# Preventing Risky Drinking and PTSD After Sexual Assault: A Web-Based Intervention

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $243,306

## Abstract

The long-term objectives of the proposed Pathway to Independence Award are to support the applicant in
building an independent program of research, and support her transition into an independent research scientist
in an assistant professor position. Broadly, her research to date has investigated facilitators of and barriers to
trauma recovery, with a focus on the social contexts in which these processes occur, and she has recently
begun examining alcohol use as an outcome of trauma. She intends to shift her postdoctoral research training
from understanding mechanisms involved in the etiology of drinking after trauma to the creation and testing of
technologically-based interventions to prevent the development of high-risk drinking after trauma. These
objectives will be achieved through a 5-year training plan in which the applicant will acquire the skills and
expertise necessary to establish her program of research through mentorship, coursework, seminars,
workshops, and national conferences. The long-term goal of the research plan is to develop an effective web-
based early intervention strategy to mitigate high-risk drinking and PTSD in female survivors of sexual assault
(SA), given that SA is a particularly common and deleterious form of trauma in this population that is commonly
associated with co-occurring drinking problems and PTSD. The intervention will adapt existing evidence-based
practices in a manner consistent with theory and research to target these outcomes by increasing social
support and mitigating the harm of negative social reactions (e.g., victim blame). The K99 phase will involve
the accomplishment of Specific Aims 1 and 2. Specific Aim 1, which is to use existing sources of expertise to
inform the development of a prototype intervention, will be accomplished by consulting existing clinical
manuals and conducting qualitative interviews and focus groups with community stakeholders serving
survivors of SA. Specific Aim 2 involves eliciting feedback from survivors to inform changes that improve the
usability of and user satisfaction with the prototype intervention. Specific Aims 3 (i.e., assess participant
reaction to the intervention) and 4 (i.e., assess the impact of the intervention on learning and symptoms) will be
accomplished in the R00 phase via a feasibility trial of the intervention with a sample of women who have
recently been sexually assaulted. This research will provide pilot data for an R01 submission to NIAAA during
the R00 phase which will test the efficacy of the intervention in an RCT. Drs. Kaysen, Edwards, Rhew, and
Areán will serve as mentors for this award and offer expertise in the areas of alcohol research, interventions
targeting social support, randomized controlled trials, statistics, and technology-based interventions. The
University of Washington training environment is highly conducive to developing the skills and expertise
needed to transition into a role as an independent research scientist in the are...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10009254
- **Project number:** 5R00AA026317-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily Raphael Dworkin
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $243,306
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10009254

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10009254, Preventing Risky Drinking and PTSD After Sexual Assault: A Web-Based Intervention (5R00AA026317-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10009254. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*