Megan E. Roberts, PhD

Dr. Roberts' research focuses on tobacco use among historically marginalized populations--particularly adolescents and young adults, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals living in rural areas. The ultimate aim is to better understand the factors that contribute to tobacco initiation and tobacco-related disparities, as well as how such factors can be targeted for prevention.

Broadly informed by the socioecological model, her work considers factors at many levels of analysis, including those at the individual, interpersonal, and community/environmental level. Much of her research focuses on tobacco regulatory science at the local, state, and federal level, such as retailer licensing and Tobacco 21. Her research methods include longitudinal surveys, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), focus groups, and community mapping.

tobacco use, adolescents and young adults, health disparities

• Postdoctoral, Tobacco and Public Health, The Ohio State University, 2017
• Postdoctoral, Substance Use, Brown University, 2014
• Ph.D., Psychology, Dartmouth College, 2012
• B.A., Psychology, Cornell University, 2007

• PUBHHBP 3510: Role of Behavior in Public Health

1. Alalwan, M.A., Singer, J.M., & Roberts, M.E. (2022). Factors associated with quit interest and quit attempts among young adult JUUL users. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
2. Roberts, M.E., Keller-Hamilton, B., Teferra, A.A. (2022). Tobacco 21’s impact amid the e-cigarette surge. Public Health Reports.
3. Schwartz, E., Onnen, N., Craigmile, P.F., Roberts, M.E. (2021). The legacy of redlining: Associations between historical neighborhood mapping and contemporary tobacco retailer density in Ohio. Health & Place, 68.
4. Craigmile, P.F., Onnen, N., Schwartz, E., Glasser, A. & Roberts, M.E. (2021). Evaluating how licensing-law strategies will impact disparities in tobacco retailer density: A simulation in Ohio. Tobacco Control, 30.
5. Glasser, A.M. & Roberts, M.E. (2021). Retailer density reduction approaches to tobacco control: A review. Health & Place, 67.
6. Roberts, M.E., Doogan, N.J., Tanenbaum, E., Stillman, F.A., Mumford, E.A, Chelluri, D. & Wewers, M.E., (2021) How should we define “rural” when investigating rural tobacco use in the United States? Substance Abuse, 40(4).
7. Roberts, M.E., Teferra, A., Keller-Hamilton, B., Patterson, J., Ferketich, A.K. (2020). Shared and unique risk factors for tobacco use among rural versus urban adolescents. Preventive Medicine, 140.
8. Roberts, M.E., Keller-Hamilton, B., Ferketich, A.K., & Berman, M.L. (2020). Juul and the upsurge of e-cigarette use among college undergraduates. Journal of American College Health.
9. Roberts, M.E., Keller-Hamilton, B., Hinton, A., Browning, C.R., Slater, M.D., Xi, W., & Ferketich, A.K. (2019). The magnitude and impact of tobacco marketing exposure in adolescents’ day-to-day lives: An ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study. Addictive Behaviors, 88, 144-149.
10. Roberts, M.E., Doogan, N.J., Stanton, C.A., Quisenberry, A.J., Villanti, A., Gaalema, D.E., Keith, D.R., Kurti, A.N., Lopez, A.A., Redner, R., Cepeda-Benito, A. & Higgins, S.T. Rural Versus Urban Use of Traditional and Emerging Tobacco Products in the United States, 2013-2014 (2017). American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1554-1559.