Friend-based plan to reduce alcohol-related sexual assault risk among college women and their friends
Official title: Friend-based Intervention to Reduce Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault Risk
Funded at State University of New York at Buffalo · NIH-11417319 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study tests a peer-focused approach where friends work together to spot risky situations and prevent alcohol-involved sexual assaults among college students.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Amherst, United States) |
| Project start | September 16, 2025 |
| Project end | August 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $600,508 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA032118-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11417319 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are college women at risk of alcohol-involved sexual assault and their friends who socialize with them.
✕Less likely to help
Participants who are not in college settings or not in peer networks may not directly benefit from this specific intervention.
What this research studies
This project builds on earlier work showing that friends can be powerful protectors in risky social settings. It uses a dyad-based motivational interviewing approach (PAIRS) delivered to pairs of friends who socialize together to increase readiness to intervene and reduce barriers to helping. The plan includes testing the efficacy of the intervention in real-world college settings, with follow-up to see how well it works over time. If successful, it could provide a scalable way for campuses to empower students to prevent assaults.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If effective, it could reduce alcohol-involved sexual assaults on college campuses by strengthening bystander actions among friend groups.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier Phase I work suggested the approach is feasible, acceptable, and showed promise for changing key protective behaviors.
Where this research is happening
-
State University of New York at Buffalo
Amherst, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Read, Jennifer P — State University of New York at Buffalo
- Study coordinator: Read, Jennifer P
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.