REU Sites: Social-Behavioral Research Training in American Indian Community-Based Projects

该项目由SBE理事会的本科生研究经验(REU)站点计划资助。因此，它兼具科学和社会效益，并将研究和教育融为一体。美国印第安人社区项目中的社会行为研究培训REU将提供为期10周的实践研究体验和培训活动，包括每周的培训研讨会/期刊俱乐部。代表不足的学生(妇女、种族和少数民族、农村、第一代大学生)将利用招聘方法和先前为美国印第安人本科生成功地进行暑期实习而建立的联系进行招聘。受益于该项目的本科生将能够为促进美国印第安人婴儿、儿童、青少年和社会行为研究背景下的社区的知识的项目做出贡献。这些创新研究的结果填补了研究文献中的一个空白，因为很少有关于美国印第安人群体的出版物。拟议的计划很好地符合NSF使命和影响社会的几个方面。例如，它增加了社会科学劳动力的多样性，特别是在女性、美国印第安人、农村和第一代本科生中。针对代表性不足学生的本科生研究培训有可能减少这些群体的教育差距，方法是增加四年制大学录取的具有社会行为科学学位的代表性不足学生的数量，这反过来又将增加区域和国家科学界的多样性。在建设Rosebud苏族部落和Oglala苏族部落的研究基础设施方面的这项投资至关重要，拟议中的REU扩大了网络和合作伙伴关系，增强了学员、导师和更广泛的美洲印第安人社区的社会资本。学生参与的一些项目涉及定量和定性方法，以探索青少年自我效能、赋权、历史创伤、家庭和同伴规范在危险行为决策中的作用；婴儿死亡的风险模型(脆弱婴儿、关键发育期和外源性压力源)以建立结合遗传、环境、生化和生理信息的风险概况；基于社区的参与性研究，包括肥胖症流行和相关因素的需求评估；以及与美国印第安人社区相关的一般领域的其他项目。目标是a)提高学生的研究技能和对研究过程的了解，b)帮助学生制定短期和长期目标，以帮助他们在未来的教育和与研究相关的职业生涯中取得成功。长期的预期影响是增加拥有研究生学位的社会行为科学工作人员的多样性。REU将通过其成果造福社会，这些成果将为研究、干预和最终公共政策的新领域提供信息。这项研究通过为美国印第安人社区提供干预措施的最佳实践，对人口健康和福祉具有巨大的变革结果的潜力。评估的最终重点将决定REU在多大程度上实现其目标，并朝着总体使命努力，即通过增加完成社会行为科学实践和独立研究实习的人数不足的本科生，增加拥有研究生学位的社会行为科学研究队伍的多样性。我们的计划是在勇气圈模式的指导下进行的，该模式强调在学员中培养归属感、掌控感、独立性和慷慨的重要性。该项目由美国国家科学基金会EPSCoR项目共同资助。

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate. As such, it has both scientific and societal benefits, and it integrates research and education. The Social-Behavioral Research Training in American Indian Community-Based Projects REU will provide a 10-week hands-on research experience and training activities including weekly training seminars/journal club. Underrepresented students (women, racial and ethnic minorities, rural, first-generation college students) will be recruited utilizing recruitment methods and contacts previously established with a successful summer internship for American Indian undergraduates. The undergraduates benefiting from this program will be able to contribute to projects which are advancing knowledge of American Indian infants, children, adolescents, and communities in the social- behavioral research context. The results of these innovative studies fill a gap in the research literature, because there is little published on American Indian populations. The proposed program fits well with several aspects of the NSF mission and impacting society. For example, it increases diversity in the social science workforce, particularly among women, American Indian, rural, and first generation undergraduates. Undergraduate research training for underrepresented students has the potential to reduce educational disparities for these groups by increasing the number of underrepresented students matriculating from 4-year universities with degrees in the social-behavioral sciences, which in turn will increase the diversity in the regional and national scientific community. This investment in building Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe's research infrastructure is critical, and the proposed REU expands networks and partnerships, enhancing the social capital of the trainees, mentors, and broader American Indian communities. Some of the projects the students work on involve quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the role of adolescent self-efficacy, empowerment, historical trauma, family and peer norms in decision-making in risky behaviors; Risk Models for infant death (vulnerable infant, critical developmental period, & exogenous stressor) to establish the risk profile that combines genetic, environmental, biochemical, and physiologic information; community-based participatory research, with a needs assessment of the obesity epidemic and associated factors; and other projects in the general areas related to American Indian community. The objectives are to a) increase students' research skills and knowledge of the research process and b) assist students in short- and long-term goal setting to help increase their future educational and research-related career success. The long-term intended impact is to increase the diversity of the social-behavioral science workforce with graduate degrees. This REU will benefit society through its results which will inform new areas for research, interventions, and ultimately public policy. This research has great potential for transformative outcomes for population health and wellness, through informing best practices in interventions for American Indian communities. The ultimate focus of the evaluation will determine the degree to which the REU achieves its objectives and works towards the overall mission of increasing the diversity of the social-behavioral science research workforce with graduate degrees through increasing the number of underrepresented undergraduates completing hands-on, independent research internships in the social-behavioral sciences. Our program is guided by the Circle of Courage model, which emphasizes the importance of fostering a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity among the trainees. This project is co-funded by the NSF EPSCoR program.