RISK RESILIENCE AND DISORDER: AFRICAN AMERICANS TRANSITIONING TO ADULTHOOD

该申请寻求5年的持续资助，用于对大约710名非洲裔美国儿童及其家庭的研究。迄今为止，我们的研究已经记录了生态环境（如家庭过程、同伴影响和社区环境）与种族社会化和歧视联合收割机相结合的方式，这些方式成为目标儿童中抑郁和反社会行为的风险因素。研究中的儿童现在18-20岁，未来几年可能被视为我们项目最关键的时期。这是居住流动、完成教育、结婚和失业的高峰期。这些角色转变代表了重要的不连续性，可以成为人们生活的转折点。对一些人来说，这些转变提供了一个逃避儿童风险因素和改善心理健康的机会。对其他人来说，这些过渡的失败和挫折可能导致内部化和外部化问题的升级。我们建议再收集两波数据，以调查与三个问题有关的假设。首先，我们将评估关于生态环境联合收割机与个人特质和图式相结合影响成人角色转换的方式的预测。我们的大部分重点将放在五个角色转换上：结婚/同居，获得满意的就业，接受高等教育，参军和被监禁。第二，我们将测试有关这些角色转换减少或放大抑郁症和反社会行为症状的机制的假设。最后，我们将测试解释反社会行为的高发病率，但低于预期的抑郁症发生率在非洲裔美国人中看到。 这个项目应该提供有价值的信息，在成年人的角色转换的方式影响反社会行为和抑郁症的发病率。我们利用过去的项目结果制定预防性干预措施。我们希望，该项目现阶段取得的成果也将有助于实现这一目的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks 5 years of continued funding for a study of approximately 710 African American children and their families. Our research to date has documented the ways in which ecological contexts such as family processes, peer influences, and community context combine with racial socialization and discrimination to serve as risk factors for depression and antisocial behavior among the target children. The children in the study are now 18-20 years of age and the next few years might be viewed as the most crucial period for our project. This is the peek age period for residential mobility, completing education, marriage, and unemployment. These role transitions represent important discontinuities that can serve as turning points in people's lives. For some, these transitions provide an opportunity to escape childhood risk factors and achieve improved mental health. For others, failure and frustration regarding these transitions may lead to an escalation of internalizing and externalizing problems. We propose to collect two more waves of data in order to investigate hypotheses pertaining to three issues. First, we will evaluate predictions regarding the manner in which ecological contexts combine with personal traits and schemas to influence adult role transitions. Most of our focus will be upon five role transitions: getting married/cohabitating, obtaining satisfactory employment, pursuing higher education, joining the military, and being incarcerated. Second, we will test hypotheses concerning the mechanisms whereby these role transitions reduce or amplify symptoms of depression and antisocial behavior. Finally, we will test explanations for the high incidence of antisocial behavior but lower than expected rates of depression seen among African Americans. This project should provide valuable information regarding the manner in which adult role transitions influence the incidence of antisocial behavior and depression. We have used past project findings to formulate preventative interventions. We hope that that the results obtained from this stage of the project will also serve this purpose.