Daily stigma, racism, and alcohol use in LGBTQ+ adolescents of color
Official title: Long-term and Daily Associations among Intersectional Minority Stress, Structural Oppression, and Alcohol Use and Misuse among Sexual Minority Adolescents of Color
Funded at Univ of Maryland, College Park · NIH-11418343 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows LGBTQ+ teens of color to see how daily experiences of stigma, discrimination, and structural racism relate to alcohol and other substance use.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project start | May 10, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $695,192 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA029989-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11418343 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents about 12–20 years old who identify as sexual minorities and as racial/ethnic minorities and who are willing to complete regular surveys about daily experiences and substance use.
✕Less likely to help
Adults, heterosexual teens, or those who do not identify as racial/ethnic minorities are not the focus and are unlikely to receive directly relevant results from this project.
What this research studies
You would be asked to report daily experiences of stigma, discrimination, and substance use through brief surveys or diaries. Researchers will follow participants across adolescence to link short-term (daily) stressors with longer-term patterns of alcohol and other substance use. They will combine teens' reports with measures of community- and policy-level structural oppression to understand how racism and heterosexism shape risk. The focus is on how sexual orientation and race/ethnicity together influence moments when support could reduce substance misuse.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could inform better prevention and support strategies tailored to reduce alcohol misuse among LGBTQ+ adolescents of color.
How similar studies have gone: Previous cross-sectional and some limited longitudinal studies link minority stress to substance use, but daily, intersectional work like this is relatively new and less tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of Maryland, College Park
College Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mereish, Ethan H — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Mereish, Ethan H
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.