The Candidate (Dr. Mills) is entering her third year in an Assistant Professor faculty position. This Scientist Development Award for New Minority Faculty (K01) is expected to help her develop the skills necessary to examine the contribution of sexual to adolescent mothers' sexual decision-making and sexual risk-taking and subsequent risk for rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) and to develop a programmatic line of research that will lead to the design and evaluation of an intervention program targeting sexual decision-making in first-time adolescent mothers with a history of sexual trauma. To accomplish this career goal Dr. Mills will: 1) acquire knowledge and skills on the assessment of sexual trauma; 2) increase her clinical understanding of the unique experiences of adolescent mothers with a history of sexual trauma; and 3) receive additional education and mentoring to learn advanced statistical models and data analytic techniques appropriate for application to longitudinal data. Dr. Mills proposes a five-year training program with mentors from a strong pediatric research department. Her primary mentor is a very experienced psychology researchers whose work has focused on prevention science, child abuse, and child and adolescent psychopathology. Her Co-mentor's expertise in childhood sexual trauma and her consultants' expertise in teenage pregnancy are directly to the research and career development plan. The career development plan describes activities focused on enhancing scientific knowledge of research-related approaches to sexual trauma history and sexual decision-making in adolescent mothers. These activities will include coursework, independent studies, and guided clinical treatment. Other activities in the plan include training in the design and responsible conduct of scientific research and mentored experiences with preparation of a review article and grant proposals for independent research support. Dr. Mills' proposed research involves a prospective study that examines mediating and moderating variables that influence the pathways leading from a sexual trauma history to RRP. The study involves the assessment of childhood sexual trauma history and its relation to psychological variables (e.g. depression and PTSD) that impact sexual decision-making and sexual risk-taking behaviors that lead to rapid repeat pregnancy in teenage mothers. The findings will contribute to understanding further the impact of sexual abuse histories on decision-making in sexually active teen mothers.
