# A Twin Study of Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Use Development: Leveraging Intensive Longitudinal Assessments

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2021 · $627,254

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Taken together, alcohol and drug use account for more morbidity and mortality than any single
disease or disorder in the United States. Rates of substance use are highest among older
adolescents and younger adults, which are critical developmental windows for the development
of addiction. The combined factors of sensation seeking versus behavioral and cognitive control
are underdeveloped in adolescence. Under popular models of adolescent use, such as the dual
systems model, these two systems are hypothesized to explain developmental trends in
adolescent substance use. More recently, such theories have incorporated the potential impact
of social context, including deviant peers, as accentuating sensation seeking and reward
systems in adolescents and contributing to their increased risk of substance use and
dependence. To date, these developmental models have been tested and characterized
primarily in cross-sectional studies or longitudinal studies with, at best, annual assessments.
Here, we will use smartphone sensors and weekly surveys to assess substance use, executive
function, disinhibition, risk-taking, and social context on a quasi-continuous basis over the
course of multiple years in a large sample during the transition from adolescence to young
adulthood. The results will provide a fine-grained model of developmental change in key risk
domains and their relationship to substance use. Instrument variables derived from the
smartphone's GPS, camera, and microphone, combined with an adolescent twin study design,
will provide stringent tests of whether and how environmental and social context disrupts
normative developmental trends.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197077
- **Project number:** 5U01DA046413-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Naomi P. Friedman
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $627,254
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197077

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197077, A Twin Study of Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Use Development: Leveraging Intensive Longitudinal Assessments (5U01DA046413-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197077. Licensed CC0.

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