RISK RESILIENCE AND DISORDER: AFRICAN AMERICANS TRANSITIONING TO ADULTHOOD

描述(由申请者提供)：这份申请寻求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。到目前为止，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相结合的方式，作为目标儿童中抑郁和反社会行为的风险因素。研究中的孩子现在18-20岁，未来几年可能被视为我们项目最关键的时期。这是住房流动性、完成教育、婚姻和失业的高峰期。这些角色转变代表着重要的不连续，可以成为人们生活的转折点。对于一些人来说，这些过渡提供了一个机会，可以逃避童年的风险因素，实现更好的心理健康。对于其他人来说，这些过渡的失败和挫折可能会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，以研究与三个问题有关的假设。首先，我们将评估有关生态环境与个人特征和图式相结合的方式影响成人角色转变的预测。我们将主要关注五个角色转变：结婚/同居、获得满意的工作、接受高等教育、参军和入狱。其次，我们将测试关于这些角色转换减轻或放大抑郁和反社会行为症状的机制的假设。最后，我们将测试对非裔美国人中反社会行为发生率高但抑郁发生率低于预期的解释。 这个项目应该提供关于成人角色转变如何影响反社会行为和抑郁发生率的有价值的信息。我们利用过去的项目调查结果来制定预防性干预措施。我们希望，该项目这一阶段取得的成果也将有助于这一目的。

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.