NATIVE HAWAIIAN MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT-MIRDP

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This Minority Institutions Research Development Program (MIRDP) proposal seeks to increase the numbers of Native Hawaiian mental health researchers and develop a research infrastructure at the university of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry for Native Hawaiian mental health research. This effort represents a critical stage in the development of a Minority Mental Health Research Center grant for Native Hawaiians at the University of Hawaii. It will provide direct support for a major research project conducted by five Native Hawaiian faculty members and the development of a cadre of trained Native Hawaiian mental health researchers. This project will provide important epidemiological data concerning the mental health of Native Hawaiians from early to late adolescence. In addition to the empirical data obtained, the proposed research will permit the assessment of the utility of several commonly used psychological instruments, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children and Adolescents (DISC) and a newly developed Native Hawaiian culture scale for use in research with the Native Hawaiian community, utilizing insights from community elders for a fuller understanding of the ways in which traditional Hawaiian culture differs from that of most contemporary Hawaiians (and non-Hawaiians). The research development project is organized within two major components: first, a Research Development Component will strengthen the knowledge and skills of minority psychiatry researchers with a structured curriculum covering research design and methodology, quantitative analysis and manuscript preparation; and second, a Research Component involving conducting an Longitudinal Epidemiological Study of 5,000 high school students (grades nine through twelve) in five schools within the state of Hawaii. This study will assess mental health risk factors such as depression, anxiety, conduct disorder and substance abuse and their relationship to a number of psychosocial variables, including Native Hawaiian cultural affiliation.