About

Dr. Samantha Farris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is the Director of The Rutgers Emotion, Health and Behavior (REHAB) Laboratory. Dr. Farris received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The University of Houston and completed her psychology internship at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University. She also completed fellowships in cancer prevention at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and in cardiovascular behavioral medicine at The Miriam Hospital/Alpert Medical School at Brown University. Her research focuses on understanding how and why anxiety and fear affect physical health and risk behaviors. She studies psychological determinants of chronic disease and risk behaviors, with a particular emphasis on anxiety, which is distinguished by hyperarousal and fear-avoidance behavior. Dr. Farris and her lab utilize a translational research approach to identify biopsychological fear mechanisms that contribute to health behavior and physical disease, to examine how these mechanisms influence health behaviors in real time through experimental methodologies, and to develop tailored interventions targeting these mechanisms to promote health behavior change and prevent the onset or progression of chronic disease. Her work aims to inform disease prevention strategies and reduce the burden of illness in vulnerable populations.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Clinical psychology
• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Sociology
• Developmental psychology
• Physical therapy

Selected publications

• Examining the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Experiential (MEAQ) Questionnaire in combustible cigarette smokers

  Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · 2026-02-05

  article

  = 242) to evaluate the stability, dependability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, predictive validity and incremental predictive validity of the measure. The MEAQ-30 demonstrated adequate model fit and met criteria for measurement invariance. It exhibited good internal consistency, good stability, good discriminant validity, weak incremental predictive validity, and lower than expected levels of dependability. Based on our findings, the MEAQ-30 appears to be a valid measure of experiential avoidance in individuals who smoke combustible cigarettes.

  PublisherDOI

• The Influence of Perimenstrual Daily Ovarian Hormones on Anxiety and Cigarette Craving

  Nicotine & Tobacco Research · 2025-02-27 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) and their fluctuation during the female menstrual cycle have been independently linked to both nicotine reinforcement and anxiety. The fluctuation and withdrawal of E2 and P during perimenstrum (days before and during menses) is a vulnerability window for emotional distress, thus the hormonal influence on anxiety and craving may be amplified during perimenstrum. METHOD: Naturalistic daily data were collected from non-treatment-seeking females who endorsed daily cigarette smoking (N = 50). The daily protocol involved morning salivary index of E2 and P and ecological momentary assessments of anxiety and cigarette craving. Days of the menstrual cycle were coded as either occurring during perimenstrum (ie, seven days prior to and first 3 days after menstrual onset) or reference (ie, all other times during cycle). Using multilevel modeling, we tested the main and interactive effects of daily E2, P, and perimenstrum (yes/no) on same-day anxiety and cigarette craving. RESULTS: Results indicated significant three-way interactions between E2 and P both centered between and within perimenstrum for anxiety and craving. In perimenstrum, anxiety and craving were elevated regardless of hormonal balance. However, the association between P and anxiety varied in the context of E2, such that higher P and lower E2 dampened anxiety outside of perimenstrum. Similarly, higher P and lower E2 was associated with lower craving outside perimenstrum. DISCUSSION: These data provide high specificity for understanding hormonal influences on anxiety and craving during the menstrual cycle, which has implications for female-specific models and treatment of the anxiety-smoking comorbidity. Implications: This is the first study to document daily-level associations between salivary E2 and P, and their interaction, with anxiety and cigarette craving, in the context of the female menstrual cycle. Perimenstrum (ie, days before and during menses) appears to confer risk for anxiety and craving regardless of the hormonal balance. However, higher daily P dampened anxiety but only in the context of lower daily E2 on days outside of perimenstrum. For craving, higher P with lower E2 was associated with lower craving outside of perimenstrum. The ovarian hormonal milieu should be considered when understanding the etiology and subsequent treatment of anxiety-smoking comorbidity in females.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Difficulties with emotion regulation amplify perimenstrual emotional distress and cigarette craving.

