How personal stress affects drinking and cannabis use in young adults
Effects of Personally Relevant Stressful Experiences on Alcohol and Cannabis Use
['FUNDING_R01'] · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · NIH-11134707
This project looks at whether everyday personal stress makes young adults use alcohol and cannabis more and what mental reactions explain that link.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (SEATTLE, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11134707 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will ask young adults (about ages 18–30) to report personally relevant stressful experiences and track brief changes in stress, rumination, and coping motives. They will measure short-term alcohol and cannabis use and co-use using rigorous, time-linked methods and include experimental elements to test cause-and-effect. The team aims to map the direct and indirect pathways from stressful events to substance use so they can better understand who is at risk and why.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are young adults (roughly 18–30 years old) who use alcohol and/or cannabis and who experience interpersonal or personally relevant daily stress.
Not a fit: People who do not use alcohol or cannabis, or who are outside the young adult age range, are less likely to benefit directly from the findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify common stress-related triggers and psychological pathways that can be targeted to prevent or reduce alcohol and cannabis misuse.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has repeatedly linked interpersonal stress to substance use in correlational studies, but few experimental studies exist, so this work builds on known associations while adding causal tests.
Where this research is happening
SEATTLE, UNITED STATES
- UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON — SEATTLE, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: LUI, P. PRISCILLA — UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- Study coordinator: LUI, P. PRISCILLA
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 below.