OU Hudson College of Public Health Faculty Awarded NIH Grant to Study Alcohol-Induced Blackouts in Young Adults

Dr. Veronica Richards, a faculty member in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences at the OU Hudson College of Public Health, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the NIH. Her research project, titled “Examining Alcohol-Induced Blackouts in Young Adults Using Alcohol Sensors,” seeks to address the significant public health concern of risky drinking behaviors and their severe consequences among young adults.

Heavy episodic drinking—defined as consuming four or more drinks in two hours for females and five or more drinks for males—affects approximately one in three young adults. Many engage in even higher levels of consumption, placing them at increased risk for alcohol-induced blackouts (AIBs), injury, sexual assault, and other severe outcomes. While brief interventions have shown promise in reducing drinking, their effectiveness in preventing these harmful consequences has been inconsistent.

Dr. Richards and her team aim to deepen the understanding of how AIBs contribute to a cascade of harmful outcomes by using advanced technology—specifically, transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) biosensors. These wearable devices monitor alcohol consumption in near real-time, providing more accurate data on drinking behaviors than self-reports, particularly during high-risk drinking episodes. This innovative approach coupled with ecological momentary assessments (EMA), or in-the-moment surveys, allows researchers to track not only the number of drinks consumed but also the manner of consumption, including factors like pregaming, combining alcohol with cannabis, and rapid escalation in blood alcohol concentration, all of which have been linked to an increased risk of AIBs.

“Our goal is to unravel the complex relationship between alcohol-induced blackouts and other harmful consequences, especially those that escalate in severity,” said Dr. Richards. “Through our use of TAC biosensors and EMA, we can gain a clearer understanding of the social, psychological, and biological factors that make certain individuals more vulnerable to these outcomes.”

Pilot data already suggests that risky drinking young adults experience AIBs on one out of every three drinking occasions, and on these nights, they face 3.5 times more consequences compared to non-AIB nights, including severe incidents like injury or legal issues.

This groundbreaking study holds the potential to inform public health interventions, guiding more effective strategies for reducing alcohol-related harm among young adults. By improving the accuracy of drinking behavior assessments and understanding the root causes of AIBs, Dr. Richards’ research could lead to new approaches in mitigating the consequences of high-risk alcohol consumption.

The OU Hudson College of Public Health is proud to support Dr. Richards' important work, which aligns with the College’s mission to address pressing public health challenges through innovative research and community-driven solutions.