# Prospective Examination of the Impact of Cannabis Use and Social Determinants of Health on Maternal Mental Health

> **NIH NIH P20** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $239,201

## Abstract

Project Summary
I am an Assistant Professor in the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies in the Department of Behavioral
and Social Sciences at Brown University and a licensed Clinical Psychologist. My expertise is in the etiology
and behavioral pharmacology of alcohol and cannabis use (CU) and problems using multi-method (laboratory
and field-based) approaches. The proposed project will expand this expertise to include the study of substance
use and mental health symptoms in perinatal samples. Utilizing support from an expert mentorship team and
the CADRE Cores, the proposed research project will examine how CU and social determinants of health
impact depression and anxiety symptoms in the moment and longitudinally across the perinatal period (i.e.,
pregnancy and postpartum). Maternal mortality is a crisis in the U.S., particularly among Black/African
American women, and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and
mortality. Moreover, racial disparities in prevalence of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in the U.S. are
striking, as rates are estimated to be twice as high among Black women and three times as high among
Hispanic/Latinx women relative to non-Hispanic White women. Further, there are strong links between
CU/Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and mood and anxiety symptoms. However, no studies have examined
trajectories of CU with symptoms of depression and anxiety across the perinatal period, nor how important
social determinants of health (e.g., racial discrimination) may impact these trajectories. The proposed study will
build on my current investigative skills in the study of momentary processes using ecological momentary
assessment and draw on expertise from a multidisciplinary team in conducting longitudinal substance use
research in a racially diverse clinical perinatal cannabis using sample. I will be well-poised to collect data that
provides initial understanding of how CU and important social determinants of mental health predict
momentary symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as symptom trajectories over time. This work will
provide essential preliminary data to launch an independent line of work that will utilize mixed-methods
approaches to comprehensively study between- and within-person processes, including substance use, of
critical perinatal mental health outcomes. In addition to supporting this expansion of my own career trajectory,
these aims reflect the CADRE mission to investigate biopsychosocial mechanisms (e.g., perceived
discrimination, health disparities) by which substance use (i.e., cannabis) exacerbates chronic disease (i.e.,
mood and anxiety disorders) in vulnerable populations (e.g., pregnant people of color). This project will utilize
the support of the REACH core for remote recruitment of a racially-diverse sample, the Clinical Laboratory
Core for supplies, equipment, and technical capabilities, and the Administrative Core for scientific leadership
and administra...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849988
- **Project number:** 2P20GM130414-06
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Rachel Lyn Gunn
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $239,201
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849988

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849988, Prospective Examination of the Impact of Cannabis Use and Social Determinants of Health on Maternal Mental Health (2P20GM130414-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849988. Licensed CC0.

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