Substance Use and Risky Sex in Highly Vulnerable Populations

拟议的项目将帮助我发展必要的技能和专业知识，建立独立的 研究生涯集中在物质使用在性行为冒险行为和相关不良反应中的作用 生殖结果，特别是性传播感染。为了实现这一目标，我将 补充我作为发展心理学家的研究生培训和流行病学博士后培训 通过培训弱势人群的性危险行为，与种族相关的健康差距，以及 职业生涯发展纵向研究方法论。作为对这些培训活动的补充，我 建议：1)使用正在进行的数据对性风险行为和结果进行二次数据分析 青少年母亲子女的纵向研究和有无边界妇女的研究 人格障碍(BPD)；2)收集16年来青少年母亲子女的新数据 评估；3)对该样本(十几岁母亲的子女)中常见的性传播感染进行一项新的试点研究。这个 拟议的研究将成为在获奖期的第三年申请投资回报的基础。我的短片 学期目标是(1)增加对性传播感染风险的了解，包括可能导致的行为失调 风险性行为和与风险性行为及相关结果相关的风险因素的基础，(2)学习新知识 衡量危险行为和不良生殖结果的方法，包括性传播感染和性传播疾病的临床检测 事件级别评估，(3)更多地了解与种族相关的健康差距，以及(4)制定 研究技能，使我能够成为一名独立的调查员，并获得NIH的资金来支持 我的研究，特别是纵向数据分析。我长期的职业目标是了解 易受伤害人群的药物使用和性危险行为的环境，以及药物使用如何有助于 非裔美国青年中意外怀孕和性传播感染的比率明显更高。建议数 职业发展培训将在匹兹堡大学精神病学系进行 医学院。本部门通过以下方式为跨学科培训提供良好的环境 高度协作的教职员工，他们是所选领域的领先专家。 相关性(请参阅说明)： 这项拟议的研究将有助于确认性传播感染的行为风险因素 与较高的艾滋病毒感染率有关，特别是在非裔美国人中。这一结果可用于开发 旨在减少弱势群体吸毒和性传播感染的预防方案 青少年和精神病患者。

The proposed project will help me develop the skills and expertise necessary to establish an independent research career focused on the role of substance use in sexual risk-taking behavior and associated adverse reproductive outcomes, especially sexually transmitted infections (STIs). To achieve this goal, I will supplement my graduate training as a developmental psychologist and post-doctoral training in epidemiology with training in sexual risk behavior in vulnerable populations, health disparities associated with race, and career development in longitudinal research methodology. Complementary to these training activities, I propose: 1) secondary data analyses of sexual risk behavior and outcomes using data from an ongoing longitudinal study of the offspring of teenage mothers and a study of women with and without borderline personality disorder (BPD); 2) collection of new data on the offspring of teenage mothers during a 16-year assessment and; 3) a new pilot study of common STIs in this sample (offspring of teenage mothers). The proposed research will form the basis for an ROI application in the third year of the award period. My short term goals are to (1) increase knowledge about risk for STIs, including behavioral dysregulation that may underlie risky sex and risk factors associated with risky sex and associated outcomes, (2) learn new methods of measuring risk behavior and adverse reproductive outcomes, including clinical tests for STIs and event-level assessments, (3) learn more about health disparities associated with race, and (4) develop the research skills that will enable me to become an independent investigator and obtain NIH funding to support my research, specifically longitudinal data analyses. My long-term career goal is to understand the ecological setting for drug use and sexual risk behaviors in vulnerable populations, and how drug use may contribute to significantly higher rates of unintended pregnancies and STIs in African-American youth. The proposed career development training will take place at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. This department provides an outstanding environment for interdisciplinary training by highly collaborative faculty who are leading experts in their chosen fields. RELEVANCE (See Instructions): The proposed research will help identify behavioral risk factors for sexually transmitted infections that are implicated in higher rates of HIV, especially among African-Americans. The results can be used to develop prevention programs aimed at reducing drug use and sexually transmitted infections among vulnerable adolescents and within psychiatric populations.