Gender,Environment, and Adolescent Risk Behavior

超出所提供的空间。根据现有数据，在美国，青少年，特别是非洲裔美国青少年感染艾滋病毒的风险仍然很高。最近的艾滋病毒预防文献清楚地反映了一个日益增长的共识，即仅仅依靠个人的行为改变认知范式不足以促进和维持与艾滋病毒/性传播感染相关的保护性行为，包括持续使用避孕套，特别是在已经确定环境结构限制的人群中。尽管人们认识到需要对环境结构因素进行研究和干预，但在这个问题上很少有严谨的研究。下面的研究旨在填补这一明确确定的文献空白。本研究的具体目的是：(1)评估青少年对性别角色和规范的遵守、关系权力和一致使用安全套之间的关系；(2)确定参与调查的青少年所在社区的社会组织对安全套使用率和性传播感染率的直接和间接影响。为了实现这些目标，将首先采用定性研究方法来制定符合文化的性别角色、社会资本和集体效能的衡量标准。随后，这些结构将被整合到社会行为调查中，每六个月对在马里兰州巴尔的摩的性传播感染和青少年健康诊所就诊的810名青少年进行一次调查。除了个人数据外，还将在参与者居住的社区收集群体水平的报告和观察数据，包括社区成员的街道调查和社区生态评估。为了恰当地分析收集到的多层次数据，将利用结构方程模型等创新分析技术。在整个测量开发、数据收集、分析和解释的过程中，我将受到四名导师的指导：约翰霍普金斯大学的迈克尔·斯威特博士和乔纳森·艾伦博士；国际妇女研究中心的吉塔·拉奥·古普塔博士和天普大学的拉尔夫·泰勒博士。这些导师将通过指导阅读、课程作业和指导研究机会与我一起工作，并帮助我实现我的短期和长期目标。在短期内，我将进一步发展我对性别和社会环境对健康结果影响的理论认识；提高对复杂构念进行可靠测量的能力；掌握多层次数据分析新技术。在获奖结束时，我将作为一名独立调查员进行下一步工作，并撰写我的第一份R01，以测试基于社区的干预措施的有效性，该干预措施针对并利用环境结构约束和促进青少年中与艾滋病毒/性传播感染相关的保护行为。通过这个过程，我将努力实现我的长期目标：在艾滋病毒/性传播感染预防领域的应用行为科学领域做出重大贡献。网站性能 ======================================== 节结束 ===========================================

EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED. Adolescents and African-American adolescents in particularcontinueto be at heightened risk for HIV infection in the United States according to existing data. Recent HIV prevention literature clearly reflects a growing consensus that relying solely on individual cognitive paradigms of behavior change is insufficient to facilitate and sustain protective HIV/STl-related behavior including consistent condom use, especially among populations where environmental-structural constraints have been identified. Despite the recognized need for research and interventions that address environmental-structural factors, very little rigorous research exists on this subject. The following study seeks to contribute to filling this clearly identified gap in the literature. The study's specific aims are: (1) to assess the relationshipbetween adherence to gender roles and norms, relationship power and consistent condom use among adolescents; and (2) to determine the direct and indirect effects of the social organization of communities in which participating adolescents reside on consistent condom use and STI rates. In order to address these aims qualitative research methods will first be employed to develop culturally appropriate measures of adherence to gender roles, social capital, and collective efficacy. Subsequently, these constructs will be integrated into socio-behavioral surveys conducted every six months with a cohort of 810 adolescents attending STI and adolescent health clinics in Baltimore, MD. In addition to individual data, group-level reported and observational data will also be collected in the neighborhoods in which the participants reside including a street-based survey of community members and a neighborhood ecological assessment. Innovative analytical techniques such as structural equation modeling will be utilized in order to appropriately analyze the multi-level data collected. Throughout the process of measurement development, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, I will be guided' by a group of four mentors: Dr. Michael Sweat and Dr. Jonathan Ellen of the Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta of the International Center for Research on Women, and Dr. Ralph Taylor of Temple University. These mentors will work with me through a combination of directed readings, coursework, and supervised research opportunities over this course of the award and assist me to achieve my short and long-term goals. In the short-term, 1will further develop my theoretical understandingof the influence of gender and the social environment on health outcomes; sharpen my ability to develop reliable measures of complex constructs; and master new analytical techniques for multi-level data. Towards the end of the award, I will take my next step as an independent investigator and write my first R01 to test the efficacy of a community-basedintervention that addressees and harnesses environmental-structural constraints and facilitators of HIV/STI-related protective behavior among adolescents. Through this process I will work to fulfill my longer-term goal: to make significant contributions to the field of applied behavioral science in the area of HIV/STI prevention. PERFORMANCE SITE ========================================Section End===========================================