Jamie Gajos, Ph.D., PAMT Post-doctoral Trainee, “Romantic Partner Alcohol Misuse Interacts with GABRA2 Genotype to Predict Frequency of Drunkenness in Young Adulthood”
Abstract: Previous research has identified the importance of romantic partners—including spouses, significant others, and dating partners—for influencing the engagement in health-risking behaviors, such as alcohol misuse during emerging adulthood. Although genetic factors are known to play a role in the development of young adult alcohol misuse, little research has examined whether genetic factors affect young adults’ susceptibility to their romantic partners’ alcohol misusing behaviors. In this talk, I will present findings from the Genetics of PROSPER (gPROSPER) project and discuss the potential for genetic factors to interact with important proximal social environments during the transition to young adulthood. Implications for prevention and intervention will be discussed, as well as directions for future research.
Eric Layland, PAMT Pre-doctoral Trainee, “Classes of Intersectional Discrimination and Associated HIV Risk Behaviors: What adaptive coping strategies do racial/ethnic minority young men who have sex with men (YMSM) exhibit?”
Abstract: Rates of HIV infection are declining nationally; however, African American and Latino young men who have sex with men (YMSM) remain disproportionately at risk of infection. This presentation will be on my NRSA (F31) proposal, which has three aims: first, to identify classes of risk indicated by race- and sexual orientation-based discrimination to predict the likelihood of substance use and sexual risk behavior by class; second, to identify coping behaviors that moderate this association; and third, to investigate how the discrimination-risk pathway develops and how coping strategies may be differentially adaptive over time.