  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors · 2025-04-07

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVE: The female menstrual cycle and associated fluctuations in ovarian hormones are an important biological context that likely influences emotion-focused smoking. The present study evaluated the role of emotion regulation difficulties on daily emotional distress and cigarette craving in the context of the perimenstrum (i.e., days before and during menses). METHOD: = 5.3) who reported daily cigarette smoking. Ecological momentary assessment of anxiety, mood, and cigarette craving was collected while also tracking the menstrual cycle. Days were coded as either occurring during perimenstrum (i.e., 7 days prior to and first 3 days during menses) or reference (i.e., all other days). Trait difficulties with emotion regulation were assessed at baseline. RESULTS: Multilevel models indicated a significant effect of emotion regulation difficulties on daily emotional distress (i.e., anxiety, negative mood), specifically on perimenstrual days. A second set of multilevel models was conducted to model the influence of daily emotional distress on cigarette craving specifically during perimenstrual days. Significantly higher daily craving was reported on perimenstrum days characterized by higher negative mood relative to lower negative mood, but this effect was only statistically significant in the context of greater emotion regulation difficulties. DISCUSSION: The menstrual cycle, its associated ovarian hormone fluctuations, as well as individual differences in the response to emotion should be considered as important female-specific determinants of emotion-focused smoking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Distress intolerance amplifies the effect of momentary anxiety on momentary cigarette craving among females who smoke cigarettes

  Addictive Behaviors · 2025-07-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  INTRODUCTION: Distress intolerance (DI) is an emotional vulnerability factor implicated in the link between anxiety and cigarette craving, which may be particularly important for characterizing persistent smoking in females. However, there is a dearth of prospective work examining how DI influences momentary aspects of anxiety and cigarette craving. This ecological momentary assessment study explored the main and interactive effects of momentary anxiety and DI on momentary cigarette craving. METHODS: Females (N = 50) who reported daily combustible cigarette use completed a daily monitoring study that involved momentary assessments of anxiety and craving across one menstrual cycle. Trait DI was assessed at baseline. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the simultaneous between- and within-person effects of momentary anxiety and the moderating influence of DI on momentary craving. We predicted that between- and within-centered momentary anxiety and DI, as well as their interactions, would be positively associated with momentary craving. RESULTS: Results indicated that higher momentary anxiety, centered between- and within-person, predicted higher momentary craving. Although no main effect of DI on momentary craving was observed, we found a conditional effect of DI on within-person momentary anxiety in the prediction of momentary craving. The positive effect of within-person increases in momentary anxiety on momentary craving was amplified for those with higher DI relative to lower. CONCLUSIONS: High DI appears to amplify cigarette craving in the context of higher-than-average momentary anxiety. Future studies leveraging momentary methodologies are needed to further elucidate associations between anxiety, DI, and smoking processes to better understand contextual influences on DI. Such data can inform ideographic, in-the-moment interventions.

  PublisherDOI

• A Confirmatory Factory Analysis of the Exercise Sensitivity Questionnaire (ESQ)

  Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention · 2025-02-27 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  PURPOSE: The Exercise Sensitivity Questionnaire (ESQ) is a self-report measure used to assess the extent to which different physical sensations of exercise elicit anxiety (ie, exercise sensitivity). The ESQ was developed for individuals with cardiovascular conditions and initially validated in a non-clinical sample. This study evaluates the factor structure and measurement invariance in a clinical sample of adults with various cardiovascular conditions. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with retrospective chart review. Patients (N = 265; 73% male, mean age 67.8 ± 10.5 years) were attending an orientation for outpatient medically supervised exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation. The factor structure was examined using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and tests of measurement invariance were evaluated by sex and advanced age (<65 years, >65 years). Internal consistency, descriptive characteristics, and correlates of ESQ scores and its factors were evaluated. Concurrent validity was evaluated in a subset of patients (N = 57) with elevated exercise sensitivity. RESULTS: The Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a 2-factor model, which was invariant, but not a 1-factor model, and reflected anxiety about (1) cardiopulmonary and (2) pain/weakness exercise sensations. Internal consistency of ESQ items was high. ESQ scores were associated with higher body mass index and shorter 6-Minute Walk Test distance, particularly the pain/weakness factor. ESQ scores evidenced preliminary concurrent validity with anxiety sensitivity and general anxiety but discriminant validity with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: There is support for the validity and reliability of ESQ scores as a 2-dimensional index of exercise sensitivity. The ESQ taps a psychological phenotype with relevance to exercise tolerance, and potentially cardiac rehabilitation participation, that warrants continued investigation.

