Research Overview

Dr. Weitzman’s investigations use a multidisciplinary and mixed methods approach grounded in a biopsychosocial model of disease to advance understanding, prevention, and care of youth at risk from chronic illness and/or substance use through improved interventions. She is deeply committed to supporting robust research relationships with cohorts. As such, use of participatory research methods is a throughline of her work, which explores three main areas:

  1. Substance use. From early work examining patterning of drinking behaviors among college-aged youth to recent efforts to integrate substance use and behavioral health services into schools and primary care practices in Massachusetts, Dr. Weitzman has led research focused on preventing and reducing substance use among adolescents and young adults. To advance understanding of a radical new approach for preventing morbidity and mortality from adolescent substance, she has partnered with the BCH Precision Vaccines Program to explore the acceptability of a fentanyl vaccine to prevent opioid overdose.
  2. Chronic illness. Dr. Weitzman’s research seeks to understand and ameliorate the experience of chronic illness (including type 1 diabetes, rheumatic conditions, and gastroenterological conditions) among youth through studies of patient-reported outcomes, substance use and behavioral health, and social media engagement among youth with chronic conditions.
  3. Participatory research and informatics. A unique emphasis in Dr. Weitzman’s work is the use of participatory and informatics enabled approaches for understanding health phenomena and engaging public health and clinical cohorts. Past studies have taken a “citizen science” approach and involved asking participants to use a novel app to share data about their disease, gauging interest in and preferences for return of genomic research results for pediatric biobank research and quantifying the effects of returning aggregated research results to study participants.

Research Background

Dr. Elissa Weitzman is Director of Research in the Division of Addiction Medicine, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Scientist in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her graduate training at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health was in health policy, behavioral sciences, and psychiatric and social epidemiology, and she completed post-doctoral training in medical ethics and public health in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and was a mid-career fellow in medical ethics at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Weitzman also serves as a mentor to physician-scientists, researchers, and post-doctoral fellows at Boston Children’s Hospital and beyond. She co-directs the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine Research and Mentoring Forum and directs research training for Boston Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Addiction Medicine Fellowship.

Publications

  1. Roadmap for Global Youth Substance Use Prevention, Screening, and Early Intervention Research. J Adolesc Health. 2025 Jan; 76(1):9-15. View Abstract
  2. Psychosocial correlates of alcohol and substance use in college youth with type 1 diabetes. J Pediatr Psychol. 2024 Dec 28. View Abstract
  3. Screening for Nonmedical Use and Misuse of Prescription Medication by Adolescents. Subst Use Addctn J. 2024 Dec 04; 29767342241292419. View Abstract
  4. Intensifying Substance Use Trends among Youth: A Narrative Review of Recent Trends and Implications. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2024 Dec; 26(12):822-831. View Abstract
  5. Pain Interference in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. J Rheumatol. 2024 Nov 01; 51(11):1119-1124. View Abstract
  6. Evaluating anchor variables and variation in meaningful score differences for PROMIS® Pediatric measures in children and adolescents living with a rheumatic disease. Qual Life Res. 2024 Dec; 33(12):3449-3457. View Abstract
  7. Development of CARRA/PReS-endorsed consensus Core and Expanded Datasets in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus for international registry-based research. Ann Rheum Dis. 2024 Oct 08. View Abstract
  8. Social complexity of a fentanyl vaccine to prevent opioid overdose conference proceedings: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study conference proceedings. Vaccine. 2025 Jan 12; 44:126324. View Abstract
  9. Which pediatric practices use substance use consultation services? Front Pediatr. 2024; 12:1337944. View Abstract
  10. Need for strategic communications and stakeholder engagement to advance acceptability of an overdose preventing vaccine targeting fentanyl. Vaccine. 2024 Oct 24; 42(24):126082. View Abstract
  11. Disease-Tailored Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use Among Youths With Chronic Medical Conditions: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 01; 7(7):e2419858. View Abstract
