Parent-Adolescent Relationships, Distress Tolerance, and Adolescent HIV-Risk

描述（由申请人提供）：在美国，每年有超过40,000人被诊断为艾滋病毒（CDC， 2004年），尽管新诊断病例的数量在广大人群中有所下降，但年轻人的艾滋病毒感染率保持不变（CDC， 2001年）。大量研究表明，酒精和药物使用是两种冒险行为，会使个人面临感染艾滋病毒的风险（例如，Kotchick, Shaffer, Miller, & Forehand, 2001; Lynch, Krantz, Russell, Homberger, & Van Ness, 2000; Repetti, Taylor, & Seeman, 2002）。青少年特别容易通过这些途径感染艾滋病毒，因为他们倾向于从事冒险行为，并且无法考虑长期后果（Bailey, Camlin, & Ennett, 1998； Bartlett等人，1995;Boyer, 2006； CDC, 2005; Hoffman, Klein, Eber, & Crosby, 2000; Peterson & DiClemente, 2000）。因此，了解是什么使某些青少年比其他人更有可能从事冒险行为，对艾滋病预防项目的发展具有重要意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 40,000 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with HIV each year (CDC, 2004), and though the number of newly diagnosed cases has declined in the broad population, rates of HIV infection of young adults remains constant (CDC, 2001). A large body of research suggests that alcohol and drug use are two risk-taking behaviors that place individuals at risk for HIV infection (e.g., Kotchick, Shaffer, Miller, & Forehand, 2001; Lynch, Krantz, Russell, Homberger, & Van Ness, 2000; Repetti, Taylor, & Seeman, 2002). Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV through these pathways because of their propensity to engage in risk-taking behaviors and inability to consider long-term consequences (Bailey, Camlin, & Ennett, 1998; Bartlett et al., 1995; Boyer, 2006; CDC, 2005; Hoffman, Klein, Eber, & Crosby, 2000; Peterson & DiClemente, 2000). Thus, understanding what makes certain adolescents more likely than others to engage in risk-taking behaviors has important implications for the development of HIV prevention programs. In the proposed study, I will examine two factors that have been linked to adolescent risk-taking behavior, including conflict in the parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent distress tolerance. The proposed project is an attempt to determine, for the first time, connections among observed parent- adolescent interactions, distress tolerance, and risk-taking behavior. Thus, the proposed study has three aims: (a) to examine the connection between observed parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent risk-taking behaviors, (b) to determine whether distress tolerance mediates the proposed link between observed parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent risk-taking behaviors, and (c) to determine whether distress tolerance moderates the proposed link between observed parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent risk-taking behaviors. Parents and adolescents will participate in an interaction task in which they discuss topics of frequent disagreement. Research assistants will be trained to use coding techniques in order to characterize the conflict during the parent-adolescent discussion. Adolescents will report about their risk-taking behaviors, and they will participate in a distress tolerance task. These methods will be used to examine links among parent-adolescent conflict, distress tolerance, and risky behavior in adolescence.