KINGSTON, R.I. — June 4, 2025 — Young adult drinkers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are at increased risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems and developing alcohol use disorder compared to their non-ADHD peers. However, it is unclear why, as research supports that they drink less than or equivalent to their non-ADHD peers.

University of Rhode Island psychology Assistant Professor Amy Stamates is studying this discrepancy to find out why, and to identify opportunities to tailor prevention and intervention approaches aimed at reducing alcohol-related risks for young adults with ADHD, thanks to a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Stamates and her team in the URI College of Health Sciences will assess individuals in the laboratory and in their natural environments to study associations between executive functioning, craving, and alcohol-related behaviors over a one-year period. She is working with 141 young adult drinkers with and without ADHD who will visit her lab three times over a one-year period to examine their conscious decision making and behaviors involving alcohol. Each lab session will be followed by 17 days of Ecological Momentary Assessments, during which participants will record their alcohol use, as well as any associated problems they encounter, including dangerous behaviors like driving after drinking or engaging in unprotected sex. During this period, they will also record their experiences, social settings, emotions, and involuntary cravings.

“The proposed research seeks to address knowledge gaps of etiological factors underlying ADHD and alcohol use disorder, with the ultimate goal to identify opportunities to tailor prevention and intervention approaches for young adults with ADHD,” Stamates wrote in a project description. “This research aims to investigate mechanisms underlying comorbid alcohol and ADHD disorders.”

The study’s specific aims include examining the impact of ADHD on executive function and alcohol use, cravings, and associated problems, and determining how they change in people with and without ADHD. Stamates also aims to identify predictors like social settings that could heighten risks for those with ADHD.

Stamates’ research is supported by a five-year KO1 grant from the NIH, a mentored research scientist development award, providing support for early-career scientists to develop into independent researchers in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences. She is working with URI psychology professors Lyn Stein and Lisa Weyandt, along with Rutgers University Professor Kristina Jackson.

In addition to her work in psychology, Stamates is part of the core faculty of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, and director of the Health and Alcohol-Related Problems Lab on the Kingston Campus. The HARP Lab studies causes and consequences of risky alcohol and drug use patterns to help inform prevention and intervention efforts aimed to reduce alcohol-related risk among young adults. Stamates has a particular interest in impulsivity and socio-cognitive variables, such as expectancies and drinking motives, that contribute to alcohol use and associated consequences among young adults.