# Neighborhood perceptions and response to a technology-assisted parenting intervention for youth substance use

> **NIH NIH R37** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $187,360

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
An adolescent’s neighborhood is associated with their likelihood of developing a substance use disorder.
Technology-assisted interventions (TAIs) have been touted to enhance the reach of substance use treatment
for youth and families living in underserved communities. A key question is whether neighborhood
characteristics (e.g., neighborhood violence, safety, access to community resources) impact the effectiveness
of TAIs as such interventions are typically embedded within a youth’s natural environment. The parent grant
supporting this Diversity Supplement is a fully powered evaluation of Parent SMART, a TAI for parents of youth
recently discharged from residential substance use treatment (R37DA052918; PI: Becker). Under the primary
mentorship of Dr. Sara Becker, the candidate, Dr. Zabin Patel, will extend the aims of the parent grant by
conducting a multi-respondent and multi-dimensional evaluation on the impact of youth and parent
neighborhood perceptions on TAI effectiveness. Aim 1 will identify neighborhood characteristics most
predictive of response to Parent SMART using both youth and parent reports. Aim 2 will then explore whether
engagement with Parent SMART acts as a putative mechanism of action explaining the relationship between
neighborhood characteristics and TIA outcomes. The candidate for this Diversity Supplement has prior
expertise in public health and clinical science and is committed to a career as an independently funded
researcher focused on improving the effectiveness of substance use services for youth and families. This
Diversity Supplement will support the candidate’s career transition from postdoctoral fellow to an independent
investigator via mentored training in three areas: (a) conducting pragmatic effectiveness trials with youth
substance use populations; (b) evaluating the role of TAIs in increasing equitable access to and engagement in
substance use care; and (c) multi-level longitudinal data analysis. The candidate’s prior work has
demonstrated that place of residence affects treatment response among youth. Contextual neighborhood
factors, majorly understudied in clinical effectiveness trials of TAIs, may also impact intervention engagement
and response. However, the predictive relationships between neighborhood characteristics and TAI response
have not been previously investigated and the assumption that TAIs improve substance use outcomes for
families living in underserved neighborhoods is rarely tested. Results hold strong potential to advance public
health by pinpointing key contextual factors that influence response to TAIs like Parent SMART and to inform
whether TAIs require tailoring to address the unique needs of youth living in underserved neighborhoods.
Further, this study will support the career trajectory of Dr. Patel, a promising scholar with a background that is
underrepresented in NIH research. Preliminary data from this Diversity Supplement will inform an R34
application focused on ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10836689
- **Project number:** 3R37DA052918-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Becker
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $187,360
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10836689

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10836689, Neighborhood perceptions and response to a technology-assisted parenting intervention for youth substance use (3R37DA052918-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10836689. Licensed CC0.

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