# Indigenous Pathways of Substance Use Risk and Resilience across Three Generations

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $625,706

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Alcohol and other drug use inequities have had devastating impacts for many American Indian/First
Nations (Indigenous) communities and families. Social Determinants of Health (SDH) are critical
mechanisms of risk and resilience for substance abuse (SA), substance use disorders (SUD), and recovery
from SUD. This project will move beyond “risk-factor” epidemiology that largely ignores heterogeneity of SU
patterns and impacts of SDH and has failed to materialize into substantial changes in population health
outcomes. We will focus on identifying what matters most and to whom by examining relative impacts of SDH
for SA over the life-course and across generations of Indigenous families.
This competitive renewal application builds on our existing community-based participatory research with 8
tribal communities. We propose to continue computer-assisted survey interviews with existing Healing
Pathways “target participants” (baseline N = 735) for whom we already have 11 waves of developmental data
spanning childhood and early adulthood. We will enroll their own children in the study for multiple generations
of epidemiological information on SA, SUD, recovery and resilience. We will also collect qualitative information
to capture nuanced community perspectives on the contexts and mechanisms of substance use.
Results of this research will increase awareness of the nature, etiology, and consequences of
alcohol and other drug use problems and recovery in Indigenous reservation/reserve communities.
Another outcome is enhanced precision in identifying SDH related to substance use and positive
Indigenous development. Thus, the results of this project have potential to optimize the timing of
and targets of intervention and prevention programs and policies in Indigenous communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10296718
- **Project number:** 2R01DA039912-07
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelley Sittner
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $625,706
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2016-04-15 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10296718

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10296718, Indigenous Pathways of Substance Use Risk and Resilience across Three Generations (2R01DA039912-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10296718. Licensed CC0.

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