Substance Use and Risky Sex in Highly Vulnerable Populations

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议的项目将帮助我发展必要的技能和专业知识，以建立独立的研究职业生涯，重点是药物使用在性冒险行为和相关不良生殖后果，特别是性传播感染中的作用。为了实现这一目标，作为发展心理学家的研究生培训和流行病学博士后培训的补充，我将在弱势人群中的性危险行为、与种族相关的健康差距以及纵向研究方法的职业发展方面的培训。作为对这些培训活动的补充，我提议：1)使用正在进行的青少年母亲子女纵向研究和对患有和不患有边缘人格障碍的妇女的研究数据，对性危险行为和结果进行二级数据分析；2)在16年评估期间收集有关青少年母亲子女的新数据；3)对该样本中常见的性传播感染进行新的试点研究(青少年母亲的子女)。拟议的研究将成为在授权期的第三年申请R01的基础。我的短期目标是(1)增加对性传播感染风险的了解，包括可能构成风险性行为基础的行为失调以及与风险性行为相关的风险因素和相关结果，(2)学习衡量风险行为和不良生殖结果的新方法，包括性传播感染的临床测试和事件水平评估，(3)更多地了解与种族有关的健康差距，以及(4)发展研究技能，使我能够成为一名独立研究员，并获得NIH资金支持我的研究，特别是纵向数据分析。我的长期职业目标是了解弱势人群中吸毒和性危险行为的生态环境，以及吸毒如何可能导致非裔美国年轻人意外怀孕和性传播感染的比率显著上升。拟议的职业发展培训将在匹兹堡大学医学院的精神病学系进行。这个系提供了一个出色的环境，由高度合作的教员进行跨学科培训，他们是所选领域的领先专家。公共卫生相关性：拟议的研究将有助于确认性传播感染的行为风险因素，这些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。这一结果可用于制定预防计划，旨在减少脆弱青少年和精神疾病人群中的药物使用和性传播感染。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 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 postdoctoral 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 R01 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. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: 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.