Evaluating School-Level Risk and Protective Factors Related to Early Substance Use Patterns in the ABCD Study Cohort

Letters & Science (College of) / Psychological & Brain Sciences

Project Description

Our lab is a research site for the NIH-funded national multi-site Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. This study will follow 11,000 kids across 22 research sites for 10 years; we are currently in year 5 follow-up. For the parent study, we will examine multiple factors that predict child and adolescent neurodevelopment, including health behaviors and substance use patterns. For the current SURF application, the student will examine whether school-level factors (i.e., school environment, levels of school disengagement and involvement) is related to early substance use initiation in the demographically diverse ABCD Study cohort.

Tasks and Responsibilites

Student will work directly on two NIH/NIDA-funded projects, the ABCD Study and RECOVER long-COVID cohort study. In addition to attending weekly laboratory meetings, they will assist with running ABCD Study research sessions, which include cognitive, psychiatric, and MRI testing. Notably, they will learn how to develop research aims and hypotheses, conduct a literature review, run appropriate statistical analysis, and scientific presentation skills with the ABCD Study database.