Understanding how beliefs about risks influence opioid use disorder
Official title: Characterizing the formation and maintenance of drug-biased beliefs in opioid use disorder
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11116829 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how people with opioid use disorder think about their risk of harm from drug use, especially why they might feel overly optimistic about the outcomes, and it’s designed for both those seeking treatment and healthy individuals to help understand why relapses happen even when they know the risks.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Fellowship grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | February 14, 2024 |
| Project end | January 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $44,036 |
| NIH project number | 5F31DA058497-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11116829 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are individuals seeking treatment for opioid use disorder.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not seeking treatment for opioid use disorder or those without a history of opioid use may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) form and maintain biased beliefs about their personal risk of harm from drug use. It aims to understand the psychological and neural mechanisms behind these beliefs, particularly focusing on the 'optimism bias' where people expect more positive outcomes than negative ones. By studying both treatment-seeking individuals with OUD and healthy controls, the research will utilize neuroimaging and behavioral assessments to quantify these biases in real-life contexts. This approach seeks to provide insights into why relapse occurs despite awareness of the risks associated with opioid use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to improved interventions that help individuals with OUD make more accurate assessments of their risks, potentially reducing relapse rates.
How similar studies have gone: While the concept of optimism bias has been studied in other contexts, this research is novel in its focus on opioid use disorder and the specific psychological and neural mechanisms involved.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Alvarez, Emmanuel Eduardo — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Alvarez, Emmanuel Eduardo
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Systems analysis to improve opioid use disorder care after jail release (SAIA-MOUD)
A program to help people with opioid use disorder get better, faster, and safer care after they leave jail.
-
Precise epigenetic drugs for opioid addiction
A tiny, targeted drug approach is being developed to help people with opioid use disorder by rewriting the epigenetic signals in the brain to reduce cravings and relapse risk.
-
Increasing Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder for Unhoused Montanans
This project helps unhoused people in Montana get life-saving medicines for opioid use disorder through clinics connected to syringe service programs, a nurse-led MOUD model, and peer support.
-
Optimizing long-acting PrEP and opioid treatment for people in jails and prisons
This project tests a real-world approach to using long-acting PrEP and buprenorphine for HIV prevention and opioid treatment among incarcerated individuals and after release.
-
Scaling up medications for opioid use disorder in residential treatment programs
This grant studies how to help residential treatment programs provide medications for opioid use disorder to reduce overdoses after discharge, focusing on real-world settings and policies.
-
Increasing Capacity at a Native Community Clinic to Improve Opioid Care for urban AI/AN
This grant helps a Native American health clinic build its research capacity to better serve urban American Indian and Alaska Native people dealing with opioid use disorder and related health issues.
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.