  12. Identifying Adolescent Vaping With Screening to Brief Intervention and Brief Screener for Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Screening Tools. J Adolesc Health. 2024 Jul; 75(1):196-199. View Abstract
  13. Comparing the Performance of World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview Substance Abuse Module in Adolescents to Diagnoses Made by Pediatric Addiction Medicine Specialists. J Addict Med. 2024 Mar-Apr 01; 18(2):205-208. View Abstract
  14. Adolescent and Parent Perspectives on Digital Phenotyping in Youths With Chronic Pain: Cross-Sectional Mixed Methods Survey Study. J Med Internet Res. 2024 Jan 11; 26:e47781. View Abstract
  15. Associations Between Patient-Reported Outcome Measures of Physical and Psychological Functioning and Willingness to Share Social Media Data for Research Among Adolescents With a Chronic Rheumatic Disease: Cross-Sectional Survey. JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2023 Dec 06; 6:e46555. View Abstract
  16. Parent Guidance on Alcohol Use for Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions. J Addict Med. 2024 Jan-Feb 01; 18(1):75-77. View Abstract
  17. Substance Use and Educational Impacts in Youth With and Without Chronic Illness. Am J Prev Med. 2024 02; 66(2):279-290. View Abstract
  18. Returning Genetic Information About Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder to Adolescents: Findings of a Preliminary Qualitative Study of Precision Prevention. AJPM Focus. 2024 Feb; 3(1):100153. View Abstract
  19. Assessment of Screening Tools to Identify Substance Use Disorders Among Adolescents. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 05 01; 6(5):e2314422. View Abstract
  20. The Association of Vaping With Social/Emotional Health and Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Mitigation Measures in Adolescent and Young Adult Cohorts During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Subst Abus. 2023 Jan-Apr; 44(1):73-85. View Abstract
  21. Construct validity of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Paediatric measures in juvenile idiopathic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: cross-sectional evaluation. BMJ Open. 2023 01 27; 13(1):e063675. View Abstract
  22. Effects of a Patient-Centered Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Use Among Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions. J Adolesc Health. 2022 10; 71(4S):S24-S33. View Abstract
  23. Pediatric Subspecialist Alcohol Screening Rates and Concerns About Alcohol and Cannabis Use Among Their Adolescent Patients. J Adolesc Health. 2022 10; 71(4S):S34-S40. View Abstract
  24. Adolescent Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment: Defining a Research Agenda. J Adolesc Health. 2022 10; 71(4S):S7-S8. View Abstract
  25. Indicators of Healthcare Transition Progress Among College Youth With Type 1 Diabetes. Acad Pediatr. 2023 May-Jun; 23(4):737-746. View Abstract
  26. Precision Vaccines: Lessons Learned From the Coronavirus Pandemic. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 08 15; 75(Suppl 1):S1. View Abstract
  27. Pediatric Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Vaccines: Perceptions and Attitudes From the Food and Drug Administration Public Commentary. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 08 15; 75(Suppl 1):S46-S50. View Abstract
  28. Acceptability of a Fentanyl Vaccine to Prevent Opioid Overdose and Need for Personalized Decision-Making. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 08 15; 75(Suppl 1):S98-S109. View Abstract
  29. Association of Screening and Brief Intervention With Substance Use in Massachusetts Middle and High Schools. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 08 01; 5(8):e2226886. View Abstract
  30. A Phone Consultation Call Line to Support SBIRT in Pediatric Primary Care. Front Psychiatry. 2022; 13:882486. View Abstract
  31. Self-Reported Health Outcomes of Children and Youth with 10 Chronic Diseases. J Pediatr. 2022 07; 246:207-212.e1. View Abstract
  32. Virtual Care in an Outpatient Subspecialty Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program. J Addict Med. 2022 Mar-Apr 01; 16(2):e112-e117. View Abstract
  33. Feasibility and Efficacy of Online Strategies to Recruit Parents of Children With Rheumatic Diseases for Research. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022 May; 4(5):410-416. View Abstract
  34. The Promises and Perils of Social Media for Pediatric Rheumatology. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2022 02; 48(1):233-243. View Abstract
  35. Instrumental Substance Use Among Youth with Rheumatic Disease-A Biopsychosocial Model. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2022 02; 48(1):51-65. View Abstract
  36. Prevention of Substance Use Disorders. Med Clin North Am. 2022 Jan; 106(1):153-168. View Abstract
  37. Peer-to-Peer Social Media Communication About Dietary Supplements Used for Weight Loss and Sports Performance Among Military Personnel: Pilot Content Analysis of 11 Years of Posts on Reddit. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Oct 04; 5(10):e28957. View Abstract
