Gareth Roderique-Davies is Professor of Psychology at the University of South Wales with expertise in substance misuse, behavioural addiction, craving and the long-term effects of recreational drug use. 

He's an HCPC-registered Psychologist, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Professor Roderique-Davies has worked on numerous funded and commissioned research projects with a range of external partners. 

He is an invited observer member of the Cross Party Group on Problem Gambling at Welsh Government and an invited expert on the Welsh Government’s Substance Misuse Treatment Framework for alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) Project Board.

Together with Professor Bev John, Professor Roderique-Davies is a steering group member of the Beat the Odds Initiative, an international alliance of Recovery groups, including The Victorian Responsible Gambling Federation, in Melbourne, Australia, leading academics and addiction charities. 

Visit the Addictions Research Group

Visit the ARBD Training Website here 

Current Research Activity:

Current Addictions Research Group projects are loosely grouped within 3 main research programmes. These reflect the progression, development and potential impact for the medium/longer term.

Diagnosis and treatment

• Prevalence of and diagnosis of Alcohol-Related Brain Damage

• Factors Predicting Relapse and Drop out from substance-related care and support services

Models of harm reduction

• Developing a public health model for reducing current and future gambling-related harm

• The use of apps as an intervention for problematic drinking.

• Factors that predict consumers’ alcoholic drink choices

Extreme sports and behavioural addiction

• Understanding Craving from a behavioural addiction perspective

• Sport as a conduit for the rehabilitation of substance misusers

Doctoral Students – Awarded

Dr Nyle Davies: The Social Impact of Gambling Harm: Screening and Intervention (with Prof Bev John and Dr Klara Price). Awarded 2024.

Dr Marie O’Hanrahan: Factors predicting relapse from substance-related care and support services (DOS with Prof Bev John and Prof David Shearer). Awarded 2023.

Dr Jamie Torrance: Development of harm reduction interventions for bespoke risk environments in the changing landscape of gambling and gaming (with Prof Bev John and Dr James Greville). Awarded 2023.

Dr Tom Young: Identifying the Behavioral and Psychophysiological Indicators of Mentally Tough Athletes (with Prof Richard Mullen and Prof David Shearer). Awarded 2022.

Dr Victoria Markham: Evaluating Barriers to Skill Acquisition for Children with Language Delays Receiving Behaviour Analytic Instruction: An Experimental Analysis (with Dr Richard May and Prof Jenn Austin). Awarded 2021.

Dr David Tee: Client characteristics that influence business performance coaching efficacy: the development of a theoretical framework and predictive psychometric instrument (with Prof David Shearer). Awarded 2020.

Dr Rob Heirene: Improving the Understanding of the Prevalence, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Alcohol-Related Brain Damage: a Multi-Study Investigation. (DOS with Prof Bev John and Dr Ioannis Angelakis). Awarded 2019

Dr Stuart Jones: The Emotional Responses following Injury in Recreational Athletes: The Development of the Emotional Response to Rugby Union Injury Scale (DOS with Prof Bev John). Awarded 2014

Dr Sonja Garrett: Psychological resilience and its correlates in people with chronic pain living in the UK. (DPsych, City University). Awarded 2014

Dr Mirella Longo: Managing minor ailments: A Discrete Choice Experiment to investigate pharmacy users’ preferences (with Prof David Cohen). Awarded 2012

Doctoral Students – Current

Laura Drummond: Developing an App-based Self-help Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Consumption (DOS with Prof Bev John and Prof Neil Frude)

Harriet Cassley: Screening and intervention for individuals with Alcohol-Related Brain Damage (DOS with Prof Bev John and Dr Richard May)

Iwan Rowlands: Psychological interventions for physical recovery from acute exercise-induced fatigue (with Prof David Shearer and Dr James Greville)

Odette Hornby: Examining the concept of “Addiction” in extreme sports’ participants (with Prof David Shearer and Dr Rob Heirene)

Elin Thorkildsen: The Frontal Lobe Paradox in the assessment of alcohol-related cognitive deficits and brain damage (DOS with Prof Bev John and Prof Julia Lewis)