DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): This is an application to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for an Independent Scientist Award for John Schafer, Ph.D. The candidate is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Schafer is currently funded by NIDA to study the relationship between intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and cognitive functioning. He is an investigator on a nine-year study funded by NIAAA to examine the relationship between ethnicity, alcohol consumption, and intimate partner violence. Dr. Schafer has worked closely on this project since its inception with his former NIAAA postdoctoral mentor and the PI of the grant, Dr. Raul Caetano. The principal goal of this application is to request ongoing support for Dr. Schafer's development as a research scientist in alcohol research methods and to support and extend his research program on measuring intimate partner violence. Dr. Schafer has studied the measurement of intimate partner violence (IPV) and he has developed new methods for assessing the prevalence of IPV in large-scale epidemiological surveys of the U.S. household population. This award would allow Dr. Schafer to develop this line of research on better methods of assessing the prevalence of intimate partner violence and to study the effects of ethnicity and alcohol consumption on measuring IPV. Long-term goals would include studying the effects of different measurement methods of IPV on linear (e.g., regression) and latent structure (e.g., structural equation) models incorporating alcohol-related variables (e.g., consumption patterns, problems). Dr. Schafer would continue his long-term collaboration with Dr. Caetano, and he would develop new collaborations with other alcohol and violence researchers during the course of the award. Advanced methodologists would be consulted with for research issues and training (Dr.'s Muthen & Waller). Career development will be further enhanced by regular attendance to workshops both on advanced methods and on the protection of human research participants. This award would allow the candidate to develop important programmatic inquiry into measuring intimate partner violence and studying these findings in the context of ethnicity and alcohol, and to develop into a knowledgeable methodologist in the alcohol field.