  38. Psychoeducational Messaging to Reduce Alcohol Use for College Students With Type 1 Diabetes: Internet-Delivered Pilot Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2021 09 30; 23(9):e26418. View Abstract
  39. Validation of a single question for the assessment of past three-month alcohol consumption among adolescents. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 11 01; 228:109026. View Abstract
  40. Virtual Group Therapy Programs-The Wave of the Future. J Adolesc Health. 2021 09; 69(3):527. View Abstract
  41. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Attitudes as Expressed in U.S. FDA Public Commentary: Need for a Public-Private Partnership in a Learning Immunization System. Front Public Health. 2021; 9:695807. View Abstract
  42. Marijuana Use to Address Symptoms and Side Effects by Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions. Pediatrics. 2021 03; 147(3). View Abstract
  43. Safety Protocols for Adolescent Substance Use Research in Clinical Settings. J Adolesc Health. 2021 05; 68(5):999-1005. View Abstract
  44. Sensitivity and specificity of S2BI for identifying alcohol and cannabis use disorders among adolescents presenting for primary care. Subst Abus. 2021; 42(3):388-395. View Abstract
  45. Digital Health Technology to Enhance Adolescent and Young Adult Clinical Preventive Services: Affordances and Challenges. J Adolesc Health. 2020 08; 67(2S):S24-S33. View Abstract
  46. Alcohol Use Behaviors and Reasons to Abstain From or Limit Drinking Among Medically Vulnerable Youth. J Addict Med. 2020 Jul/Aug; 14(4):311-318. View Abstract
  47. Parental Perceptions About Alcohol Use for Their Adolescent with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2020 Jun/Jul; 41(5):366-372. View Abstract
  48. Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders in Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions: The Need for Integration of Addiction Treatment into Mainstream Medical Facilities. J Addict Med. 2020 May/Jun; 14(3):261-263. View Abstract
  49. Student Experience of School Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. J Sch Health. 2020 06; 90(6):431-438. View Abstract
  50. Online Searching and Social Media to Detect Alcohol Use Risk at Population Scale. Am J Prev Med. 2020 01; 58(1):79-88. View Abstract
  51. Response to the Letter to the Editor From Mayen et al Regarding "Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention of College Students With Type 1 Diabetes via Social Media: An Implementation Case Study". J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2020 01; 14(1):187-188. View Abstract
  52. Rising Prevalence of Comorbid Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States. J Gen Intern Med. 2019 10; 34(10):1987-1989. View Abstract
  53. Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality in Adolescents Using e-Cigarettes and Marijuana: A Secondary Data Analysis From the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. J Addict Med. 2019 Sep/Oct; 13(5):362-365. View Abstract
  54. Moving beyond perceived riskiness: Marijuana-related beliefs and marijuana use in adolescents. Subst Abus. 2020; 41(3):297-300. View Abstract
  55. Screening and Counseling for Alcohol Use in Adolescents With Chronic Medical Conditions in the Ambulatory Setting. J Adolesc Health. 2019 06; 64(6):804-806. View Abstract
  56. Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention of College Students with Type 1 Diabetes via Social Media: An Implementation Case Study. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2019 05; 13(3):445-456. View Abstract
  57. Gaps in Mental Health Care for Youth With Rheumatologic Conditions: A Mixed Methods Study of Perspectives From Behavioral Health Providers. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2019 05; 71(5):591-601. View Abstract
  58. Parental views on state cannabis laws and marijuana use for their medically vulnerable children. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 06 01; 199:59-67. View Abstract
  59. Acute Mental Health Symptoms in Adolescent Marijuana Users. JAMA Pediatr. 2019 02 01; 173(2):185-186. View Abstract
  60. Perspectives on substance use among youth with chronic medical conditions and implications for clinical guidance and prevention: A qualitative study. PLoS One. 2019; 14(1):e0209963. View Abstract
  61. How Returning Aggregate Research Results Impacts Interest in Research Engagement and Planned Actions Relevant to Health Care Decision Making: Cohort Study. J Med Internet Res. 2018 12 21; 20(12):e10647. View Abstract
  62. Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Interactive Medications Among Medically Vulnerable Youth. Pediatrics. 2018 10; 142(4). View Abstract
  63. Enhancing Autonomy in Biobank Decisions: Too Much of a Good Thing? J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2018 04; 13(2):125-138. View Abstract
  64. Facing Addiction: A Laudable, but Incomplete Effort. Am J Public Health. 2018 Feb; 108(2):153-155. View Abstract
