Youth substance use and abuse is a major public health problem contributing to significant levels of psychosocial and physical health morbidity. One group identified to have elevated rates of substance use and substance disorders is sexual minority youth. Despite the fact that these youth face distinct risks, little is know about how minority sexual orientation development, in conjunction with individual factors (e.g., depression, suicidality) and other contextual experiences (e.g. family, peer, school, and community contexts), influence developmental trajectories of substance involvement over adolescence and young adulthood. Furthermore, empirical efforts to identify developmental processes and other factors supporting positive adaptation in this population are only beginning. My long range goal is to conduct research that advances understanding of the pathways to the development of substance involvement, co-occurring mental health and social problems, and resilience and adaptation in sexual minority youth. My career development plan proposes additional training and mentorship in three areas critical to my growth as an independent researcher: (1) developmental psychology with a focus on contemporary conceptualizations and findings about adolescent and pre-adolescent normative development;(2) child/adolescent psychopathology with an emphasis on substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders and resilience processes;and (3) the application of emerging statistical methods for studying questions of a developmental nature (e.g., latent growth modeling). My research plan includes 3 aims: (1) characterizing longitudinal patterns of substance use trajectories during adolescence and young adulthood in sexual minority youth;(2) identifying salient individual-level and contextual-level factors that contribute to the disproportionate substance involvement in this population;and (3) exploring adaptation and resilience in young adulthood in relation to vulnerability and protective factors occurring during childhood and adolescence among sexual minority youth. The proposed career development plan will provide the necessary training and knowledge to support an R01 application in which I further aim to clarify underlying mechanisms to substance involvement and resilience pathways in sexual minority youth for informing efforts to enhance their positive development and reduce their risk of developing poor health outcomes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01DA023610-05
Application #
8111994
Study Section
Human Development Research Subcommittee (NIDA)
Program Officer
Schulden, Jeffrey D
Project Start
2007-09-10
Project End
2013-06-30
Budget Start
2011-07-01
Budget End
2013-06-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$123,932
Indirect Cost
Name
Children's Hospital Boston
Department
Type
DUNS #
076593722
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Chen, Ying; VanderWeele, Tyler J (2018) Associations of Religious Upbringing With Subsequent Health and Well-Being From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: An Outcome-Wide Analysis. Am J Epidemiol 187:2355-2364
Kecojevic, Aleksandar; Jun, Hee-Jin; Reisner, Sari L et al. (2017) Concurrent polysubstance use in a longitudinal study of US youth: associations with sexual orientation. Addiction 112:614-624
Calzo, Jerel P; Masyn, Katherine E; Austin, S Bryn et al. (2017) Developmental Latent Patterns of Identification as Mostly Heterosexual Versus Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual. J Res Adolesc 27:246-253
Trudel-Fitzgerald, Claudia; Chen, Ying; Singh, Ankura et al. (2016) Psychiatric, Psychological, and Social Determinants of Health in the Nurses' Health Study Cohorts. Am J Public Health 106:1644-9
Calzo, Jerel P; Masyn, Katherine E; Corliss, Heather L et al. (2015) Patterns of body image concerns and disordered weight- and shape-related behaviors in heterosexual and sexual minority adolescent males. Dev Psychol 51:1216-25
Hatzenbuehler, Mark L; Jun, Hee-Jin; Corliss, Heather L et al. (2015) Structural stigma and sexual orientation disparities in adolescent drug use. Addict Behav 46:14-8
Hatzenbuehler, Mark L; Jun, Hee-Jin; Corliss, Heather L et al. (2014) Structural stigma and cigarette smoking in a prospective cohort study of sexual minority and heterosexual youth. Ann Behav Med 47:48-56
Cerdá, M; Bordelois, P; Keyes, K M et al. (2014) Family ties: maternal-offspring attachment and young adult nonmedical prescription opioid use. Drug Alcohol Depend 142:231-8
Rosario, Margaret; Corliss, Heather L; Everett, Bethany G et al. (2014) Mediation by peer violence victimization of sexual orientation disparities in cancer-related tobacco, alcohol, and sexual risk behaviors: pooled youth risk behavior surveys. Am J Public Health 104:1113-23
Mustanski, Brian; Van Wagenen, Aimee; Birkett, Michelle et al. (2014) Identifying sexual orientation health disparities in adolescents: analysis of pooled data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2005 and 2007. Am J Public Health 104:211-7

Showing the most recent 10 out of 34 publications