  PublisherDOI

• Recommendations for Providing Feedback and Medical Reassurance Following Maximal-Graded Exercise Testing for Exercise Prescription in Cardiac Rehabilitation

  Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention · 2025-06-26

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Examining the use of interoceptive exposure exercises in people with and without a history of chronic physical health problems

  Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · 2025-01-09

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  = 413; Mage = 38.6, 56.1% with chronic physical health problems) enrolled in a 6-month randomized controlled trial that aimed to reduce anxiety and depression. Participants had access to a smartphone-based intervention that included on-demand access to IE exercises: head rush, straw breathing, chair spinning, fast breathing, and running in place. Utilization of the IE exercises and acute responses to the exercises were evaluated in the context of chronic physical health problem history. Participants with versus without a chronic physical health problem completed statistically significantly more IE exercises. Acute effects of IE exercises on distress and physical sensations were similar for those with and without a history of chronic physical health problems, as well as those who were versus were not taking medication. There is no evidence that chronic disease history influences the acute response to IE exercises. Continued research is needed to further assess the safety of IE exercises in people with various medical conditions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Getting comfortable with physical discomfort: A scoping review of interoceptive exposure in physical and mental health conditions.

  Psychological Bulletin · 2025-02-01 · 15 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Interoceptive exposure (IE) involves the use of exercises, activities, or tasks to intentionally induce (or exacerbate) physical symptoms in the body, to challenge misconceptions about the harmful nature of the physical symptoms that maintain fear and problematic avoidance. IE was originally developed for the cognitive behavioral treatment and prevention of panic disorder. Bodily sensations and concern about physical symptoms are common features in many conditions, not limited to panic disorder. For this reason, IE could be theoretically relevant to cognitive behavioral intervention for many psychological, behavioral, and medical conditions. Yet, IE remains relatively underrecognized and underused as an intervention. Exposure involves feeling discomfort before experiencing relief; thus, it is often perceived as an aversive, unsafe, and illogical intervention because of the seemingly paradoxical approach. We conducted a systematic literature search for a scoping review with the aim of locating published studies on IE to understand how it has been studied beyond panic disorder. Studies focused solely on panic disorder were excluded. We were able to identify and extract data from 132 studies (published between 1992 and 2022), though this published literature is difficult to find. The use of IE has been widely investigated in conditions beyond panic disorder, although evidence for its efficacy is difficult to isolate from other forms of exposure and cognitive behavioral features. There is the strongest evidence for the efficacy of IE as a part of multicomponent cognitive behavioral treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder, health anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and to aid in benzodiazepine discontinuation. Interventions that were primarily or exclusively IE-based did not consistently or directly influence claustrophobia fear, separation anxiety, suicidality, insomnia symptoms, cigarette or drug abstinence, or pain-related fear. No serious adverse events were reported in any study. Studies of IE require larger sample sizes, detailed descriptions and rationale of IE exercises, higher IE dosing, extended follow-up assessment, and documentation of safety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

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• Linguistic analysis of health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

  PLoS ONE · 2024-02-26 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Health anxiety, which is defined as fear of having or contracting serious physical illness, is particularly salient in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a mixed methods study in which 578 narrative samples were analyzed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to determine linguistic markers from six LIWC categories relevant to cognitive-behavioral features of health anxiety. Broad linguistic predictors were analyzed through three backward elimination regression models in order to inform subcategory predictors of each area of health anxiety. Thus, both broad and specific linguistic predictors of general health anxiety, virus-relevant body vigilance, and fears of viral contamination were examined. Greater use of affective category words in written narratives predicted general health anxiety, as well as body vigilance and viral contamination fears. These findings represent the first direct demonstration of linguistic analysis of health anxiety and provide nuanced information about the nature and etiology of health anxiety.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tailoring Interoceptive Exposure for Patients With Medical Comorbidities

  Cognitive and Behavioral Practice · 2024-12-11 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Daily-Level Analysis of Ovarian Hormones, Smoking, and Anxiety

  NIH · $460k · 2018–2022

• Panic-Relevant Sensations and Smoking Motivation

  NIH · $101k · 2013–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Michael J. Zvolensky

  279 shared

• Ana M. Abrantes

  161 shared

• Marcel O. Bonn‐Miller

  Charlotte's Web (United States)

  96 shared

• Matthew Tyler Boden

  VA Center for Clinical Management Research

  81 shared

• Jane Metrik

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  76 shared

• Elizabeth R. Aston

  Providence College

  58 shared

• Angelo M. DiBello

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  47 shared

• Dale S. Bond

  Hartford Hospital

  42 shared

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine

  Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School

  2018

• Predoctoral Psychology Internship, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

  Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School

  2016

• Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology

  University of Houston

  2016

• Predoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Prevention Research, Department of Behavioral Sciences

  The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

  2015