This week, members of the PRISM lab attended the Research Society on Alcoholism's (RSA) 2017 meeting in Denver, CO. Graduate students Devin Banks and Alia Rowe both presented their research in RSA poster sessions. 

Devin presented research examining typologies (or patterns) of single and co-use of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes among a representative sample of US adolescents. She found that use of multiple substances is common among U.S. adolescents, making up over 40% of past-month use, but that typologies of substance use vary by sex and race/ethnicity. The research Devin presented will soon be published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Alia's poster presented research examining whether depression and anxiety helped explain the relationship between bullying and alcohol use. She found that victims of peer bullying engage in alcohol use behaviors, at least partly due to increases in depressive symptoms. 

As always, to find out more about our research, visit our research page or contact us.

Alia Rowe and her poster at RSA.

Devin Banks and her poster at RSA.

Devin discusses her findings with another RSA attendee.

Micah Faidley.

Our senior undergraduate assistant, Micah, has been recognized with another grant to fund his research! This time, the funding come from Psi Chi, the international honor society for psychology students. Micah was awarded the Mamie Phipps Clark Research Grant, which provides funds for projects focused on diversity issues. Micah's proposal, entitled “Race-Based Stress, Self-Compassion, Psychological Distress, and Substance Use Among College-Age African Americans,” was not only funded, but scored in the top 11 of applications overall! Congratulations, Micah.

The recognition for the PRISM lab's research just keeps coming! A research article by Dr. Zapolski, Devin Banks, and two colleagues was recently profiled by News at IUPUI. The study examined whether there was a "crossover effect" of binge drinking among African American and Hispanics as a function of age. In other words, we wanted to know whether these groups went from low risk for binge drinking to high risk for binge drinking (compared to Whites) as they got older. This study not only made IUPUI news, but was also chosen as an "Article of Public Interest" by the journal that published it: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER). Check out the links below to the press releases and full article to see what we found!

News at IUPUI: 
"IUPUI study finds risk for binge drinking differs by race and income, changes with age"

ACER press release:
"Older, Impoverished African Americans are at High Risk for Binge Drinking"

Full journal article:
"Does a Crossover Age Effect Exist for African American and Hispanic Binge Drinkers? Findings from the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health" 

If journal articles are a bit boring for your taste, you can now hear Dr. Zapolski talk about her research in the latest podcast from the Journal of School Nursing. Dr. Zapolski was invited to talk to the Journal of School Nursing about her recent article, "Implementing a Brief DBT Skills Program in Schools to Reduce Health Risk Behaviors Among Early Adolescents." The study details the results of a Dialectical Behavior Therapy intervention modified for brief use in schools. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is a skills-based intervention that has been shown to improve emotion regulation and reduce risk-taking behavior among adolescents. However, it is usually implemented long-term. Dr. Zapolski's research examined whether DBT would be appropriate when modified to only 9 sessions delivered in a classroom setting. 

Click here to check out the podcast and the link above to view the article. 

Alia presents her poster.

Dr. Zapolski and Devin present their papers at a symposium concerning racial/ethnic differences in predictors of substance use during adolescence.

Last week, the PRSIM lab attended the Society for Prevention Research's (SPR's) 2017 annual meeting in Washington, DC. Dr. Zapolski and graduate students Devin Banks and Alia Rowe had the opportunity to present. 

Dr. Zapolski presented a recently published paper examining the relationship between ethnic identity, drug attitudes and drug use among adolescents of various races/ethnicities. Devin presented a related paper examining racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between alcohol-related beliefs and alcohol use throughout adolescence. Alia also presented a poster and participated in the student poster contest. Her presentation addressed the interaction of depression and experiences of bullying on substance use among adolescents.  

The team enjoyed networking, sharing their research, and learning about new advances in the field. See below for some snapshots and see our research page for more information on our current projects and recent publications.

PRISM lab students pose with "the Capitol." SPR is often in DC because it aims to translate research into policy.