# Racial discrimination and drug use: Examining the mediating role of inflammation among African American youth

> **NIH NIH K01** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2020 · $162,292

## Abstract

Drug use among youth in the US has high relevance to public health, as it is associated with negative social,
mental, and physical health outcomes. Prevention scientists have identified risk factors for drug use
vulnerability among adolescent populations; however, such models have largely failed to explain risk for
African Americans. Therefore, as noted by NIDA and others, culture-specific risk models are necessary to
better understand vulnerability to drug use among African American youth. My long-term career goal is to
establish myself as an externally funded expert in developmental risk for drug use and addiction among African
Americans. The purpose of the K01 proposal is develop content and methodological expertise on cultural and
physiological mechanisms that impact drug risk for African American youth. Thus, with training in these
areas, the overall objective of this research project is to 1) examine inflammatory pathways through which
discrimination impacts drug use vulnerability among African American youth, 2) protective variables that
moderate risk, and 3) potential variations of risk based on assessment modality. The first two objective will be
completed using Dr. Gene Brody’s SHAPE dataset, a longitudinal study of 500 African American youth aged
16-21 years. For the third objective, I will recruit 150 African American youth aged 16-18 years to examine
inflammatory functioning and drug use vulnerability based on discrimination type and measurement modality
across a 12-month period. Testing such models is significant, as it will clarify our understanding on the
magnitude of the effect discrimination has on drug use risk among African American youth and specific
pathways through which the risk pathway operates. Furthermore, such findings are significant as they will
directly impact intervention programming by identifying specific targets within the risk process and important
cultural factors to include that can buffer risk. In the final stages of this K01 award period, I will submit an
R01 to NIDA to investigate the prospective effect multiple forms of chronic stress have on inflammation and
negative affect among African American youth to determine critical periods to intervene within the risk process.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9880437
- **Project number:** 5K01DA043654-03
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Tamika Chere' Barkley Zapolski
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $162,292
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-15 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9880437

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9880437, Racial discrimination and drug use: Examining the mediating role of inflammation among African American youth (5K01DA043654-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9880437. Licensed CC0.

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