Preventing Suicide, HIV& Drug Abuse Among Black Youth

申请人申请通过科学家发展导师奖(K01)机制获得为期五年的资助，以提高他的理论、方法和统计分析技能，使他能够努力防止或减少高危青年中的自毁行为。申请人在社会政策研究方面的深厚学术训练和从事青年工作的实践经验，以及他对进行项目评估的熟悉程度，是本申请书中概述的职业发展活动的基础，以促进其实现其职业目标，成为开展预防干预研究的独立研究员。将实现以下目标：1)增进我对行为科学和青少年理论的理解，这些理论与设计基于个人、群体和家庭的干预措施，以减少高危种族和少数民族青年的自毁行为并促进积极的健康行为有关；2)提高我的研究技能，与进行干预预防研究有关的设计、测量和统计分析，以减少种族和少数民族城市少数民族青年中的多种形式的自毁行为；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合适的预防措施，旨在减少高危非裔美国青年的自毁行为；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措施的可行性，以防止高危城市非裔美国人青少年男性中三种形式的自毁行为(自杀的艾滋病毒/艾滋病性行为和物质滥用行为)；以及5)执行我的研究议程，通过准备一项竞争性的R01提案进行随机试验研究，采用随机对照研究，以测试针对非裔美国人父亲的家庭干预措施的有效性，以帮助减少其高危青少年男性高危儿童的自毁行为。

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.