Alcohol Research Group

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          • ABOUT THE CENTER

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            Senior Scientist, William (Bill) C. Kerr, PhD, is Director of ARG’s National Alcohol Research Center and Co-Directs the National Alcohol Survey and the Health Disparities projects.  Bill also serves as the scientific director at ARG and continues to lead R01 projects, including a grant to investigate secondhand harms from alcohol and other drugs.

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            Scientist Nina Mulia, DrPH, is Center Associate Director and Director of the Alcohol Services project. She specializes in and has published widely on race and ethnicity and socioeconomic disparities in heavy drinking, alcohol problems, and alcohol services utilization.

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          • ASSESSING HID OVER THE LIFECOURSE

            This project, led by Camillia Lui, PhD, traces trends in harmful drinking patterns over a 40-year period, and identifies a range of alcohol-related precursors and problems through event-based and population-based approaches to inform early screening and interventions for high-risk groups.

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            • About the National Alcohol Survey
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          • MEET THE SURVEY CO-DIRECTOR

            Scientist and Deputy Scientific Director, Priscilla Martinez, oversees the survey design, data collection, and analyses.  In the latest cycle of the NAS, Priscilla conducted dried blood spot sampling to help better understand the relationship between how our immune systems work and what role they might play in how alcohol use can affect our mental health.

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Population Drinking Patterns & HIV Risk in Goa, India

Funding: NIAAA R21 AA014773

This capacity-building study involved collaborations between an interdisciplinary team of Indian and United States (US) researchers, and was designed to test hypotheses regarding risk factors for HIV infection in Goa, India. Recent research by our team, that included ongoing work in India, suggested that heavy drinking significantly increases health risks, including risky relationship behaviors. The study included detailed assessment of overall alcohol consumption patterns (not only average volume) and their association with risky behaviors known to increase risk for HIV infection (such as having relationships with high-risk partners or violence). An intensive formative measurement-refinement phase included key informants, focus groups and depth interviews with small samples. Measure selection was informed by methodological work in the US and India. These efforts enhanced survey and daily diary measures and adapted them for use in Goa to account for local cultural circumstances. Following this, established alcohol screeners validated in India (AUDIT and RAPS4) were used to select urban and rural community samples of 500 men and 500 women in each of two communities (total n = 2,000). These samples, comprised three-fourths of both women and men current drinkers, including over samples of hazardous drinkers, completed a detailed survey. A selected population at elevated risk was studied in more depth. Specifically, 30 men and 30 women heavy drinkers who also reported risky behaviors were studied using 28-day prospective event-based diaries and qualitative depth interviews. A unique feature of the study was the triangulation of multiple methods to examine relationships between drinking and risk behaviors. Using culturally adapted measures, the study investigated specific risks associated with components of the drinking pattern hypothesized to elevate likelihood of risky behaviors, such as drinking contexts and alcohol-related problems. Relationships were examined while estimating and statistically adjusting for additional variables, like personal characteristics such as impulsivity and notions about relationships and gender, expected to be influential on the basis of earlier research both in the US and in India. The study tested hypotheses about various relationships among a set of predisposing and temperament variables, expectancies, attitudes, and patterns of alcohol consumption and problems, with risks as the dependent variable. Risk analyses informed the epidemiology of HIV risk behaviors in India and provided a rich source of information for planning preventive interventions in a resource-poor society.

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About ARG

We are a non-profit research organization that seeks to improve public health through deepening our understanding of alcohol and other drug use and investigating innovative approaches to reduce its consequences for individuals, families, and communities.

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