Understanding Substance Use Across Generations in American Indian Families
Official title: Pathways of Substance Use Risk and Resilience across Three Generations
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11083616 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how substance use, recovery, and resilience are passed down through American Indian families to help communities find better ways to support their members.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2016 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $569,269 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA039912-11 |
| Project ID | NIH-11083616 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are existing members of the Healing Pathways project and their children from the 8 Tribal communities involved in the study.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not part of the specific American Indian communities or existing study participants would not directly benefit from participation in this particular research.
What this research studies
This project works with American Indian communities to understand the factors that lead to substance use and recovery across different generations. Researchers will continue to interview existing participants who have been part of the "Healing Pathways" project since childhood, gathering information about their experiences into early adulthood. They will also invite the children of these participants to join, creating a multi-generational picture of substance use and well-being. Additionally, the team will collect stories and perspectives from the community to get a deeper understanding of these complex issues. This approach aims to identify what truly matters in preventing and addressing substance use problems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This work could help communities better identify individuals at risk for substance use and develop more effective, culturally sensitive prevention and recovery programs.
How similar studies have gone: This project builds on 11 waves of existing data from a long-term community-based participatory research effort, indicating a foundation of prior success in data collection and community engagement.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Walls, Melissa L. — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Walls, Melissa L.
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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.