Throughout the world, young men account for a disproportion of suicide, substance abuse, violence, and accidents, and Egypt is no exception. Psychiatric and social science research indicates that men in Egypt are under tremendous psychological stress, due largely to rapid social change and limited economic opportunities, a situation found across the developing world. At 17-18 years, Egyptian men on the educational track face a nationwide university entrance exam. Performance on this exam heavily partitions future opportunities, at a time when young men are motivated to join the adult world, but are hindered by limited life prospects and an unpredictable social world. Given these stresses in psychosocial development, this study will examine how Egyptian men who either pass or fail university entrance exams reach individual psychosocial outcomes. I will examine how social behavior and social context, cognitive schemas and subjective experience of the social world, HPA and autonomic reactivity, and the physical effects of long-term stress relate to psychiatric morbidity over this one-year period. 120 men will complete a 70-minute protocol every four months, which includes psychiatric inventories and an Epstein-Barr virus antibody test (measure of chronic stress) as outcome variables, and cortisol/skin conductance as major physiological predictor variables. Subjective experience of social stressors (interview assessment) will provide the major psychosocial predictor variable. Longitudinal data analysis will allow synchronic and diachronic examinations of risk factors and psychiatric outcomes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31MH064253-02
Application #
6722351
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-2 (01))
Program Officer
Altman, Fred
Project Start
2002-09-01
Project End
2004-11-30
Budget Start
2003-09-01
Budget End
2004-11-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$24,324
Indirect Cost
Name
Emory University
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
066469933
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30322
Bruckner, Tim A; Brown, Ryan A; Margerison-Zilko, Claire (2011) Positive income shocks and accidental deaths among Cherokee Indians: a natural experiment. Int J Epidemiol 40:1083-90
Brown, Ryan A (2010) Crystal methamphetamine use among American Indian and White youth in Appalachia: Social context, masculinity, and desistance. Addict Res Theory 18:250-269
Brown, Ryan A; Rehkopf, David H; Copeland, William E et al. (2009) Lifecourse Priorities Among Appalachian Emerging Adults: Revisiting Wallace's Organization of Diversity. Ethos 37:
Brown, Ryan A; Kuzara, Jennifer; Copeland, William E et al. (2009) Moving from ethnography to epidemiology: lessons learned in Appalachia. Ann Hum Biol 36:248-60, 2 p following 260
Brown, Ryan; Copeland, William E; Costello, E Jane et al. (2009) Family and Community Influences on Educational Outcomes Among Appalachian Youth. J Community Psychol 37:795-808
Brown, Ryan A; Hruschka, Daniel J; Worthman, Carol M (2009) Cultural Models and Fertility Timing among Cherokee and White Youth in Appalachia: Beyond the Mode. Am Anthropol 111:420-431
Brown, Ryan A; Worthman, Carol M; Costello, E Jane et al. (2006) The Life Trajectory Interview for Youth (LTI-Y): method development and psychometric properties of an instrument to assess life-course models and achievement. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 15:192-206