PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In the United States, emerging adults (EAs, ages 18-29) consume alcohol at higher rates than
people in any other age group, and the number and rate of alcohol-related deaths increased
approximately 25% during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Black EAs and EAs
who are not graduates of four-year colleges experience greater consequences from alcohol use
and have been identified as an understudied, high-priority group by both NIAAA and the US
Institute of Medicine. Funded by NIAAA, we have followed a diverse community-based cohort of
601 emerging adults since 2017 (mean age at inception = 22.5; 47% White, 42% Black; 35%
without a college degree). Phase one of Project BETA was the first to carefully examine
behavioral economic predictors of alcohol use trajectories in the mid-twenties and has
generated 34 publications and supported 4 funded secondary grants. We recently completed
data collection and have identified subgroups of emerging adults who have (1) reduced their
drinking since becoming involved with the study and report consistent low-risk drinking over the
past year based on the WHO Classification (N = 281) or (2) increased drinking or been relatively
persistent high-risk drinkers throughout the course of study (as defined by the WHO
Classification; N = 174). The proposed R21 will leverage these existing subgroups by having 40
participants from each of these subgroups (50% of participants enrolled will be Black) view a
summary of their individual drinking trajectories throughout their 3.5-year participation in the
parent study to facilitate a discussion of potentially modifiable factors associated with self-
change or persistent risky drinking, including behavioral economic variables and experiences of
discrimination. In addition to gaining an understanding of how participants successfully changed
their drinking, our interviews and qualitative analyses will also gain insights into how to design
and disseminate prevention and intervention programs to reduce alcohol risk for diverse
community-residing emerging adults. We will obtain feedback on preferred intervention content,
modalities, and locations/venues. Our team includes experts in emerging adult alcohol misuse,
addiction and recovery, brief interventions, qualitative methods, and cultural adaptation of
alcohol treatments for Black Americans and is thus ideally suited to successfully complete these
aims and to use the results to develop and refine effective, culturally informed alcohol
prevention approaches with high potential for dissemination in community settings in a
subsequent R01 application.
