Matthew Webster, Ph.D.

(University of Kentucky, 2001)

105 Medical Behavioral Science Building
Phone: (859) 323-1457
e-mail: matt.webster@uky.edu

Research Description

Dr. Webster is an assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Science with an appointment in the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. His research focuses on substance abusers, their health and related risk behaviors, and the barriers they face to recovery. He has examined these issues in criminal justice, female, and rural populations. His current research examines demographic and psychosocial characteristics of DUI offenders and how they relate to the assessment, treatment, and recidivism of this population.

2008 Accomplishments

In 2008, Dr. Webster was principal investigator for four extramurally-funded research projects, including two new NIH-funded studies. He was lead author or co-author on four published articles, three articles currently in press, and two articles that remained under review at year’s end. He was lead author on eight reports for state government focusing on substance abuse and also co-authored a book on conducting needs assessment studies which will be released in early 2009. Dr. Webster was an author on four presentations given at the state, national, or international level and gave two trainings. During the past year, Dr. Webster taught four courses: Patients, Physicians, and Society I (MD 810) and II (MD 820); the Dependency Behavior graduate seminar (BSC 776); and an independent study for a doctoral student interested in DUI offenders (BSC 790).  With respect to service activities, Dr. Webster participated in 2 NIH study section reviews and served on several graduate student thesis/dissertation committees. He also served as a College of Medicine admissions interviewer and provided consultation to the Kentucky Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

Research Funding

Principal Investigator, Drugged Driving in Alcohol-restricted Rural Appalachia, 2008 - 2010
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Principal Investigator, A Web-based Employment Intervention for Drug Court Participants, 2008 - 2010
National Institute on Drug Abuse

Principal Investigator, Kentucky DUI Project, 2002 - 2009
Kentucky Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Representative Publications

Webster, J. M., Oser, C. B., Mateyoke-Scrivner, A., Depp Cline, V., Havens, J. R., & Leukefeld, C. G. (in press). Drug use and criminal activity among rural probationers with DUI histories. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.

Webster, J. M., Pimentel, J. H., Harp, K. L. H., Clark, D. B., & Staton-Tindall, M. (in press). Substance abuse problem severity among rural and urban female DUI offenders. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Webster, J. M., Pimentel, J. H., & Clark, D. B. (2008). Characteristics of DUI offenders convicted in wet, dry, and moist counties. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40(3), 976-982.

Webster, J. M., Leukefeld, C., Staton-Tindall, M., Mateyoke-Scrivner, A., & Garrity, T. F. (2007). Factors related to drug abuse treatment history among incarcerated drug abusers. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 13(1), 8-21.

Webster, J. M., Mateyoke-Scrivner, A., Staton-Tindall, M., & Leukefeld, C. (2007). Rurality and criminal history as predictors of HIV risk among drug-involved offenders. Substance Use and Misuse, 42(1), 153-160.

Webster, J. M., Rosen, P. J., Smiley McDonald, H., Staton-Tindall, M., Garrity, T. F., & Leukefeld, C. G. (2007). Mental health as a mediator of gender differences in employment barriers among drug abusers. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 33(2), 259-265.

Webster, J. M., Staton-Tindall, M., Duvall, J. L., Garrity, T. F., & Leukefeld, C. G. (2007). Measuring employment among substance-using offenders. Substance Use and Misuse, 42(7), 1187-1205.

Leukefeld, C. G., Hiller, M. L., Webster, J. M., Staton-Tindall, M., Martin, S. S., Duvall, J., Tolbert, V. E., & Garrity, T. F. (2006). A prospective examination of high-cost health services utilization among drug using prisoners re-entering the community. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 33(1), 73-85.

Webster, J. M., Mateyoke-Scrivner, A., Rosen, P. J., Staton-Tindall, M., Garrity, T. F., & Leukefeld, C. G. (2006). Behavioral health services use among drug-abusing offenders: Additional support for a modified Andersen and Newman framework. Corrections Compendium, 31(4), 1-6.

Webster, J. M., Rosen, P. J., Krietemeyer, J., Mateyoke-Scrivner, A., Staton-Tindall, M., & Leukefeld, C. G. (2006). Gender, mental health, and treatment motivation in a drug court setting. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 38(4), 441-448.

Webster, J. M., Leukefeld, C., Staton, M., Hiller, M. L., Garrity, T. F., & Narevic, E. (2005). Lifetime health services use by male drug-abusing offenders. The Prison Journal, 85(1), 50-64.

Mateyoke-Scrivner, A., Webster, J. M., Staton, M., & Leukefeld, C. (2004). Treatment retention predictors of drug court participants in a rural state. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 30(3), 605-625.

Staton, M., Leukefeld, C., & Webster, J. M. (2003). Substance use, health, and mental health: Problems and service utilization among incarcerated women. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 47(2), 224-239.