Childhood adversity and substance use: Integrating laboratory and ecological approaches to understand the role of affect

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT By 12th grade, over 50% of adolescents in the United States endorse lifetime substance use. Childhood adversity is a prevalent and robust risk factor for adolescent substance use. Approximately 54% of adolescents report adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), making them over 1.5 times more likely to use substances. Yet, many adolescents with ACEs deny substance use engagement, implying the existence of modifiable risk factors. Using an integrative model of ecological and laboratory approaches, the proposed study examines the role of affect in the link between ACEs and adolescent substance use. Candidate: The candidate is a clinical child psychologist with a long-standing commitment to studying risk and resilience associated with early life stress. Her prior research has focused on elucidating mechanisms that contribute to substance use in emerging adults with ACEs. She is applying for a five-year K08 Career Development Award to expand her expertise and support her training, mentorship, and research in adolescent substance use. Training: The proposed training plan includes formal workshops, seminars, conferences, directed readings, and mentored experiences that will advance her trajectory toward research independence by fostering new expertise in: (1) highly rigorous and cutting edge laboratory-based physiological techniques, including eye tracking, pupil dilation, galvanic skin response, and heart rate measurement, (2) the collection, management, and analysis of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data, (3) advanced analytical approaches to integrate multimethod research designs, (4) the design and implementation of adolescent substance use research, and (5) enhanced professional development. The candidate is institutionally supported by The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Mentoring: Five well-established researchers serve as mentors on this proposal. Each mentor offers complementary expertise consistent with the study’s aims and training objectives, including advanced data analytic techniques, EMA, childhood traumatic stress, laboratory-based bio-behavioral assessment, and adolescent substance use research. Research: The proposed study will recruit adolescent participants (N=100, ages 13-18) from an active longitudinal study (R01HD104187). Using EMA, eye tracking, behavioral task performance, and traditional self-report data, the aims of the proposal are to: examine the indirect effects of ACEs on substance use via affect balance (Aim 1), tolerance of affective distress (Aim 2), and attention/reactivity to affective stimuli (Aim 3).