PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Despite similar rates of illicit substance use, Hispanics and African-Americans utilize services at far fewer rates
than Whites, and less than 8% of Hispanics and African-Americans with substance use disorder perceive their
substance use as problematic. Such disparities demonstrate the clear need to outline the dynamic and specific
processes that contribute to substance use and recovery among both populations. The proposed project builds
on well-established research suggesting that negative affect and craving are the two strongest predictors of
short-term substance use and intention to quit, a vital component of recovery. Discrimination is also a reliable
predictor of stress and negative affect, but — despite its potentially critical role in predicting alcohol use and
smoking — has been infrequently examined in substance use research with Hispanics and African-Americans.
Discrimination may also reduce formal help seeking for substance use due to anticipated discrimination in
receiving care; further, anticipated discrimination may be magnified in rural areas where treatment options are
limited, and privacy concerns are heightened. These factors are unexplored in substance use with Hispanic
and African-American populations, particularly in rural areas. Therefore, the long-term goal of the proposed
project is to elucidate the linkages between discrimination, substance use, intentions to quit, and help seeking
among rural Hispanics and African-Americans. To achieve this, the project will build from ecological
momentary assessment (EMA) methods, which conducts real-time, “in-the-moment” assessments through
mobile technology. Completing the proposed project under this fellowship award will allow the applicant to
acquire unique research and training experiences beyond those that they would normally obtain in their
doctoral training and apply this understanding to the development and evaluation of culturally adapted
intervention programs, and potentially influence health disparity policy changes. Specifically, successful
funding of this training grant will result in completion of the above project and the following goals of the
applicant: 1) acquire knowledge on the contextual factors driving substance use and recovery in Hispanic and
African-American populations; 2) gain knowledge in the collection and implementation of methodologies for
determining person-in-context interactions in substance use research (e.g., EMA) 3) obtain advanced statistical
skills in models relevant to my proposed research program of identifying mechanisms that drive disparities, and
4) attain further knowledge and skills in grant preparation. Training will primarily take place at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, Florida International University, and the Medical University of South Carolina. The proposed
research directly addresses components of NIDA’s strategic goals, in that it helps “characterize the…social,
environmental, and developmental factors that mediate risk and resilience for drug use and addiction.”