The goal of the proposed fellowship is to prepare the applicant, Shoshanna Fine, for a career in applied psychosocial health research applicable to global and domestic populations, with a specific focus on investigating and improving mental well-being among vulnerable youth living in contexts of adversity. To this end, the applicant proposes to investigate psychosocial risks among early adolescents (10-14 years) living in low-resource urban settings across low-, middle-, and high-income countries. The applicant will carry out the proposed research alongside individualized mentorship, didactic training, and professional development opportunities targeted towards the following training objectives: 1) develop expertise in psychosocial health among vulnerable youth living in contexts of adversity, with a focus on the biological, psychological, and social factors that relate to youth development; 2) attain proficiency in applying mixed methods approaches that integrate advanced statistical techniques (including latent variable modeling) with in-depth qualitative analysis; and 3) strengthen skills in grant writing and effective dissemination of scientific findings to academic and nonacademic audiences, domestically and internationally. These objectives will help propel the applicant towards an independent and productive research career. The proposed research is of high
. Adolescence is a critical developmental period, with the social-emotional skills and health-related behaviors that emerge during this time serving as a foundation for future well-being. While the majority of the world?s adolescents live in contexts of adversity, many of which can be found in low- and middle-income countries, only a fraction of the research on adolescent psychosocial development has been conducted in these settings. Successful prevention strategies targeting youth living in contexts of adversity require an understanding of the co-occurring emotional and behavioral risks that signify underlying psychosocial vulnerability, as well as the social environments that exacerbate and buffer these risks. Further, there is a need for studies across low-, middle-, and high-income countries to assess the contextual generalizability of key factors in adolescent psychosocial development. Finally, mixed methods approaches can enrich such investigations by providing a more comprehensive exploration of psychosocial risks in adolescence than would be obtainable from relying solely on one set of methods. To fill these gaps, the proposed research will use data from the multi-country Global Early Adolescent Study to: 1) characterize typologies of psychosocial risks among early adolescents, and explore whether these typologies vary by gender and urban setting; 2) assess associations between these typologies and key social environmental risk and protective factors; and 3) qualitatively explore the meanings that adolescents in one urban setting ascribe to risk behaviors based on membership in different typologies. The proposed research aligns with the NICHD?s priority to study psychosocial adjustment for individuals in high-risk environments.
