The disparity in violence-related outcomes for African American males highlights the need to identify the facilitators and barriers to violence perpetration. The long-term research career goal of the applicant is to develop and test interventions with African American males. The overall objectives in this application are to: 1) gain a clearer understanding of social determinants of health, such as the community/social context, and how these influence outcomes and disparities among African American males, 2) design, implement, and test health and social programs to intervene on the social determinants of health that drive the inequities impacting African American males; and 3) disseminate and translate research findings on social determinants of health and the programs that demonstrate effectiveness in addressing inequities impacting African American males. The rationale for this project is that the identification of these factors is critical to implementing strategies that help this population attain their highest quality of life and health. Within the robust infrastructure of the Creating Peace (CP) parent project, the specific aims are to: 1) identify the facilitators and barriers of violence prevention strategies and positive police relations among African American male CP participants at the individual-, family-, and community-levels; and 2) measure the role of fathers in decreasing violence perpetration among African American male CP participants. The research proposed in this application is innovative, in the applicant?s opinion, because it focuses on marginalized experiences of African American male adolescents, using a resiliency-focused framework and systematic model that incorporates factors on individual-, family, and community-levels, which have not been investigated within the context of the challenges that are known to exist for African American male adolescents. Additionally, less explored is the role of fathers and their influence on the racial and gender socialization of African American male adolescents and any association between this socialization and their relationships with police or violence perpetration outcomes. The proposed research is significant because it is expected to provide scientific understanding of the factors and social determinants that inform intervention development to reduce the inequities that African American males experience related to violence. Ultimately, such knowledge has the potential for significant advancements in interventions focused on helping African American males live to their fullest potential, strengthening family and community supports, and reducing the inequities that they experience. Further, this project will enhance the applicant?s skills for conducting health disparities research with this population as an independent research scientist.
The proposed supplement research is relevant to public health because it focuses on our scientific understanding of diverse factors and social determinants that inform intervention development to reduce the inequities that African American males experience related to violence. Once such understanding has been gained, there is the potential for significant advance in interventions focused on helping African American males live to their fullest potential, strengthening family and community supports, and reducing the inequities that they experience. Thus, the proposed research is relevant to the part of the NIH?s and NIMHD?s missions that pertain to increasing diversity in the research workforce and increasing research on interpersonal, family, neighborhood, community and societal-level mechanisms and pathways that influence risk, resilience, and mortality in health disparity populations.
