How stress and sexual cues affect substance use in young women
Official title: Reward Enhancement and Stress as Cues for Substance use (RESCUES)
Funded at University of Nebraska Lincoln · NIH-11335641 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how stress, sexual situations, and mood link to cravings and faster progression to problem substance use in young women.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Nebraska Lincoln NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lincoln, United States) |
| Project start | April 5, 2019 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $230,580 |
| NIH project number | 5P20GM130461-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11335641 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Young adult women who use substances and who notice cravings that seem linked to stress, sexual situations, or mood and anxiety symptoms would be most relevant to this work.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not use substances, men, or individuals whose cravings are unrelated to stress, sex-linked cues, or mood symptoms are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you are a young woman who uses substances, this work will examine whether stress, sexual desire, and other cues trigger stronger cravings for you. Researchers will use surveys, mood and stress measures, and lab or real-world cue exposures to track cravings and substance use patterns over time. They will also study how anxiety and depressive symptoms interact with those cues to create a chain of behaviors that can escalate use. The goal is to find practical points where an intervention could interrupt cravings and prevent substance use from worsening.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to prevention and treatment approaches tailored for young women that reduce cravings and stop substance use from escalating.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show women often have stronger stress- and cue-induced cravings, but tailored interventions for these mechanisms are limited, so this project builds on known findings while testing new targeted approaches.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Lincoln, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lorenz, Tierney Kyle Ahrold — University of Nebraska Lincoln
- Study coordinator: Lorenz, Tierney Kyle Ahrold
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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.