  65. Adding patient-reported outcomes to a multisite registry to quantify quality of life and experiences of disease and treatment for youth with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. J Patient Rep Outcomes. 2018; 2. View Abstract
  66. Expectancy and Achievement Gaps in Educational Attainment and Subsequent Adverse Health Effects Among Adolescents With and Without Chronic Medical Conditions. J Adolesc Health. 2017 Oct; 61(4):461-470. View Abstract
  67. Substance Use Among Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Reasons for Use, Knowledge of Risks, and Provider Messaging/Education. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2017 Jul/Aug; 38(6):417-423. View Abstract
  68. Preferences for the Return of Individual Results From Research on Pediatric Biobank Samples. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2017 04; 12(2):97-106. View Abstract
  69. Assessing Behavioral Stages From Social Media Data. CSCW Conf Comput Support Coop Work. 2017 Feb-Mar; 2017:1320-1333. View Abstract
  70. Screening and brief intervention in high schools: School nurses' practices and attitudes in Massachusetts. Subst Abus. 2017 Jul-Sep; 38(3):257-260. View Abstract
  71. Denominator Issues for Personally Generated Data in Population Health Monitoring. Am J Prev Med. 2017 04; 52(4):549-553. View Abstract
  72. Research on Clinical Preventive Services for Adolescents and Young Adults: Where Are We and Where Do We Need to Go? J Adolesc Health. 2017 Mar; 60(3):249-260. View Abstract
  73. A Screening Tool for Assessing Alcohol Use Risk among Medically Vulnerable Youth. PLoS One. 2016; 11(5):e0156240. View Abstract
  74. Family health history reporting is sensitive to small changes in wording. Genet Med. 2016 12; 18(12):1308-1311. View Abstract
  75. Innovations in health information technologies for chronic pulmonary diseases. Respir Res. 2016 Apr 05; 17:38. View Abstract
  76. Substance Use Patterns Through Early Adulthood: Results for Youth With and Without Chronic Conditions. Am J Prev Med. 2016 07; 51(1):33-45. View Abstract
  77. Using Patient-Reported Outcome Measures to Capture the Patient's Voice in Research and Care of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2016 05; 42(2):333-46. View Abstract
  78. Building a Learning Marijuana Surveillance System. JAMA Pediatr. 2016 Mar; 170(3):193-4. View Abstract
  79. Participant Satisfaction With a Preference-Setting Tool for the Return of Individual Research Results in Pediatric Genomic Research. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2015 Oct; 10(4):414-26. View Abstract
  80. Alcohol and Marijuana Use and Treatment Nonadherence Among Medically Vulnerable Youth. Pediatrics. 2015 Sep; 136(3):450-7. View Abstract
  81. Alcohol and Marijuana Use and Treatment Nonadherence Among Medically Vulnerable Youth. Pediatrics. 2015 Aug 31. View Abstract
  82. The development of a preference-setting model for the return of individual genomic research results. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2015 Apr; 10(2):107-20. View Abstract
  83. College health service capacity to support youth with chronic medical conditions. Pediatrics. 2014 Nov; 134(5):885-91. View Abstract
  84. Averting the perfect storm: addressing youth substance use risk from social media use. Pediatr Ann. 2014 Oct; 43(10):411. View Abstract
  85. Coping with college and inflammatory bowel disease: implications for clinical guidance and support. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2014 Sep; 20(9):1618-27. View Abstract
  86. Ready, set, stop: mismatch between self-care beliefs, transition readiness skills, and transition planning among adolescents, young adults, and parents. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2014 Oct; 53(11):1062-8. View Abstract
  87. Parents' preferences for return of results in pediatric genomic research. Public Health Genomics. 2014; 17(2):105-14. View Abstract
  88. Innovative uses of electronic health records and social media for public health surveillance. Curr Diab Rep. 2014 Mar; 14(3):468. View Abstract
  89. Participatory surveillance of diabetes device safety: a social media-based complement to traditional FDA reporting. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2014 Jul-Aug; 21(4):687-91. View Abstract
  90. Advancing healthcare transitions in the medical home: tools for providers, families and adolescents with special healthcare needs. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2013 Aug; 25(4):439-46. View Abstract
  91. Participatory surveillance of hypoglycemia and harms in an online social network. JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Mar 11; 173(5):345-51. View Abstract
  92. Willingness to share personal health record data for care improvement and public health: a survey of experienced personal health record users. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2012 May 22; 12:39. View Abstract
