The National Institutes of Health reports that 24.6% of people 18 or older engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% of the same population was diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder. Perhaps even more startling, alcohol-related causes are the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. So how can these preventable deaths be stopped? How can the lives of the nearly 17 million Americans each year diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder be improved with effective treatment? Dr. Helene White, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University’s Center of Alcohol Studies, studies the development, causes, consequences, and prevention of substance use including alcohol and illicit drugs as well as the associations of substance use with other problem behaviors.

Using longitudinal data collected from community and at-risk samples, who were followed from childhood or adolescence into adulthood, her studies allow her to look at how individuals change over time thus, leading to successful prevention strategies for the future. Additionally, she develops and evaluates substance use interventions for college students. Driven by the philosophy that “understanding the early risk and protective factors will allow us to better screen young people for interventions,” Dr. White aims to create programs that will prevent the onset of substance abuse. With close collaborations at both Rutgers University and the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. White is positioned to make an impact and integrate her research into interventions nationwide.

Current research includes:

• Prevention Programs: Dr. White studies different types of substance use prevention programs in order to identify the most effective components and for whom different types of interventions are most effective. This work is valuable for nearly all segments of the population but has special significance for college-age substance users. Heavy drinking and drug use can cause many problems including academic failure, cognitive impairment, and accidents. Therefore, it is critical to intervene to reduce harm.

• Pittsburgh Youth Study: The data used from the Pittsburgh Youth Study is unique because few longitudinal data sets have annual data collected prospectively from childhood into young adulthood. Additionally, the consistent sampling of a diverse population including people that are white and people of color paired with the many different types of informants used to collect data make the study extensive and thorough. Dr. White’s research therefore aims to use this unique dataset to shed light on risk and protective factors than can be targeted in interventions and preventative strategies for substance use disorders.

• Marijuana Use: Current studies are focused on the long-term consequences and predictors of marijuana use. Given recent laws allowing the legal use of marijuana in some states and decriminalizing use in other states, this research has become increasingly important to understand the possible health risks of marijuana use.

• Criminal Offending: In addition to substance use interventions, Dr. White also studies the role of substance use in the persistence of criminal offending. By making sense of the associations between substance and other problem behaviors like violence and criminal activities, she hopes to help decrease criminal offending by developing evidence-based interventions.