The specific aims of the pilot study are to: 1 .Develop a network of collaborative relationship for the recruitment of subjects and interviewers; 2. Modify, refine, and test the reliability of measures of individual, family, and community risk and protective factors; 3. Modify the Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA) to include questions assessing the youths? use of gay and lesbian services and service use concerns related to sexuality and sexual orientation; 4. Pilot the full interview instrument and the use of audio computer-assisted-self-interviewing technology; 5. Determine the feasibility of respondent driven sampling to reach a target pilot sample size of 50 youths; 6. Develop and test the feasibility of using the tracking strategies on the pilot sample size of 50 youths; 7. Develop an RO1 that will test the following hypotheses: a. Risk factors related and unrelated to sexual orientation are positively associated with gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths? substance use, comorbid mental health problems, and HIV risk behaviors, while protective factors are negatively associated. b. Individual, family and community-level risk and protective factors that are related to sexual orientation will have differential impact over time on the youths? substance use, comorbid mental health problems, and HIV risk behaviors, depending on the youths? age, gender, coming-out status, and the presence of risk and protective factors unrelated to sexual orientation. c. Service utilization will moderate the relationship between risk factors related to sexual orientation and the youth?s problems. Specifically, when services are perceived to incorporate youths? sexual orientation concerns, the strength of the effect of risk factors on their problems will be weaker than when services are perceived to exclude their sexuality concerns.
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