Alcohol Prevention Research on Violence, Evidence-Based Programs, and Novel Techniques (A-PREVENT) Training Program

Alcohol misuse is a significant public health issue leading to serious consequences, including alcohol use disorder and numerous alcohol-related morbidities. Research has linked increasing levels of alcohol consumption to more than 60 disease conditions. Alcohol consumption is also associated with a broad range of adverse health consequences, one of which is violence. To promote health, interventions should target multiple levels of the social ecology; however, most alcohol and violence prevention studies have targeted one level; seldom is there a focus beyond the individual. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism prioritizes addressing alcohol and alcohol-related consequences, underscoring the immediate need to train a new wave of prevention scientists. These experts should be adept at developing interventions that span various levels of the social ecology and target alcohol and alcohol-related consequences such as violence. Their training should embody a holistic public health perspective, ensuring they can define problems, pinpoint risk factors, devise evidence-based prevention initiatives, roll out strategies on a broad scale, and assess impact. This calls for an interdisciplinary training approach focused on developing and testing interventions and determining effects. Supported by 20 faculty, the proposed comprehensive pre-doctoral training program (A-PREVENT) encompasses seven training components (coursework, independent research projects, conferences, T32 meetings, community-engaged research, lecture series, and a F31 independent research project) providing intensive and comprehensive research training. This research training will include training in designing and implementing interventions to address the intersection of alcohol and violence prevention as well as its associated co-morbidities and innovative methodological and statistical approaches to assess efficacy across multiple levels of the social ecology. A-PREVENT will equip a cohort of new prevention researchers with the methodological acumen capable of transformative advances in alcohol research. This advanced, integrated, and innovative training program will prepare trainees to develop and evaluate multi-level preventive interventions that address gaps in alcohol research. We are seeking six funded slots, each with 4-5 years of funding, for pre-doctoral students in 2 programs (Public Health and Clinical Psychology).