Eleni L. Tolma, Ph.D. - US grants

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed RO3 involves conducting secondary analyses of the first 5 waves of longitudinal data from the Youth Asset Study (YAS). This study's primary goal is to examine the role of youth assets in the prevention of substance use among adolescents with emphasis on differences by gender. The study's secondary goal is to examine the role of youth assets as mediators between environmental factors and substance use with emphasis on differences by gender. Literature shows that gender differences in risk or protective factors appear to be dependent on the substances under consideration (e.g. smoking, alcohol use) and at different ages. However, very little is known why that might be so. In addition, when risk factors and protective factors data have been presented by gender, they often have failed to address in any depth the specific pathways that might serve differentially to motivate or compel boys and girls toward substance use. This proposed project seeks to fill these knowledge gaps. We propose to use existing data from the YAS (funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) Division of Reproductive Health), a 5 wave longitudinal prospective study that involves youth aged 12-17 years at W1 and their parents designed to examine associations among neighborhood and family factors, youth assets, and youth risk behaviors. The CDC has funded data collection and data analysis related to sexual risk behaviors. The CDC supports our submission for additional funding for analysis of other outcomes. Youth assets measured for each wave include 4 family-related assets (e.g. Relationship with Mother, Parental Monitoring,) and 13 other assets (e.g. Religiosity, Peer Role Models). The following specific hypotheses will be examined: a) Youth assets related to the nonuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs differ by gender after taking into account race/ethnicity and age differences demonstrating a stronger (more protective) relationship for females as compared to males;b) Youth assets assessed at wave 3 will mediate the influence of environmental factors assessed at waves 1 and 2 on youth substance use assessed at waves 4 and 5;and c) the youth asset mediating effect of the influence of environmental factors on youth substance use will be stronger (more protective) for females as compared to males. The substance use outcomes will be analyzed as a composite variable (alcohol, drug and tobacco use) or as individual items if appropriate. Longitudinal mixed effects models and related statistical analyses will be conducted to prospectively investigate the proposed relationships among the variables. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The study will contribute to public health in the general area of youth development theory and specifically to our understanding of the associations among environmental factors, youth assets, and youth substance abuse. Practitioners can use the study results to focus on strengthening specific assets that are found to be particularly effective in preventing at-risk youth from participating in substance abuse.