# Effect of Trauma-Related Stress During Acute Alcohol Intoxication on Driving-Related Risky Decision-Making

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS · 2020 · $29,466

## Abstract

7. Project Summary/Abstract
The proposed project aims to prepare the PI for a career as a scientist in an academic setting with a research
program focused on etiological mechanisms, deleterious outcomes, and pathways of co-occurrence between
trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, and problematic alcohol use, with the aim of advancing
developmentally- and contextually-sensitive models of comorbidity that inform effective prevention, selective
intervention, and treatment for those struggling with these debilitating conditions. A comprehensive training
plan was therefore constructed to systematically advance the PI’s training in: 1) contextually-relevant risk
factors, comorbidity, assessment tools, and sophisticated research related to trauma exposure, posttraumatic
stress, and problematic alcohol use and 2) the development, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of
prevention programs that target individuals exposed to trauma. Importantly, the proposed study is designed to
complement this training program by helping the PI to refine relevant research skills via the feasible
combination of intensive mentoring from primary and secondary sponsors, focused coursework, intensive
workshops, off-site training opportunities, and dissemination activities described throughout the application.
The proposed sample will include 140 trauma-exposed adult drinkers endorsing PTSD symptoms. The primary
research goal is to test whether induction of acute trauma-related stress (via script-driven imagery) during
alcohol intoxication (.06% BrAC) will influence driving-related risky decision-making – willingness to drive,
perceived likelihood of negative consequences, and performance-based risk-tasking (via a game involving
stopping a vehicle during a changing yellow traffic light). Participants will be randomly assigned to either an
alcohol or placebo condition and to receive either an autobiographical trauma script or neutral script. It is
expected that (1) participants in the alcohol + trauma script condition (i.e. intoxicated and stressed) will
endorse greater willingness to drive and lesser perceived likelihood of negative consequences than those in
the alcohol + neutral script condition (i.e. only intoxicated) and (2) participants in the alcohol + trauma script
condition will evidence the greatest increase in driving-related risk-taking compared to all other conditions.
The proposed project aligns with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism F31 mechanism in
three key ways. First, the research project aims to extend our understanding of modulating risk factors for
intoxicated driving by examining the influence of “real time” trauma-related stress during intoxication on driving-
related risky decision-making. Second, findings will serve to inform educational and prevention efforts, as well
as inform “in the moment” (i.e. ecological) intervention, with the ultimate goal of reducing the high prevalence
of intoxicated driving among individuals expos...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9840820
- **Project number:** 5F31AA027142-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
- **Principal Investigator:** Nathan T Kearns
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $29,466
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-12-17 → 2020-06-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9840820

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9840820, Effect of Trauma-Related Stress During Acute Alcohol Intoxication on Driving-Related Risky Decision-Making (5F31AA027142-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9840820. Licensed CC0.

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