Building Biobehavioral Goal-Directed Resilience Training among African American Women (Project GRIT)
Collaboration with Morehouse School of Medicine
PI: Kisha Holden, PhD
Site PI: Abigail Powers Lott, PhD, ABPP
The study is complete and data will soon be analyzed. Check back for study findings.
What is PTSD and how might Project GRIT help me? 
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a prevalence of approximately 10-12% in women, with approximately 1/3 of those affected experiencing symptoms over the entire life course. PTSD is also associated with other mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety and may be concurrent with health complications, shortened lifespan, increased use of healthcare services, and reduced quality of life. Rates of PTSD and related health complications are substantially higher in urban settings, with a lifetime prevalence estimated at ~50% among African American women. African American women with PTSD have been under-studied, do not receive equitable treatment, and are more likely to drop out of treatment when compared with other populations. This means that women of the African diaspora have high risks that we must try to address.
Project GRIT provided African American women with PTSD tools they need to build resilience and live healthy, productive lives. Participants learned resilience skills as strategies for responding to and managing past and present trauma or stress, becoming an actor – rather than a reactor – to trauma.
What is the treatment?
The treatment consisted of weekly group-based sessions over the course of 8 consecutive weeks. Group sessions were small, usually with 3-5 other women. Each session lasts 90 minutes and was held over Zoom. Participants randomized to the treatment group began the intervention when the next group cycle occurs, and the wait-list group had the option to start the intervention at the end of their study participation (approximately 6 months after enrollment).
What did we measure and how? 
Before and after the intervention, the study collected the following data:
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A staff member did an interview asking about trauma, PTSD, MDD, and other physical and psychological symptoms. Participants were asked to answer questions about their symptoms at the end of the intervention (or ~8 weeks after the first assessment) and 1 and 3 months later.
We are no longer recruiting participants.
We are registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT# NCT03890029
For further information, visit https://sites.google.com/view/projectgrit