmeyer, E. (2013). Assessing post-cue exposure craving and its association with amount wagered in an optional betting task. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2, 133-137.

Ashrafioun, L., Rosenberg, H.,  Cross, N., & Brian, T. (2013). Further evaluation of the construct and convergent validity of the Gambling Urge Scale with university-student gamblers. American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 39, 326-331.

Ashrafioun L. & Rosenberg, H. (2012) Methods of assessing the craving to gamble: A narrative review. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26, 536-549.

Keller, C. E., Ashrafioun, L., Neumann, A., Van Klein, J., Fox, C. H., & Blondell, R. D. (2012). Practices, perceptions, and concerns of primary care providers about opioid dependence associated with the treatment of chronic pain. Substance Abuse, 33, 103-113.

Ashrafioun, L., Dambra, C. M., & Blondell, R. D. (2011) Parental prescription opioid abuse and its impact on children. American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 4, 140-146.

Canfield, M. C., Keller, C. E., Frydrych, L. M, Ashrafioun, L., Purdy, C. H., & Blondell, R. D. (2010). Prescription opioid use among patients seeking treatment for opioid dependence. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 4, 108-113.

Recent Presentations:

Ashrafioun, L., Pigeon, W., Conner, K. R., Bishop, T. M., Leong, S., & Oslin, D. W. (2015, June). The association between drug use and suicidal ideation and attempt among at-risk primary care patients. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Phoenix, AZ.

Bishop, T. M., Maisto, S. A., & Ashrafioun, L. (2015, June). Cocaine use and sexual risk among individuals with severe mental illness: a narrative review. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Phoenix, AZ.

Bishop, T. M., Maisto, S. A., Ditre, J., Ashrafioun, L., & Pigeon, W. (2015, April). Feasibility of using interactive voice recording in the temporal assessment of suicidal ideation and substance use among veterans in primary care. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Suicidology, Atlanta, GA.

Coughlin J., Ashrafioun, L., Foster, K., Tully, M., Chermack, S. T., & Winters, J. J. (2014, November). Re-evaluating the reliability and factor structure of the Brief Addiction Monitor. Poster session presented at annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.

Davis, A. K., Cross, N., Laruitsen, K., Rosenberg, H., & Ashrafioun, L. (2014, June). Psychometric evaluation of the Marijuana Reduction Strategy Self-efficacy Scale with a community sample of marijuana users. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Juan, PR.

Ashrafioun, L. & Rosenberg, H. (2014, June). Evaluation of the relationship between pain level and craving of prescription opioids. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Juan, PR.

Davis, A. K., Ashrafioun, L., Cross, N., Leith, J., Osborn, L. A., Rosenbeg, H., et al. (2013, June). Development and evaluation of the Marijuana Reduction Strategies Self-efficacy Scale. Poster session presented at annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Diego, CA.

Ashrafioun, L., Hawley, A. R., Kraus, S. W., Kryczak, E., Cross, N., Davis, A. K,, et al. (2013, June). Evaluation of self-efficacy to use harm reduction strategies among marijuana-using university students. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, San Diego, CA.

Davis, A. K., Ashrafioun, L., & Osborn, L. A. (2013, March). Predicting sexual impulse control problems among men who have sex with men: the relationships between trauma, substance use, and internalized homophobia. Poster session presented at the meeting of the Conference on Men and Masculinity, Ann Arbor, MI.

Davis, A. K., Hoffman, E., Ashrafioun, L., Kraus, S. W., Rosenberg, H., Bannon, L, Kryszak, E., Carhart, V., Baik, K., & Jesse, S. (2012, November). Confidence to reduce alcohol use and related harm. Panel presentation at the Bi-Annual Harm Reduction Coalition Conference, Portland, OR.

Ashrafioun, L., Rosenberg, H., & Anderson, R. (2012, June). Evaluation of a novel attentional training task with university student binge drinkers. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, San Francisco, CA.

Kostek, J. & Ashrafioun, L. A (2011, November). Tired Winner: the effects of cognitive depletion and winning blackjack on risky decision making.  Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Seattle, WA.

Ashrafioun, L., Rosenberg, H. & McCarthy, A. (2011, October). Assessing the impact of cue exposure on craving to gamble in university students. Poster session presented at the annual NCRG meeting of the Conference on Gambling and Addiction, Las Vegas, NV.

Ashrafioun, L., Rosenberg, H. & Anderson, R. (2011, April). Attentional bias to preferred type of alcoholic beverage in university student binge drinkers. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Washington, DC.

Ashrafioun, L., Gancarz, A. M., San George, M., & Richards, J. B. (2008, November). Effects of methamphetamine on the reinforcing value of novel and familiar visual stimuli. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.

Ashrafioun, L., Blondell, R. D., Frydrych, L. M., Homish, G. G., Foschio, E. M. & Bashaw, H. L. (2009, June). A Randomized trial of two behavioral interventions to improve outcomes following inpatient detoxification for alcohol dependency. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, San Diego, CA.

Recent Grants:

Dr. Ashrafioun has received research scholarships from the American Psychological Association and American Psychology Foundation to fund his dissertation work.  He is currently applying for research grants.