Emotional Distress and Risky Behaviors in Asian Youth

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The applicant's long-term goal is to develop community based, family focused, culturally appropriate prevention programs designed to address emotional distress and risky behaviors in Asian American (AA) adolescents. To achieve this goal, a focused research career development plan is proposed: 1) to learn quantitative research design, methods and analyses such as structural equation modeling, 2) to gain advanced knowledge regarding adolescent psychopathology in Chinese and Filipino adolescents and their families, and 3) to gain theoretical and practical knowledge about research in the local AA community. The applicant's expertise in qualitative research has been critical to understanding the issues underlying poor psychological outcomes in AA adolescents but advanced quantitative research skills are now essential for advancing her research career. The purpose of the proposed accompanying study is to address the gaps in existing research by conducting a cross-cultural examination of family and peer variables associated with emotional distress and risky behaviors, using a nationally representative sample of Chinese, Filipino, and Euro-American adolescents from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The proposed heuristic model posits a relation between family and peer variables and emotional distress and risky behaviors. Because the existing research on AA adolescents is limited and constrained by small sample sizes analysis of the Add Health data set is an efficient way to examine the relations among these variables. The results from the proposed study will facilitate the development of a research application using multiple methods to study the relations among these variables in greater depth among AA adolescents in the Puget Sound area, which, in turn, will guide future intervention studies. The proposed study fits the National Institute of Nursing Research priority area of health promotion for older children and adolescents, and addresses a significant gap in nursing inquiry.