# Indigenous Pathways of Substance Use and Mental Health through Early Adulthood

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $186,784

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Significant alcohol and substance abuse disorders and mental health disparities have had devastating impacts
in many American Indian/First Nations (Indigenous) communities. Evidence from diverse tribal groups
demonstrates early onset, high frequency substance use with substantial rates of co-occurring mental
disorders among Indigenous youth throughout their adolescence. Yet, how these early life patterns affect
trajectories and outcomes in adulthood for Indigenous people is unknown. General population studies have
shown that early adulthood (20 – 30 years of age) is a critical period of transitions in roles, responsibilities, and
relationships impacting patterns of substance use and mental health. Cultural norms and contexts may
translate into potentially unique developmental pathways, risks, and protective factors for Indigenous
substance use and mental health outcomes. We propose to investigate these possibilities in Indigenous early
adulthood, a critical period for understanding transitions from adolescence to longer-term alcohol, substance
use, and mental health problems and resilience. The project will link data from our 8-wave panel study of
Indigenous adolescents with 3 years of proposed new data in early adulthood. Data will be collected via
computer-assisted personal interviews. The result will be the only longitudinal data set spanning Indigenous
childhood, adolescent, and early adult years of which we are aware. Three major aims guide this community-
based participatory research: 1) Determine trajectories of Indigenous substance use and mental health
problems from late childhood to early adulthood, 2) Identify early life-course predictors of substance use and
mental health among Indigenous young adults, and 3) Describe culturally appropriate definitions of wellbeing in
early adulthood and document the prevalence and predictors of these positive outcomes. Results of this
research will increase awareness of the nature, etiology, and consequences of alcohol, substance use, mental
health problems and their comorbidity in Indigenous reservation/reserve communities. Another outcome is
enhanced understanding and novel measurement of protective factors and positive Indigenous development.
The results of this project have potential to inform the timing of and risk/protective factors targeted by
prevention programs in Indigenous communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10221284
- **Project number:** 3R01DA039912-06S2
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa L. Walls
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $186,784
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-04-15 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10221284

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10221284, Indigenous Pathways of Substance Use and Mental Health through Early Adulthood (3R01DA039912-06S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10221284. Licensed CC0.

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