Project Grant F31AA033284

MOMENTARY RISK FACTORS FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING DURING SIMULTANEOUS USE OF ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT SIMULTANEOUS ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA/CANNABIS USE, OR SAM (I.E., THE USE OF BOTH SUBSTANCES SO THAT EFFECTS OVERLAP), IS A GROWING HEALTH CONCERN. DESPITE SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO REDUCE IMPAIRED DRIVING, DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED (DWI) REMAINS TO BE A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN. FURTHER, RATES OF SAM AND VEHICLE CRASHES ATTRIBUTABLE TO DRIVING OR RIDING WHILE IMPAIRED (DWI/RWI) ARE HIGH AMONG INDIVIDUALS BETWEEN AGES 18 AND 25, AND THUS, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO IMPROVE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION EFFORTS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS SUGGESTED THAT DWI/RWI RISK IS GREATER WHEN INDIVIDUALS ENGAGE IN SAM VERSUS SINGLE-SUBSTANCE USE. HOWEVER, SCANT RESEARCH HAS EXAMINED FACTORS, SUCH AS DRIVING ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS (I.E., PERCEIVED DANGEROUSNESS, WILLINGNESS TO DWI, AND WILLINGNESS TO RWI), THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DWI/RWI BEHAVIOR WHEN INDIVIDUALS ARE IMPAIRED BY BOTH ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS. PROXIMAL FACTORS, SUCH AS PERCEIVED INTOXICATION AND LEVEL OF USE, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INFLUENCE DRIVING ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS DURING ALCOHOL-ONLY OCCASIONS AND MAY BE INFLUENCED BY SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS OF SAM USE. FURTHER, UNPLANNED SUBSTANCE USE MAY HEIGHTEN DWI RISK, BUT MOST RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON ALCOHOL-ONLY USE. EXAMINING THESE FACTORS IN THE NEAR-REAL-TIME WILL INFORM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF DWI/RWI RISK DURING SAM OCCASIONS. SUCH INFORMATION WILL AID DWI PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION EFFORTS, WHICH HAS PRIMARILY RELIED ON INFORMATION GAINED VIA SINGLE-SUBSTANCE USE RESEARCH AND MAY NOT TRANSLATE TO SAM OCCASIONS. CONSEQUENTLY, THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO EXAMINE PROXIMAL FACTORS SURROUNDING DRIVING DECISIONS DURING SAM USE. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE A 17-DAY ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL FROM A LARGER R21 (1R21AA031654-01A1) TO COLLECT NEAR-REAL-TIME ASSESSMENTS IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FROM A SUBSET OF 100 YOUNG ADULTS WHO REPORT RECENT SAM USE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH HAS THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) TO ASSESS WHETHER DRIVING ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS DIFFER BETWEEN SAM RELATIVE TO ALCOHOL-ONLY MOMENTS; 2) TO DETERMINE WHETHER LEVEL OF USE AND PERCEIVED INTOXICATION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DRIVING ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS DURING SAM RELATIVE TO ALCOHOL-ONLY MOMENTS; AND 3) TO EXPLORE WHETHER PLANNED OR UNPLANNED SAM IS ASSOCIATED WITH DRIVING ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE THE APPLICANT WITH INVALUABLE TRAINING TO 1) ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ALCOHOL AND SAM IN YOUNG ADULTS, 2) EXPAND KNOWLEDGE ON DWI RESEARCH, 3) PROVIDE NEW TRAINING IN INTENSIVE LONGITUDINAL METHODS, AND 4) FOSTER GRANTSMANSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS. THE COMPLEMENTARY TRAINING AND RESEARCH PLANS PROPOSED WILL PROVIDE RICH TRAINING AND SERVE AS A CRITICAL LAUNCHING POINT FOR THE APPLICANT'S DEVELOPING PROGRAM OF RESEARCH ON THE CONTEXTUAL FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO RISK FOR SUBSTANCE USE CONSEQUENCES AMONG YOUNG ADULTS. THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND AND AN EXCELLENT MENTORSHIP TEAM WITH EXPERTISE IN RELEVANT AREAS PROVIDE THE IDEAL SETTING FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT.