Release

National Institute on Drug Abuse Funds Family Violence Study

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 12, 2005) -- University at Albany School of Social Welfare (SSW) Professor Carolyn Smith has received a four-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study family violence. The grant was awarded on August 15, 2005 and extends until May 30, 2009. Over the course of the four years, the award will total $1,010,697.

Smith's project, Long-Term Consequences of Exposure to Family Violence, aims to study the extent of family violence in a community sample, and explore the connection between family violence, drug use, and other adverse effects such as intergenerational violence.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity presented by this award to gain more understanding of the "invisible population" of people who have been exposed to family violence while they were growing up," Smith said. "Knowing more about the relationship between exposure to violence and child development will enable us to create better services and interventions for youth who are likely to experience the most negative consequences."

The project will specifically focus on the incidence and prevalence of multiple types of family violence exposure in the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS). This ongoing longitudinal project includes three generations of an urban, community-based sample. The project will study the impact of different types of violence exposure on drug use, risk for HIV/AIDS and other problems in adolescence and early adulthood. It will also investigate the consequences of family violence exposure for adult roles like parenting and for intergenerational violence.

Smith's investigative team also includes professors Terence Thornberry of the University of Colorado at Boulder, director of the RYDS, and Timothy Ireland of Niagara University.