Pilot Projects
Projects - Pilot Projects
Contribution of Self-Control Processes and Genetic Influences on Drug Use Phenotypes
Principle investigator: Drs. Gene Brody and Yi-Fu Chen, University of Georgia
Funding agency: NIDA
Year began: 2010
Description:
In this pilot study, the researchers will conduct investigations of a potential intermediate phenotype, self-control processes, which may refine understanding of how genetic vulnerabilities are linked to the initiation and escalation of drug use during adolescence. They will further examine the potential protective influence of rural African American caregivers’ parenting behavior on the hypothesized links connecting genetic variation and self-control. This pilot is based on the premise that self-control processes may inform not only genetic influence on drug use but also elucidate how protective parenting may ameliorate genetic diatheses.