ADVANCED STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR PREVENTION RESEARCH

为了了解预防吸毒的复杂性 干预措施可能在青少年中起作用，更复杂的统计数据显示， 将需要技术。 已提出四个相关项目， 在预防研究中提供更广泛的方法论视角， 特别是在评价干预效果方面：（1）应用 多样本回归模型与结构方程法 模型，以更充分地评估干预措施对青少年的影响， 物质使用行为;（2）模型的应用， 发展成长，以评估预防效果与青少年的 物质使用的进展;（3）多水平模型的应用， 探讨学校环境对青少年物质使用的影响; （4）调查参与者流失对 预防研究。 蒙特卡罗（计算机模拟）研究和 实证研究将进行调查的性能，这些 适用于预防研究的模式，特别是在 评估预防方案。 申请人的支持机构是卫生研究所 促进和疾病预防研究（IPR），在该部 南方大学医学院预防医学 加州。知识产权的主要目标是预防疾病。到 为了实现这一目标，该研究所拥有广泛的研究组合， 旨在促进儿童初级预防的议定书， 青少年。知识产权研究注重多要素、综合性 社区预防方法。知识产权开发了中西部 预防项目（MPP），这是一个以学校为基础的物质使用预防项目 该项目针对中西部两个城市的青少年。纵向 从MPP获得的数据将提供给申请人， 评价和实证检验拟议的高级统计 方法.

In order to understand the complexity of how drug use prevention interventions may work among adolescents, more sophisticated statistical techniques will be needed. Four relevant projects have been proposed to offer broader methodological perspectives in prevention research, especially in the evaluation of intervention effects: (1) Application of the multi-sample approach with regression models and structural equation models to more adequately evaluate intervention effects on adolescents' substance use behavior; (2) Application of models incorporating developmental growth to evaluate prevention effects with adolescents' progression in substance use; (3) Application of multilevel models to investigate the impacts of school context on adolescents' substance use; and (4) Investigation of the impacts of participant attrition in prevention research. Monte Carlo (computer simulation) study and empirical study will be conducted to investigate the performance of these models applied to prevention research, particularly in the area of evaluation of prevention programs. The applicant's supporting institution is the Institute of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR), within the Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Southern California. The principal goal of IPR is the prevention of disease. To accomplish this goal, the institute has an extensive portfolio of research protocols designed to promote primary prevention among children and adolescents. IPR research focuses on multi-component, comprehensive community approaches to prevention. IPR developed the Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP), which is a school-based substance use prevention project targeting adolescents in two Midwestern cities. The longitudinal data obtained from MPP will be made available to the applicant to perform evaluation and empirical testing of the proposed advanced statistical methods.