URI Professor Studies Suicide, Alcohol Use Disorder Connections

KINGSTON, RI — University of Rhode Island psychology professor Nicole Weiss, along with Brown University professor Heather Schatten are exploring the connection between Alcohol Use Disorder and suicidal behavior, URI said on its website.

The study is funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the post said.

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“Most people who drink don’t experience an escalation in suicidal ideation, and don’t engage in suicidal behavior,” Weiss said in the post.

“But there’s a certain subgroup of people who do, so we are trying to understand who those people are, what the factors are that are driving their risk for suicide, and the timing of those processes ... how long after a person starts drinking, or what about a person’s drinking really increases that risk to know when to intervene and what to target,” Weiss said.

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Weiss is recruiting 300 people with an alcohol use disorder who are preparing to be discharged from residential substance use treatment facilities in Rhode Island, according to the post.

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"Study participants will wear an alcohol sensor called the BACtrack Skyn, a wearable sensor that measures alcohol content in sweat," the post said. "While participants wear the device for 30 days, it will record how much alcohol they consume, the rate of alcohol absorption, and their intoxication level, measured by recording their peak transdermal alcohol content."

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Simultaneously, "participants will receive brief surveys on an app multiple times throughout each day to record their experiences in that moment, including their cravings for alcohol, stress level, emotions, and, especially, any instances of suicidal thoughts or actions," according to the site. "That information will be combined with data from the BACtrack Skyn to determine how long after they begin drinking an individual experiences any escalation in suicidal ideation or behavior, and at what volume of alcohol consumed, pace of drinking, and level of intoxication the risk occurs."

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