A Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (MRSDA) is requested to enable the principal investigator (PI) to develop an independent program of research on adolescent and school factors related to substance use in school settings. During the period of the MRSDA, the PI will engage in supervised career development and research activities. These activities will enhance the PI's substantive and methodological knowledge in the following areas: (1) theoretical and empirical research related to alcohol and other substance use in school settings, (2) characteristics and practices of effective school-level substance use intervention programs, and (3) advanced survey research issues such as the design of large-scale, complex samples (e.g., multi-stage sampling, stratification, etc.), analytic issues involving sampling weights and sample design effects, and graphical data representation. The research plan will address two specific Aims.
The first Aim i s to examine more fully the relationships among alcohol and marijuana use at school and school-related events, the opportunity and propensity for school-related substance use, and academic attainment and school-related behaviors. To address Aim 1, secondary data analysis will be conducted on two large-scale studies.
The second Aim i s to develop a conceptual model that outlines in detail: (1) the antecedents of alcohol and marijuana use at school and school-related events, (2) the consequences of school-related substance use, and (3) the moderating and mediating effects on the relationships in (1) and (2). The proposed model will serve as the foundation for an R01 grant submission. As part of Aim 2, a pilot study will be conducted to develop measures of psychosocial dimensions of the school environment that may have a substantial impact on school-related substance use, academic attainment, and school-related behaviors, and to begin systematic analyses of the relationships among these variables. The pilot study will also assess the impact of substance use in school on the attitudes and behaviors of students who abstain from alcohol and marijuana use. The proposed program of study will provide an important basis for developing a program of research on the opportunity and propensity for substance use in school settings, developing risk reduction programs to prevent school-related substance use, and identifying public policy implications regarding safe and drug-free schools. The proposed research is supported by the Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), a center of excellence at the State University of New York at Buffalo. RIA is dedicated to the study of alcohol and substance abuse etiology, prevention, and treatment.
