Preventing Suicide, HIV& Drug Abuse Among Black Youth

申请人正在通过指导科学家发展奖（K 01）机制申请五年的资金，以提高他的理论，方法和统计分析技能，使他能够努力预防或减少高危青年中的自我毁灭行为。 申请人在社会政策研究和实践经验与青年工作沿着他熟悉进行项目评估的强大的学术培训作为基础，在此应用程序中概述的职业发展活动，以促进他的职业目标的实现，成为一个独立的研究人员进行预防干预研究。本课程将达到以下目的：1）加深我对行为科学和青少年理论的理解，这些理论与设计以个人、群体和家庭为基础的干预措施有关，以减少自我毁灭行为，并促进高危种族和少数民族青年的积极健康行为; 2）提高我在设计，测量，进行干预预防研究，减少种族和民族城市少数民族青年多种形式的自我毁灭行为的相关统计分析; 3）提高我的方法技能，以更好地设计，实施和评估科学上严格和文化上适当的预防干预措施，旨在减少高危非洲裔美国青年的自我毁灭行为; 4）通过试验和测试一项研究来提高我进行干预的技能和能力，以确定使用以非裔美国人父亲为重点的家庭干预来预防三种形式的自我毁灭行为的可行性（自杀性艾滋病毒/艾滋病性行为和药物滥用行为）在风险城市非洲裔美国青少年男性;和5）执行我的研究议程，通过准备竞争性R 01提案进行随机试验研究，采用随机对照研究来测试家庭的有效性-针对非裔美国人父亲的基于干预，以帮助减少他们的风险青少年男性风险儿童的自我毁灭行为。

The applicant is requesting funding for five years through the Mentored Scientist Development Award (K01) mechanism to enhance his theoretical, methodological, and statistical analysis skills to enable his efforts to prevent or reduce self-destructive behaviors among at-risk youth. The applicant's strong academic training in social policy research and practice experience in working with youth along with his familiarity in conducting program evaluations serve as the foundation on which the career development activities outlined in this application builds to facilitate the achievement of his career goal to become an independent researcher in conducting prevention intervention studies. The following objectives will be achieved: 1) Enhance my understanding of behavioral science and adolescent theories relevant for designing individual, group, and family-based interventions to reduce self-destructive behaviors and promoting positive health behaviors among at-risk racial and ethnic minority youth; 2) Advance my research skills in the design, measurement, and statistical analyses relevant for conducting intervention prevention research on reducing multiple forms of self-destructive behaviors among racial and ethnic urban minority youth; 3) Increase my methodological skills to better design, implement, and evaluate scientifically rigorous and culturally appropriate prevention interventions designed to reduce self-destructive behavior among at-risk African American youth; 4) Enhance my skills and ability to conduct intervention by piloting and testing a study to determine the feasibility of using a family based intervention focusing on African American fathers to prevent three forms of self-destructive behavior (suicidal HIV/AIDS sexual, and substance abusing behavior) among at- risk urban African American adolescent males; and 5) Carry forth my research agenda to conduct a randomized trial study by preparing a competitive R01 proposal employing a randomized control study to test the effectiveness of a family-based intervention targeting African American fathers to help reduce self-destructive behavior among their at-risk adolescent male at-risk children.