David DiLillo

Willa Cather Professor Psychology University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Address: BURN 216
Lincoln, NE 68588-0308
Phone: 402-472-3721 On-campus 2-3721
Email: ddilillo2@unl.edu

Dr. DiLillo will be recruiting a doctoral student to begin in fall 2027. He is particularly interested in applicants whose research interests overlap with his and those of Dr. Becca Brock or Dr. Tierney Lorenz.

Lab site: VISTA Lab

David DiLillo is Willa Cather Professor of Psychology at UNL. His primary research interests are in the areas of trauma and interpersonal violence, especially sexual assault and intimate partner violence. He has a particular interest in the role of alcohol use as a cause and consequence of these experiences. His work also examines interventions for the prevention of sexual assault. Work in his lab has been funded continuously for the past 20 years by grants from NIMH, NICHD, and NIAAA. Recent projects conducted by his research team have focused on the use of virtual reality to assess bystander responses to sexual risk; associations between alcohol use, sexual objectification and sexual aggression; a motivational interviewing intervention to enhance bystander responses to sexual risk, and; factors that promote resilience to PTSD among survivors of sexual trauma. Dr. DiLillo also co-directs (with Dr. Anna Jaffe) the UNL Trauma Recovery Clinic. He was awarded the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Outstanding Mentor Award in 2026 and wice received the UNL Excellence in Graduate Education Award for his mentoring of graduate students. He received a BA in history from Rhodes College and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University.

Recent Publications

* denotes a student author.

*Brockdorf, A. N., *Baildon, A. E., Gervais, S. J., & DiLillo, D. (2026). Daily sexual objectification as a proximal risk factor for craving and alcohol use after sexual assault: An ecological momentary assessment study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 87(1), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.24-00362

*Brockdorf, A. N., & DiLillo, D. (2026). Intraindividual sleep variability in young adult women with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and hazardous alcohol use after sexual assault. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-026-00695-x

*Church, H., Brock, R. L., *Kumar, S. A., Messman, T. L., Gratz, K. L., & DiLillo, D. (2026). Lifetime sexual victimization and dissociation: Longitudinal pathways through emotion dysregulation. Violence Against Women. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012261471524

*Kumar, S. A., Vogt, D., Miller, A. N., Mitchell, K. S., Brock, R. L., & DiLillo, D. (2026). Posttraumatic resilience and growth: A network analysis of character strengths among sexual assault survivors. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 18(4), 751–762. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001857

*Laifer, L. M., DiLillo, D., Finch, J. E., & Brock, R. L. (2026). Intergenerational links between parental trauma-related distress and child maladaptive emotion regulation: The role of emotion socialization. Development and Psychopathology, 38(3), 1138–1155. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457942510103X

*Baildon, A. E., Gervais, S. J., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Development and validation of the Bystander Reactions to Early Assault Cues Tool (B-REACT): A measure of bystander intentions to disrupt sexual assault risk. Psychology of Violence, 15(5), 534–544. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000575

*Brockdorf, A. N., *Baildon, A. E., Gervais, S. J., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Alcohol administration in studies of human aggression: A methodological review. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 51(4), 395–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2025.2478391

*Brockdorf, A. N., *Bogen, K. W., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Reclaiming pleasure: Does satisfying consensual sexual activity predict next-day positive affect among women with a history of sexual assault? The Journal of Sex Research, 62(5), 854–864. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2024.2354430

*Brockdorf, A. N., Brock, R. L., Nelson, T. D., & DiLillo, D. (2025). From sleep to sip? Examining a daily model of sleep and trauma-related drinking among sexual violence survivors. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 39(5), 493–503. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001039

*Brockdorf, A. N., *Simpson, L. E., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Bidirectional associations between PTSD symptoms and pain in daily life among women survivors of sexual assault. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 114, Article 103051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.103051

*Haikalis, M., Jaffe, A. E., *Koziol, N., Gervais, S. J., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Development and validation of the Sexual Self-Objectification Scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 72(5), 538–551. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000808

*Kumar, S. A., *Edwards, M. E., *Bogen, K. W., *Grandgenett, H. M., *Eagan, S. R., *Zosky, J. E., Gervais, S. J., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Progressive moral foundations and empathic concern: Facilitators of sexual assault bystander intervention. Psychology of Violence, 15(1), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000536

Parks, K. A., St. Vil, N. M., Barrick, C., Ardalan, S., Lelito, R., Kumkowski, N., Baio, A., Lissade, J., Shaver, J., & DiLillo, D. (2025). Preliminary feasibility and acceptability of a culturally specific intervention for reducing sexual revictimization of college women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 86(2), 306–315. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.24-00024

*Simpson, L. E., *Kumar, S. A., *Brockdorf, A. N., Brock, R. L., Messman, T. L., Gratz, K. L., & DiLillo, D. (2025). The cumulative impact of recurrent experiences of intimate partner violence on emotion dysregulation: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 40(11–12), 2760–2783. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241278996

*Grandgenett, H. M., *Franz, M. R., *Calkins, F. C., DiLillo, D., & Brock, R. L. (2024). Does past intimate partner violence moderate the link between daily stress and conflict during pregnancy? A dyadic daily diary investigation. Psychology of Violence, 14(4), 239–249. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000515

Licensure

Licensed Clinical Psychologist - State of Nebraska #591

David DiLillo

Contact