RESEARCH
In this section, you will find information concerning ongoing research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol-related problems among 9- to 15-year-olds. Research continues to confirm, for example, that delaying the initiation of drinking by youth contributes to reductions in future alcohol problems, including alcohol dependence; binge drinking; and alcohol-associated traffic crashes, injuries, fatalities, and violence.
It is only through research that we will determine the best prevention methods to restrict underage social and retail alcohol accessibility by youth at the local level, and the most effective combination of local, State, and national policies; sales and serving enforcement strategies; school-based education; family and community training and involvement; and media advocacy to accomplish these goals.
This section contains links to research findings, published by the Leadership and other organizations, as well as research currently being conducted by Leadership funders. It also has links to practical research tools, such as online databases and funding resources.
Research Findings
Leadership Publications
Research Briefs are one-page summaries of notable findings from research on children and alcohol. (Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free)
How Does Alcohol Affect the World of a Child? is a statistical brochure for lay audiences that distills the most current research findings about early alcohol use and its effects. ( Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free )
Keep Kids Alcohol Free: Strategies for Action describes the public and private application of three science-based prevention applications for preventing alcohol use by children ages 9-15 and ways these strategies can be applied in the home, the school, and the community. Informative online "e-sources" that highlight prevention strategies in action are also included. ( Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free )
Federal Government Resources
NIAAA Alcohol Alerts are quarterly bulletins that disseminate important research findings on a single aspect of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. See this issue on underage drinking: Alcohol Alert No: 67: Why Do Adolescents Drink, What Are the Risks, and How Can Underage Drinking Be Prevented? (2006).
Alcohol Research & Health is NIAAA's quarterly, peer-reviewed scientific journal (formerly Alcohol Health & Research World). See this issue on underage drinking: Alcohol and Development in Youth-A Multidisciplinary Overview, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2004/2005.
National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) is a longitudinal survey conducted and sponsored by NIAAA. The first Wave of interviews were fielded in 2001-2002. The second Wave of interviews is planned for 2004-2005. The NESARC is the primary source for information and data on the U.S. population for: alcohol and drug use; alcohol and drug abuse and dependence; and associated psychiatric and other medical comorbidities.
Evidence-Based Principles for Substance Abuse Prevention presents science-based, field tested guidelines upon which underage drinking prevention programs can be based. Guidelines are available in English and Spanish. (Office of National Drug Control Strategy)
Guides to Science-Based Practices is a series developed by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) in response to ongoing substance abuse problems. The primary foci of each document in this series are CSAP grantees, constituent organizations, and the communities these groups serve. These guides are available on the CSAP Web site: Science Based Substance Abuse Prevention: A Guide; Promising and Proven Substance Abuse Prevention Programs; and Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention.
NSDUH Short Reports are based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use yearly surveys. These reports were formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) Reports. (SAMHSA)
Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide provides science-based conceptual models and research-supported information to enable the development and implementation of effective underage alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility is a report to Congress, released by the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council, on September 9, 2003. This IOM Report reviews existing prevention programs and approaches and developing a strategy to reduce underage drinking. Emphasis is placed on adopting an inclusive strategy to address this issue, one that invites everyone to take responsibility for combating the problem.
Organization Resources
Alcohol and Health: Current Evidence is a free, bimonthly, web-based newsletter that summarizes the latest clinically relevant research on alcohol and health, particularly in the area of health disparities. It is published by the The Boston University School of Medicine and School of Public Health.
The AlcoholPolicyMD.com Web site contains research, polls and reports on issues relating to underage drinking. This includes the "Girlie Drinks...women's diseases" results of a poll on girls and their use of alcopops.
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry. The Web site contains fact sheets and reports on underage drinking and the media. Visit the CAMY Research Reports page for a complete list of reports. See the CAMY Summary Brochure: Alcohol Marketing and Youth. (Georgetown University, supported by grants from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts)
Substance Abuse: Facing the Costs focuses on the chronic nature and disabling aspects of substance abuse and the link between substance use during adolescence and substance abuse in adulthood. It is part of a series of issues briefs on Challenges for the 21st Century: Chronic and Disabling Conditions, published by the Center on an Aging Society, Institute for Health Care Research and Policy, and supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (Georgetown University)
Research in Progress
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (NIAAA) Alcohol Research Centers provide long-term support for interdisciplinary research on alcohol use, alcoholism, and other alcohol-related problems. This research program encourages outstanding scientists from many disciplines to provide expertise, innovative approaches, and advanced technologies to address issues of alcohol use.
The following NIAAA centers are conducting research that is of particular relevance to children ages 9 to 15.
