AUTHOR=Dick Danielle , Nasim Aashir , Edwards Alexis C., Salvatore Jessica , Cho Seung B., Adkins Amy , Meyers Jacquelyn , Yan Jia , Cooke Megan , Clifford James , Goyal Neeru , Halberstadt Lisa , Ailstock Kimberly , Neale Zoe , Opalesky Jill , Hancock Linda , Donovan Kristen K., Sun Cuie , Riley Brien , Kendler Kenneth S. TITLE=Spit for Science: launching a longitudinal study of genetic and environmental influences on substance use and emotional health at a large US university JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=5 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2014.00047 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2014.00047 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=

Finding genes involved in complex behavioral outcomes, and understanding the pathways by which they confer risk, is a challenging task, necessitating large samples that are phenotypically well characterized across time. We describe an effort to create a university-wide research project aimed at understanding how genes and environments impact alcohol use and related substance use and mental health outcomes across time in college students. Nearly 70% of the incoming freshman class (N = 2715) completed on-line surveys, with 80% of the students from the fall completing spring follow-ups. 98% of eligible participants also gave DNA. The participants closely approximated the university population in terms of gender and racial/ethnic composition. Here we provide initial results on alcohol use outcomes from the first wave of the sample, as well as associated predictor variables. We discuss the potential for this kind of research to advance our understanding of genetic and environment influences on substance use and mental health outcomes.