Partner Specific Factors in Adolescent Behavior

该奖项的目的是获得必要的理论和方法背景，以促进青少年健康研究的职业生涯。生物统计学，流行病学和公共卫生领域的正式培训将在布朗大学公共卫生硕士课程入学期间完成。 与此同时，我将完成这个奖项的具体目标。本研究计划的具体目标是：I）对来自高风险和低风险性经历青少年样本的数据集进行二级数据分析，以确定：a）心理社会因素（态度、价值观、期望）在只与主要/固定伴侣发生性关系的人、只与临时/非固定伴侣发生性关系的人以及与两种类型的伴侣发生性关系的人之间存在差异; B）是否有相同或不同的社会心理因素预测特定性伴的性行为; c）在社会心理因素、性伴类型和特定性伴的性行为之间的关系上，女孩和男孩之间是否存在差异;（二）进行启发式研究，以经验验证在二级数据分析中确定的心理社会因素，并确定影响持续不安全的其他关系动态有性经验的青少年的性行为;以及3）设计、试点测试和完善降低性风险的干预措施，旨在增强有性经验的青少年中已确定的特定伴侣的心理社会保护因素。这项研究计划将在一个多学科和经验丰富的团队的指导下进行，包括青少年健康，医学和行为健康研究人员。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this award is to attain the necessary theoretical and methodological background to further a career in adolescent health research. Formal training in the fields of biostatistics, epidemiology, and public health will be completed during enrollment in Brown University's Master's of Public Health program. Concurrent with this training, I will accomplish the specific aims of this award. The specific aims of this program of research are to I) to conduct a secondary data analysis of a data set from samples of high- and low-risk sexually experienced adolescents to determine: a) psychosocial factors (attitudes, values, expectancies) which differ between those who have sex with main/steady partners only, those who have sex with casual/non-steady partners only and those who have sex with both types of partners; b) if the same or different psychosocial factors predict partner-specific sexual behaviors; c) if there are differences between girls and boys in the relationships among psychosocial factors, partner types, and partner-specific sexual behaviors; 2) to conduct elicitation research to empirically verify psychosocial factors identified in the secondary data analysis and to identify additional relationship dynamics that influence continuing unsafe sexual behaviors among sexually experienced adolescents; and 3) to design, pilot test, and refine a sexual risk reduction intervention, designed to enhance identified partner-specific psychosocial protective factors in sexually experienced adolescents. This program of research will be conducted with the guidance of a multidisciplinary and experienced team including adolescent health, medical, and behavioral health researchers.