The Alcohol Research Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center is conducting a prospective study of ethnically diverse children (aged 13-17) to follow their progression through the stages of initiation and maintenance of alcohol use. Personality traits, paternal alcoholism, peer and family relations, and cognitive ability are examined in the progression to maintenance of alcohol use.
The Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, explores drinking patterns and related problems in the general population, as well as in specific gender and ethnic groups. Survey techniques and the effect of alcohol-related policies are also considered.
The Alcohol Research Group at the Scripps Research Institute studies the actions of alcohol on the brain and how these actions lead to alcohol use and alcoholism. Areas of particular interest include how intoxication occurs, how the brain adapts to alcohol dependence, and what causes susceptibility to alcohol dependence and relapse.
The Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs and Charleston Alcohol Research Center at the Medical University of South Carolina integrate clinical research and basic research in behavioral science in an effort to develop effective medications for alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
The Indiana Alcohol Research Center at the Indiana University School of Medicine examines possible biological and molecular causes for the different ways in which people react to alcohol. Studies are being conducted with identical and fraternal twins to determine genetic and environmental influences on alcoholism.
The Midwest Alcoholism Research Center at the Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, focuses on the etiology and course of alcohol problems and associated comorbidity in community samples of adolescents and youth.
The Portland Alcohol Research Center at the Oregon Health Sciences University and Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center studies genetic control of alcohol and drug sensitivity to identify those genes that specifically lead to an increased risk for alcoholism.
The Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, focuses on alcohol-related problems as a function of interaction between the individual and environmental factors. An ongoing national program of long-term community prevention trials is being conducted to investigate the most effective means for reducing alcohol-related trauma resulting from traffic- and nontraffic-related accidents.
NIAAA also created an Initiative on Underage Drinking in 2004, as a response to the convergence of recent scientific advances and the increased public concern about the seriousness of this longstanding societal problem. The Initiative's Web site contains important new research on underage drinking; the most current national statistics; links to other federal government underage drinking prevention resources and updates on the new Steering Committee for the initiative.
Research Tools
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)'s Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Science Database page links to databases, journals and Web sites focused on alcohol use and related topics. This includes the archived ETOH database, (articles from 1972-2003), the most comprehensive online resource covering all aspects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
The Center of Alcohol Studies is a multidisciplinary institute at Rutgers University that collects and disseminates information on alcohol use and its consequences. The center's activities also include conducting basic, clinical and applied research; developing clinical, prevention, and educational programs; providing training; and assisting agencies and organizations charged with the responsibility of formulating policy in the analysis of issues related to substance use.
Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems works with policymakers, employers, and concerned citizens, providing research-based information and tools to help curb health care and other costs associated with alcohol use, and improve access to treatment. (George Washington University Medical Center, supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.)
Quick Facts provides data on alcohol topics including amounts and patterns of alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence or abuse, consequences of alcohol consumption, and other alcohol-related topics. (NIAAA)
Resource Link: Research in Action, a Prevention Research Center's (PRC’s) Web site, provides information and practical guidance to state and community agencies and organizations, policy makers, and members of the general public who are interested in combating alcohol and other drug abuse and misuse.
SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies Analytic Series addresses special topics relating to alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and mental health. The Analytic Series provides data from outcome and other special studies, and secondary analyses of multiple data sources or more in-depth analyses of the data presented in other Office of Applied Studies publications.
SAMHSA's Prevention Platform contains an evaluation design for projects and service systems, a tool to help build evaluation databases, standard and customized evaluation instruments, and resources for conducting basic descriptive analyses.
Topics in Alcohol Research provides resources for information about alcohol, and also serves as the homepage of Dr. Aaron White, an alcohol researcher at Duke University Medical Center. Topics include research on alcohol and teenage brain development, and college drinking; and resources such as Web sites, fact sheets, and trainings and workshops.
Research Funding Opportunities
NIH grants and funding opportunities can be accessed online. Grant Writing Tips Sheets provide guidance for new National Institutes of Health grant applicants, advice on how to prepare and write grant applications, a description of the peer review process, and guidelines for new investigators.
SAMHSA/CSAP funding opportunities can be accessed online. The Technical Assistance and Training for SAMHSA Grant Applicants section includes the process of applying for a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) grant..
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Funding Web page contains information on the types of funding available and the notification and application processes, including the required forms. It also provides access to the grants and funding sections of other Federal agencies' Web sites and to other sources.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides funding under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21). These include alcohol programs such as .08 Incentive Grants and the Alcohol-Impaired Driving Countermeasures Incentive Grants.
The Foundation Center has online search options for grant-writing training services and for resources for those seeking grants from private foundations.
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