This Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) will provide the education and skills that I need to make two important transitions in my career: (1) from researching adult sexual minorities (i.e., gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender) to researching adolescent sexual minorities, and (2) from researching risk factors for health problems to developing and evaluating the efficacy of prevention interventions. Relative to their heterosexual counterparts, sexual minority adolescents are at increased risk for substance use, suicidality, and in males, HIV-infection. Despite these facts, virtually no research exists on prevention with sexual minority adolescents. Although existing prevention interventions designed for heterosexual adolescents may be effective for sexual minorities, research suggests that sexual minority adolescents experience unique stressors (e.g., anti-gay harassment, victimization, or family rejection) that may facilitate the r risk behaviors. These issues are not addressed in standard prevention programming. Thus, intervention models that address the unique experiences of sexual minority adolescents are needed. My long-term career goal is to develop and test the efficacy of interventions that aim to prevent substance use, sexual risk behavior, and suicidality in this vulnerable population. This will require additional training and mentorship in several areas: (1) adolescent development, (2) models of adolescent risk behavior and prevention, (3) intervention development, and (4) evaluation research and advanced quantitative methods. In addition to the training plan, this proposal also outlines a research plan that will further support my transition into an independent, NIH-funded investigator. This research will comprise 3 phases: (1) assessing the current practices and capacities of community-based organizations that serve sexual minority adolescents, (2) gathering quantitative data designed to test how sexual-minority-specific stress (e.g., victimization and family rejection) contributes to these adolescents' sexual risk behaviors, substance use, and suicidality, and (3) using this knowledge to develop an intervention and pilot its feasibility and acceptability in a community setting. Data gathered in each of these phases will directly support a subsequent RO1 application in which I aim to test the efficacy of an intervention designed to prevent sexual risk behavior, substance use, and suicidality in sexual minority adolescents.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
7K08MH072381-03
Application #
7105577
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BSPH (02))
Program Officer
Forsyth, Andrew D
Project Start
2004-08-01
Project End
2009-07-31
Budget Start
2006-08-01
Budget End
2007-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$146,209
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Maryland Balt CO Campus
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
061364808
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21250
Dickenson, Janna A; Huebner, David M (2016) The Relationship Between Sexual Activity and Depressive Symptoms in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth: Effects of Gender and Family Support. Arch Sex Behav 45:671-81
Huebner, David M; Thoma, Brian C; Neilands, Torsten B (2015) School victimization and substance use among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents. Prev Sci 16:734-43
Thoma, Brian C; Huebner, David M (2014) Parental monitoring, parent-adolescent communication about sex, and sexual risk among young men who have sex with men. AIDS Behav 18:1604-14
Thoma, Brian C; Huebner, David M; Rullo, Jordan E (2013) Unseen risks: HIV-related risk behaviors among ethnically diverse sexual minority adolescent females. AIDS Educ Prev 25:535-41
Huebner, David M; Rullo, Jordan E; Thoma, Brian C et al. (2013) Piloting Lead with Love: a film-based intervention to improve parents' responses to their lesbian, gay, and bisexual children. J Prim Prev 34:359-69
Thoma, Brian C; Huebner, David M (2013) Health consequences of racist and antigay discrimination for multiple minority adolescents. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol 19:404-13
Huebner, David M; Davis, Mary C (2007) Perceived antigay discrimination and physical health outcomes. Health Psychol 26:627-34