Contact: Sally Schwader, 541-485-2711
EUGENE, Oregon (October 20, 2009) — The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has awarded a 5 year, $3.4 million grant to Oregon Social Learning Center Senior Scientist Deborah Capaldi, Ph.D. The new grant will work on uncovering individual and contextual factors that influence the development of alcohol dependence and abuse through mid-adulthood in the men from the Oregon Youth Study, which began following over 200 boys from fourth grade classes in Eugene-Springfield area schools in 1984. Though funding for the initial study ran out in 2007, this new award will allow two more opportunities for data collection, and will provide detailed information about the lives of these men in their mid-thirties. Dr. Capaldi said “by the thirties, many men have settled down and are drinking less alcohol than in their 20s, but some continue to have problems, and we will be examining why some men improve while others persist or even worsen.”
The new grant, entitled ‘Understanding Alcohol Use Over Time in Early Mid-Adulthood for At-Risk Men,’ will explore family history, previous patterns of alcohol use, peer and romantic partner influences, and treatment seeking as they relate to alcohol use and the development of alcohol use disorders. It will also explore how alcohol use relates to the use and abuse of other substances, including nicotine and marijuana. Appointments will range from 2-3 hours, and information will be gathered from questionnaires, confidants, staff and official motor vehicle and arrest records.
Established in 1970, the NIAAA is a part of the National Institutes on Health, and it’s mission is to provide leadership in the national effort to reduce alcohol related problems by conducting and supporting research in a wide range of scientific areas, coordinating and collaborating with other institutes and programs on alcohol related issues, and translating and disseminating research findings to health care providers, researchers, policymakers and the public.
The Oregon Social Learning Center is an independent non-profit research organization located in Eugene, Oregon. The organization began in 1977 and currently employs 200 employees, with an approximate annual budget of $10 million.