Research & Resources

Researchers wanted to better understand the factors that impact alcohol use transitions (moving between alcohol use and an alcohol use disorder) to develop a predictive model for planning more effective prevention efforts. They recruited 600 youth ages 14 to 24 from emergency department visits and followed them over time, collecting data related to demographics, mental health, marijuana use, peer and parental drinking, and exposure to violence. They used the data to generate two models to predict alcohol transitions, and identified several factors that were associated with transitions within this age group. The article, “Predictors of alcohol use transitions among drug-using youth presenting to an urban emergency department,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It was published in the journal PLOS One.