I will matriculate into the Ph.D. program in September 1998. I anticipate developing and defending a thesis proposal in my third year of study. I do not have a thesis topic selected. I chose to enter this program because of the varied and inter- disciplinary nature of faculty interests in the newly merged Department of Population and Family Health Sciences (formerly known, separately, as Population Dynamics and Maternal and Child Health) will allow me adequate academic support to study a specific area of research: male adolescent psycho-social and behavioral factors related to reproductive health that affect their perceptions of STDs, HIV/AIDS and future risk-taking behaviors as adult men. In order to develop more effective risk-reducing programs for adolescent boys, it is essential to first understand their attitudes, perceptions and motivations as related to their reproductive health and sexual activity. Currently, much of the literature examining adolescent risk-behaviors, attitudes and perceptions focus on the female. The data, however, suggests a growing number of adolescent boys engaging in high risk sexual behavior; more than two thirds of adolescent AIDS cases in the United States were among boys as of 1997. The need for closer examination of men's ideas of their reproductive health is there and fortunately, interest in male involvement in reproductive health communication programs is growing. However, the need to understand the younger male is equally necessary to promote sustained risk-reducing behavior into adulthood. Incorporating techniques from communication network analysis for examination of inter-personal and mass media effects on young men, the principle goal of this doctoral research is to develop more comprehensive theories and models of male adolescent risk behavior in effort to construct more effective and sustained reproductive health risk- reducing behavior programs.
