The long-term objectives of the proposed Pathway to Independence Award are to support the applicant in building an independent program of research, and support her transition into an independent research scientist in an assistant professor position. Broadly, her research to date has investigated facilitators of and barriers to trauma recovery, with a focus on the social contexts in which these processes occur, and she has recently begun examining alcohol use as an outcome of trauma. She intends to shift her postdoctoral research training from understanding mechanisms involved in the etiology of drinking after trauma to the creation and testing of technologically-based interventions to prevent the development of high-risk drinking after trauma. These objectives will be achieved through a 5-year training plan in which the applicant will acquire the skills and expertise necessary to establish her program of research through mentorship, coursework, seminars, workshops, and national conferences. The long-term goal of the research plan is to develop an effective web- based early intervention strategy to mitigate high-risk drinking and PTSD in female survivors of sexual assault (SA), given that SA is a particularly common and deleterious form of trauma in this population that is commonly associated with co-occurring drinking problems and PTSD. The intervention will adapt existing evidence-based practices in a manner consistent with theory and research to target these outcomes by increasing social support and mitigating the harm of negative social reactions (e.g., victim blame). The K99 phase will involve the accomplishment of Specific Aims 1 and 2.
Specific Aim 1, which is to use existing sources of expertise to inform the development of a prototype intervention, will be accomplished by consulting existing clinical manuals and conducting qualitative interviews and focus groups with community stakeholders serving survivors of SA.
Specific Aim 2 involves eliciting feedback from survivors to inform changes that improve the usability of and user satisfaction with the prototype intervention.
Specific Aims 3 (i.e., assess participant reaction to the intervention) and 4 (i.e., assess the impact of the intervention on learning and symptoms) will be accomplished in the R00 phase via a feasibility trial of the intervention with a sample of women who have recently been sexually assaulted. This research will provide pilot data for an R01 submission to NIAAA during the R00 phase which will test the efficacy of the intervention in an RCT. Drs. Kaysen, Edwards, Rhew, and Aren will serve as mentors for this award and offer expertise in the areas of alcohol research, interventions targeting social support, randomized controlled trials, statistics, and technology-based interventions. The University of Washington training environment is highly conducive to developing the skills and expertise needed to transition into a role as an independent research scientist in the area of alcohol research and technological innovation. The proposed award is consistent with NIH's goal of developing new independent investigators with strong skills in their content area who are competitive for NIH funding.
Sexual assault victimization is a common and particularly harmful form of trauma that is associated with increased risk for high-risk drinking and other conditions of public health concern, such as PTSD. Given evidence that sexual assault survivors who have low social support or receive negative social reactions to sexual assault disclosure are more likely to experience PTSD and drinking problems, improving social support is a novel target for intervention. The proposed study will attempt to prevent the onset of high-risk drinking and PTSD in sexual assault survivors by developing a web-based early intervention aimed at increasing contact with social supporters and mitigating the harm of negative social reactions; ultimately, results will contribute to advancing the field's understanding of the potential for social support to mitigate the harm of trauma.
