Partner Specific Factors in Adolescent Behavior

描述(由申请者提供)：该奖项的目的是获得必要的理论和方法背景，以进一步发展青少年健康研究事业。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项目的入学期间完成。在这次培训的同时，我将实现这个奖项的具体目标。这项研究的具体目的是：i)对高风险和低风险性行为经历的青少年样本进行二次数据分析，以确定：a)只与主要/稳定伴侣发生性关系的人、仅与临时/不稳定伙伴发生性关系的人和与这两种类型的伙伴发生性行为的人之间的心理社会因素(态度、价值观、期望)之间的差异；b)相同或不同的心理社会因素是否预测伴侣特有的性行为；c)女孩和男孩之间在心理社会因素、伴侣类型和伴侣特定性行为之间的关系是否存在差异；2)进行启发性研究，以经验验证在二次数据分析中确定的心理社会因素，并确定影响有性经验的青少年持续的不安全性行为的其他关系动态；以及3)设计、试点测试和改进性风险降低干预措施，旨在提高有性经验的青少年中已确定的伴侣特有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，其中包括青少年健康、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.