Tracking substance use across adulthood (ages 19–65)
Official title: Monitoring the Future: A Cohort-Sequential Panel Study of Drug Use, Ages 19-65
Funded at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11312577 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows people from age 19 to 65 with web surveys to learn how drug, alcohol, and tobacco use changes over time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2003 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,599,253 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA016575-24 |
| Project ID | NIH-11312577 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are U.S. adults around ages 19–65 who can complete web surveys and are willing to report honestly about their substance use and life circumstances.
✕Less likely to help
People under 19 or those seeking immediate medical treatment for addiction may not directly benefit from this long-term observational research.
What this research studies
I would be invited to complete web-based surveys that revisit people who were first surveyed in high school at modal ages 19–30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65. The surveys ask about use of over 50 legal and illegal substances, symptoms of substance use disorders, attitudes, perceived availability, mental health, and social roles like work and family. The project combines decades of data from thousands of people across the U.S. to map long-term patterns in starting, stopping, and changing substance use. Researchers use these repeated measures to identify life stages and risk or protective factors linked to changes in substance use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Findings could help public health programs and clinicians target prevention and treatment at the ages and life stages when people are most likely to start, escalate, or quit substance use.
How similar studies have gone: Monitoring the Future has run since 1975 and is a leading national source of trends in youth and adult substance use, providing reliable evidence used by researchers and policymakers.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Patrick, Megan E. — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Patrick, Megan E.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Couples-based motivational interviewing to reduce drug use and HIV risk in vulnerable male couples
A couples-focused program helps at-risk male couples reduce drug use and HIV risk together.
-
How growing up poor in rural Georgia affects children's brains and risk for drug use
This project looks at how early poverty and stress in rural Georgia change children's brain systems and their later chances of using drugs.
-
Understanding why teens relapse after treatment and how to keep them safe
A teen-focused study will look at why adolescents who finish inpatient treatment sometimes return to high-risk drug use and how that affects overdose risk.
-
Peer-led intervention to spread overdose prevention and support quitting opioids in high-risk communities
A randomized trial will test a peer-education program to reduce overdoses and help people who use opioids start or stay in treatment, by using social networks and new withdrawal-focused strategies.
-
High-Dose Medications for Opioid Use Disorder and Retention in Care
This project tests whether adjusted, higher-dose MOUD regimens can help people stay in treatment and reduce overdose risks during the fentanyl crisis.
-
OVAL: How laws about drug use in pregnancy affect pregnant and new mothers who use drugs
A nationwide project is looking at how laws about drug use in pregnancy influence health for pregnant and postpartum women who use drugs.
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.