The Behavioral Science Working Group was formed in 1994 to bring together extramural science staff across all of NIDA’s Divisions and Offices, who have a shared interest in Behavioral and Social Science approaches to drug abuse research. The diverse membership of this group ensures a multidisciplinary perspective that spans research areas from basic neurobehavioral investigation, to treatment and prevention science.

Workgroup members are interested in how individual differences in behavior contribute to the initiation of drug abuse, to the transition to escalating patterns of use, and to relapse from abstinence. Other shared interests include: Vulnerability factors (e.g., sensation-seeking, behavioral reactivity to drug effects, decision making or impulsivity, prior drug history, transitional periods in child and adolescent development), co-morbidity with other psychiatric disorders, high-risk behaviors (especially in regard to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted diseases), and the influences of environmental factors (including sociocultural, socioeconomic, peer group and familial) on trajectories of drug abuse behaviors.

Workgroup members act as a resource for each other in their respective areas of scientific expertise (which include for example, epidemiology, prevention, cognitive-behavioral treatment, neurobiological substrates of behavior, learning theory in drug abuse, medical consequences of addiction including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, animal models of drug abuse, clinical neurobiology, and genetics). The group participates in the planning, organization and implementation of scientific symposia, workshops, and meetings to stimulate multidisciplinary discussions on specific topics within the behavioral investigation of drug abuse and addiction. A meeting held last February (2002) on “Lapse and Relapse: The Chronic Recurring Nature of Drug Addiction”, exemplifies a cross-cutting theme that benefited from the contributions of science staff representing diverse areas of scientific expertise across the institute.

The Work Group is particularly interested in attracting and retaining early career behavioral and psychological scientists in preclinical and clinical/applied drug abuse research. In recent years, this group has engaged in a number of successful outreach activities, traveling to universities, and national and regional scientific meetings to make presentations on NIDA’s research interests in the area of behavioral and social sciences. These activities have included grants-writing workshops, mentoring programs, career development awards, showcasing the research of NIDA-supported early career investigators, meet-and-greet opportunities with NIDA staff, and invited addresses by senior drug abuse researchers on the topic of mentoring junior scientists.

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