# Social influences on choices in adolescent substance use

> **NIH NIH R01** · VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV · 2021 · $719,789

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
In the United States, substance use behaviors contribute to the leading causes of mortality and morbidity of
adolescents, and are associated with approximately $60 billion in economic costs per year. Negative peer
influence is a major environmental risk factor for early initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors.
However, group-based interventions and positive social supports are also beneficial for successful cessation of
substance use and addictive behaviors. Thus, social influences can contribute to adaptive or maladaptive
decision-making and depend on the context and nature of the influence. Despite the strong contribution of
peer influence to individuals' risky (or safe) decision-making, the mechanistic processes underlying
susceptibility and resilience to social influence have received limited investigation.
Here, we combine a longitudinal cohort design, functional neuroimaging, novel behavioral economic
paradigms, and a model-based approach to examine whether substance use, and changes in substance use, are
related to individual differences in two mechanisms by which social information influences risky decision-
making (Aims 1 & 2). To test the extent to which changes in substance use may also impact susceptibility to
social influence, we will further examine reciprocal effects of substance use on the mechanisms of social
influence over time (Aim 3). Our broad hypothesis is that biases in neural and behavioral processing of
information from social others contribute to the development of substance use behaviors in adolescents and
may explain why social others have an unusually large impact on certain adolescents' decisions to engage in
substance use.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10220529
- **Project number:** 1R01DA051573-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** PEARL H CHIU
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $719,789
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10220529

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10220529, Social influences on choices in adolescent substance use (1R01DA051573-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10220529. Licensed CC0.

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