Investigating Adverse Effects of Adolescent Group Interventions

描述（由申请人提供）：本计划旨在研究团体干预对青少年外化行为的负面影响。群体干预是解决青少年行为问题的最经济、最方便、最常见的方法之一，青少年行为问题是我们社会的一个主要难题，也是心理健康诊所转诊人数最多的原因。项目评估研究的结果已经开始表明，这些群体意外地增加了他们旨在减少或预防的外化行为。然而，研究尚未证实这些意外的发现是否对青少年参与者产生了有意义的、显著的和持久的不利影响，而不是方法论驱动的经验伪影。为了做出这一重要的区分，有必要基于强有力的研究设计和纵向数据进行进一步的研究。该项目整合了临床、发展和定量方法，以调查先前发现的青少年群体干预的不良影响。目前的研究将从一项纵向的、多地点的随机对照试验中获取数据，该试验是关于通往高中/普恩特斯的桥梁的

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project seeks to examine adverse effects of group interventions on adolescents' externalizing behavior. Group interventions represent one of the most economical, convenient, and common solution to adolescent behavior problems, a major dilemma for our society that accounts for the greatest number of referrals to mental health clinics. Findings from program evaluation studies have begun to suggest that these groups unexpectedly increase the externalizing behaviors that they were designed to reduce or prevent. However, research has yet to verify whether these unexpected findings represent a meaningful, significant, and lasting adverse effect on adolescent participants rather than a methodologically-driven empirical artifact. Further research based on a strong research design and longitudinal data is necessary to make this important distinction. This project integrates clinical, developmental, and quantitative approaches to investigate a previously discovered adverse effect of an adolescent group intervention. The current study will draw data from a longitudinal, multi-site randomized controlled trial of the Bridges to High School / Puentes a La Secund¿ria Program, a culturally competent, multicomponent prevention program designed to reduce risk during the middle school transition, which has demonstrated positive effects across an array of outcomes. Data were collected at the beginning of 7th grade, with follow-up data collected at the end of the 7th,8th, 9th, and 12th grade from a sample of primarily low-income Mexican American adolescents and their mothers. These data will allow the opportunity to examine intervention effects on long-term outcomes, trajectories of externalizing behaviors across adolescence, and potential mediators of observed effects, each of which provide critical and unique information on the development and prevention of externalizing problems among adolescents. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This study will examine whether adverse effects of adolescent group interventions, which have been found in 24-29% of evaluation studies, are lasting and clinically significant and seeks to identify the processes that explain them. In addition, this stuy reflects the current priority among researchers to refine innovative prevention strategies that are personalized for optimal use among underserved populations, such as Mexican Americans (MAs), the fastest growing US minority group who face substantial health disparities. Investigating the risk and cultural factors that might influence intervention responses among MA youth is necessary to reduce these disparities and their long-term personal and public health burden and strengthen the public health impact of NIMH-supported research.