Hurricane Katrina Effects on Female Adolescent Offenders

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的目的之一是评估近期自然灾害对女性青少年罪犯的影响，这一群体在应对灾害相关压力和其他不良生活事件时更有可能产生负面结果。我们建议研究卡特里娜飓风对心理健康的影响以及三种潜在的适应不良后果：药物滥用、青少年犯罪和性风险行为。我们将确定关押在密西西比州的年轻女性是否以及在多大程度上直接受到飓风的影响，或者通过她们的家人和重要的人间接受到影响。我们将比较受飓风影响的受试者与未受飓风影响的受试者的心理困扰（焦虑、抑郁和创伤后应激）。第二个目的是使用路径分析和结构方程建模来测试异常和健康损害行为的压力模型。在控制灾前偏差的情况下，我们将测试压力源、心理困扰以及应对、社会支持和接受服务对灾后偏差的中介/调节作用。本项目的部分样本将从目前参加国家药物滥用研究所资助的性病/艾滋病毒风险降低干预（DA017509）的参与者中选择。在140名活跃的研究参与者中，有84人在飓风发生前居住在联邦应急管理局指定的受灾县。与飓风及其后果有关的问题可能会混淆干预效果的结果。因此，本研究的第三个目的是评估这种对有效性的威胁。我们还将招募自卡特里娜飓风以来被监禁的女性青少年罪犯，将样本数量增加到300人，以便为拟议的分析计划提供足够的力量。潜在的研究对象将从国家女子培训学校和位于该州南部的少年拘留所招募。有监禁史的女性青少年吸毒、精神疾病和健康问题（包括性传播疾病）的比例很高。这项研究将有助于为这一人群设计预防干预措施，同时解决多种健康问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One aim of this study is to assess the impact of a recent natural disaster on female adolescent offenders, a group with increased likelihood of negative outcomes in response to disaster-related stress and other adverse life events. We propose to study the mental health effects of Hurricane Katrina and three potential maladaptive outcomes: substance abuse, delinquency/crime, and sexual risk behavior. We will determine if, and to what extent, young women incarcerated in Mississippi were directly affected by the hurricane or indirectly affected through their families and significant others. We will compare hurricane affected subjects with those not affected on measures psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress). A second aim is to test a stress model of deviant and health compromising behavior using path analysis and structural equation modeling. Controlling for pre-disaster deviance, we will test the effects of stressors, psychological distress, and mediating/moderating effects of coping, social support, and reciept of services on post-disaster deviance. Part of the sample for this project will be selected from participants who are currently enrolled in a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded STD/HIV risk reduction intervention (DA017509). Of the 140 active study participants, 84 of them were residing in FEMA designated disaster counties prior to the hurricane. Problems associated with the hurricane and it's aftermath may confound results of intervention effectiveness. Thus, a third aim of the proposed research is to assess this threat to validity. We will also recruit female adolescent offenders incarcerated since Hurricane Katrina to increase the sample size to 300 to allow sufficient power for the proposed analysis plan. Potential subjects will be recruited from the state training school for girls and from juvenile detention facilities located in the southern part of the state. Female adolescents with a history of incarceration have high rates of substance use, mental illness, and health problems, including sexually transmitted diseases. This study will contribute to the design of prevention interventions for this population to address multiple health problems simultaneously.