  93. Surveillance of an Online Social Network to Assess Population-level Diabetes Health Status and Healthcare Quality. Online J Public Health Inform. 2011; 3(3). View Abstract
  94. Sharing data for public health research by members of an international online diabetes social network. PLoS One. 2011 Apr 27; 6(4):e19256. View Abstract
  95. Social but safe? Quality and safety of diabetes-related online social networks. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2011 May 01; 18(3):292-7. View Abstract
  96. Helping high-risk youth move through high-risk periods: personally controlled health records for improving social and health care transitions. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2011 Jan 01; 5(1):47-54. View Abstract
  97. Sharing medical data for health research: the early personal health record experience. J Med Internet Res. 2010 May 25; 12(2):e14. View Abstract
  98. Persistence of heavy drinking and ensuing consequences at heavy drinking colleges. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2009 Sep; 70(5):726-34. View Abstract
  99. Magnitude of and trends in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24, 1998-2005. J Stud Alcohol Drugs Suppl. 2009 Jul; (16):12-20. View Abstract
  100. Acceptability of a personally controlled health record in a community-based setting: implications for policy and design. J Med Internet Res. 2009 Apr 29; 11(2):e14. View Abstract
  101. Comparing web and mail responses in a mixed mode survey in college alcohol use research. Addict Behav. 2006 Sep; 31(9):1619-27. View Abstract
  102. The effect of a campus-community environmental alcohol prevention initiative on student drinking and driving: results from the "a matter of degree" program evaluation. Traffic Inj Prev. 2005 Dec; 6(4):323-30. View Abstract
  103. Youth smoking risk and community patterns of alcohol availability and control: a national multilevel study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Dec; 59(12):1065-71. View Abstract
  104. The co-occurrence of smoking and drinking among young adults in college: national survey results from the United States. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2005 Dec 12; 80(3):377-86. View Abstract
  105. Risk modifying effect of social capital on measures of heavy alcohol consumption, alcohol abuse, harms, and secondhand effects: national survey findings. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Apr; 59(4):303-9. View Abstract
  106. Depressive symptoms, DSM-IV alcohol abuse and their comorbidity among children of problem drinkers in a national survey: effects of parent and child gender and parent recovery status. J Stud Alcohol. 2005 Jan; 66(1):66-73. View Abstract
  107. Reducing drinking and related harms in college: evaluation of the "A Matter of Degree" program. Am J Prev Med. 2004 Oct; 27(3):187-96. View Abstract
  108. Poor mental health, depression, and associations with alcohol consumption, harm, and abuse in a national sample of young adults in college. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2004 Apr; 192(4):269-77. View Abstract
  109. College student binge drinking and the "prevention paradox": implications for prevention and harm reduction. J Drug Educ. 2004; 34(3):247-65. View Abstract
  110. The relationship of alcohol outlet density to heavy and frequent drinking and drinking-related problems among college students at eight universities. Health Place. 2003 Mar; 9(1):1-6. View Abstract
  111. Taking up binge drinking in college: the influences of person, social group, and environment. J Adolesc Health. 2003 Jan; 32(1):26-35. View Abstract
  112. Alcohol abuse and dependence among U.S. college students. J Stud Alcohol. 2002 May; 63(3):263-70. View Abstract
  113. Risk and reluctance: understanding impediments to colorectal cancer screening. Prev Med. 2001 Jun; 32(6):502-13. View Abstract
  114. Giving means receiving: the protective effect of social capital on binge drinking on college campuses. Am J Public Health. 2000 Dec; 90(12):1936-9. View Abstract
  115. Patient delay in seeking care for heart attack symptoms: findings from focus groups conducted in five U.S. regions. Prev Med. 2000 Sep; 31(3):205-13. View Abstract
  116. Alcohol use, abuse, and related problems among children of problem drinkers: findings from a national survey of college alcohol use. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2000 Mar; 188(3):148-54. View Abstract
  117. What colleges are doing about student binge drinking. A survey of college administrators. J Am Coll Health. 2000 Mar; 48(5):219-26. View Abstract
  118. Effects of lexical intervention on the phonology of late talkers. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1997 Apr; 40(2):338-48. View Abstract
  119. Community solutions to community problems--preventing adolescent alcohol use. Am J Public Health. 1996 Jul; 86(7):923-5. View Abstract
  120. "Drugs and AIDS--reaching for help": a videotape on AIDS and drug abuse prevention for criminal justice populations. J Drug Educ. 1994; 24(1):1-20. View Abstract

Contact Elissa Weitzman