Impact of Lifestyle Disruptions on Problem Drinking in Young Adulthood - PROJECT SUMMARY Problem drinking, defined as recurrent moderate-to-heavy drinking (3-14 drinks/week for men, 2-7 drinks/week for women)31, is a common behavior in young adulthood. Despite risks, interventions aimed at reducing problematic alcohol use among young adults yield only modest effects. One potential reason is that, among many contributing factors, drinking can be a habit37. Habits are behaviors that occur in stable contexts (same people, places, times), and that are independent of intentions. Instead, habits rely on internal and external contextual cues that have been consistently associated with the activity39. When cues are disrupted, habits are also flexible to change. To the extent that non-pathological, yet problematic alcohol use can be habitual, periods characterized by changes could open opportunities for shifts in problem drinking behavior. Young adulthood is one such period of multiple life disruptions and is often characterized by changes to habit- sustaining cues, including environments, social networks, and activities. Young adulthood may thus be a unique “window of opportunity” for translating intentions into change39. This project aims to 1) identify whether problem drinking can function as a habit; 2) identify whether habitual problem drinking can be disrupted during transitions; and to 3) determine whether effortful processes (e.g., intentions, self-regulation) supersede habits when cues are disrupted. The proposed project will involve participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis for two studies. Studies will leverage a participant population enrolled in a large project maintained by the Sponsor’s NIDA-funded Center, as well as previously collected data and resources from the Center. The applicant’s long-term career goal is to approach the study of substance use from multidisciplinary perspectives and to capably communicate with translational research scholars to inform prevention and intervention efforts, ultimately reducing the impact of alcohol use on individuals and society. The applicant’s specific training goals involve complementing current training in social sciences, research design, and statistics by: 1) gaining knowledge of the neurobiology of alcohol use and its effect on the developing brain; 2) application of intensive longitudinal methods and data analysis for the study of alcohol use in daily life; 3) gaining foundational knowledge of prevention science and translational research as it relates to alcohol use; 4) enhancing skills in publication, dissemination, and networking; and 5) gaining further training in grant writing. The proposed training plan was strategically developed to accelerate the applicant’s development as an independent social sciences researcher with a multidisciplinary approach and knowledge of alcohol use, as well as skills to test complex models using diverse designs and analytical strategies.
