Tracking alcohol and drug use from childhood into your late 20s
Life Course Perspective on Alcohol and Drug Use Trajectories from Adolescence into Adulthood
Researchers will follow people from age 10 into their mid-to-late 20s to learn how alcohol and other drug use changes and what personal, peer, and neighborhood factors help people cut back on heavy drinking.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rand Corporation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Monica, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11088801 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, the team will contact you once a year for four more annual surveys when you are about 25–28 years old to ask about alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, other drug use, and life domains like work, relationships, and health. The project builds on an existing group of participants who have been followed since childhood and uses questionnaire data plus neighborhood measures (for example, local alcohol and cannabis outlet density). The researchers look at long-term patterns of use and factors that predict who reduces heavy drinking as they get older. Participation is primarily survey-based and has relied on high retention in earlier waves.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults now aged about 25–28 who were part of the original CHOICE-STRATA cohort followed since childhood.
Not a fit: People not part of the original cohort, minors, or those seeking immediate clinical treatment for addiction are unlikely to receive direct clinical benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify who is most likely to continue or stop heavy drinking and point to targets for prevention and support during young adulthood.
How similar studies have performed: Long-term cohort studies have previously revealed patterns of maturing out and risk factors for continued heavy drinking, and this project extends that proven approach into the under-studied 25–28 age window.
Where this research is happening
Santa Monica, United States
- Rand Corporation — Santa Monica, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: D'amico, Elizabeth J. — Rand Corporation
- Study coordinator: D'amico, Elizabeth J.
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.