# Preventing Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Violence among Latino Youth

> **NIH NIH K01** · BOSTON COLLEGE · 2020 · $163,705

## Abstract

Preventing Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Violence among Latino Youth
Project Summary/Abstract
This K01 research and training award advances my long-term goal of developing interventions designed to target
alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and violence among Latino adolescents in the United States. Adolescent AOD
use and violence are profoundly interrelated as evidence clearly indicates that adolescent AOD users are more
likely to enact violence and that both acute intoxication and chronic use are related to aggression. Moreover,
results from prospective studies suggest that youth involvement in violence also predicts subsequent AOD use.
Latino early adolescents (ages 11 to 14) are disproportionally at risk to use alcohol and take part in violent
behavior. And yet, there remains a critical need for the development of readily-scalable, preventative interven-
tions that target AOD use and violence among Latino youth. The proposed research plan focuses on adapting
an empirically-supported AOD use intervention (keepin' it REAL [kiR]) to include a focus on violence and, in turn,
testing the adapted preventative intervention to examine its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects. The
proposed multidisciplinary training plan is designed to assist me in developing the necessary skills to effectively
function as an independent researcher and carry out high-impact translational research. Specifically, this will
include training in the use of qualitative methods to inform the adaptation and development of interventions, the
process of systematically adapting/developing interventions, and, finally, the testing of interventions and preven-
tion outcomes research. My training plan is directly linked to the three study aims. In Aim 1, I will conduct focus
group interviews designed to inform the adaptation of kiR to include a focus on violence prevention. In Aim 2, I
will build upon this formative research by adapting kiR to incorporate a focus on youth violence and violence
prevention. And, in Aim 3, I will lead a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which the adapted intervention
is tested in order to assess the feasibility/acceptability of the adapted intervention and assess whether a signal
of efficacy is present for AOD use and violence outcomes. The contribution of the proposed research is expected
to be the development of a readily-scalable, multicomponent preventative intervention for AOD use and violence
among Latino early adolescents that can be tested in a fully-powered RCT (R01). This study addresses a signif-
icant gap in prevention science among a large and rapidly-growing minority group experiencing multiple, inter-
related health disparities. Moreover, this K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award will provide me
with the training, research experience, and preliminary data necessary to make the leap to independent investi-
gator status. Such experience and training is foundational in my effort to build upon my prior rese...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10209404
- **Project number:** 7K01AA026645-03
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher P Salas-Wright
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $163,705
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2020-07-06 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10209404

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10209404, Preventing Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Violence among Latino Youth (7K01AA026645-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10209404. Licensed CC0.

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