Doctoral Dissertation Awards and New Investigator Awards
2005 Doctoral Dissertation Abstracts
Christine Durrett, BA, MA
Dept. of Psychological Sciences
104 Psychology
200 South 7th Street
Columbia, MO 65211
Email: cazxtd@mizzou.edu
Project Title: A Twin Study of Suicidality & Self-Harm Among White and
African American Women
Project Period: 8/30/05-8/29/06
Description: Suicidality and self-harm pose a considerable public health burden, yet there is limited research on risk factors for these behaviors. This study examines the genetic and environmental risk factors leading to suicidal and self-harm behaviors in a representative community sample of female adolescents and young adults, and the racial differences in the relative strength of these risk factors.
Researchers will clarify the impact of individual-level risk factors, including genes, environment, and personality traits on suicidal and self-harm behavior. Investigators will use a behavior genetic twin study design. Data, which have already been collected, come from a twin registry of over 3500 females, ages 17 to 25 years (a demographic in which self-harm and suicidality are relatively common). Whether the prevalence of these behaviors differ between young African American and white women will first be determined. Structural equation modeling will also be used to explore the extent to
which genes in shared and nonshared environments contribute to suicidal and self-harm behavior and whether those proportions vary by race. This modeling will determine whether common and/or unique risk factors contribute to suicidality and self-harm and will also test whether the personality traits of neuroticism and impulsivity account for some of the genetic influence on suicidality and self-harm. This study is the first to examine behavior genetic analysis of self-harm; the differential prevalence of self-harm by race; and the first to explore etiological similarities between self-harm and
suicidal behavior. If similar risk factors contribute to both behaviors, prevention programs might easily be designed to target them simultaneously. This is also the first study to analyze the differential impact of risk factors on self-harm and suicidality by race. If the relative impact of these risk factors varies by race, prevention efforts may effectively target different classes of variables for different racial groups. No prior behavior genetic studies of suicidality have gone beyond estimating heritability to explore the mechanism of genetic transmission. While genes are an unlikely
target for prevention programs, it may be possible to target intermediate phenotypes such as personality styles.
Tia Kim, MA
University of California
Dept. of Psychology
Riverside, CA 92521-0217
Email: tia.kim@email.ucr.edu
Project Title: Relation of Identity and Aggression Among Latino Adolescents
Project Period: 9/01/05 -8/31/06
Description: Since most violent offenses occur in adolescence, the proposed project will determine what augments or decreases risk for aggression and violence during this developmental stage. Developing a coherent identity is one of the defining life tasks of adolescence; however, this can be a complex issue that is affected by various individual and contextual supports. This study will examine the relationship of identity development and aggression among Latino adolescents.
Researchers will explore the evolving and reciprocal relationship between personal, social, and ethnic identity and aggression, and whether these are moderated by gender; whether the relationship between personal, social, and ethnic identity and aggression is moderated by stage of identity development; and they will determine the relationship between resolution of psychological stages, identity confusion, and aggression, and whether they are moderated by gender. A sample of approximately 300 low-income Latino high school students will be used for this study. Survey data will be collected at two
time points and SEM will be used to examine each of its specific aims. Results can inform us about the identity processes that may lead to youth violence and aggression. With this knowledge, appropriate interventions based on identity development can be created for Latino adolescents.
Qing Li, MM, MD,
Dept. of Maternal and Child Health
RPHB 320
1530 3rd Ave. South
Birmingham, AL 35294-0022
Email: qing@uab.edu
Project Title: Intimate Partner Violence Among Low-Income Pregnant Women: Multilevel Analysis
Project Period: 9/1/05-8/31/06
Description: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health issue during pregnancy. It warrants special attention to risk assessment and primary prevention from an ecological perspective and a direct approach to potential perpetrators during this transitional period to parenthood. However, most recent studies have focused on IPV against women in general; were small (ranged from 157 cases locally to 1,440 couples nationally); relied on police crime reports or national surveys, which are prone to selection and reporting bias; and focused on individual victim risk factors. Secondary
data analysis will focus on the male.
Researchers will examine whether and how individual and family factors are associated with the woman’s IPV experience during pregnancy; how neighborhood-level risk factors are associated with IPV; and whether individual-, family-, and neighborhood-level factors jointly influence IPV risk and ascertain cross-level main and interactive effects. The proposed study will analyze neighborhood data from the 2000 Census and local Sheriff and Police 1997-2001 crime reports. The individual and family level data is from face-to-face interviews conducted during the Rural Perinatal Emphasis Research Center
project at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1997-2001. It included a sample of 3,032 low-income women (82.9% African American) in prenatal care visits in four county health departments in Birmingham. The neighborhood is defined as a census tract. The geocoding rate is 98.3%; one third of the current sample size could achieve at least 80% power. It will incorporate a multi-level (two-level) analysis (e.g., SAS GLIMMIX macro) for precise and robust estimates. The results of this study can guide the development of future IPV interventions that target males, and that also reduce the risk
of IPV during pregnancy at multiple levels.
Julie Rajaratnam, BA
Johns Hopkins University
99R Call Street
Jamaica, MA 02130
Email: jrajarat@jhsph.edu
Project Title: The Environment of Middle Childhood and Adolescent Violence in Baltimore Cohort
Project Period: 8/30/05-8/29/06
Description: Youth violence is a significant public health problem in the United States resulting in thousands of needless injuries and deaths each year. Previous research has identified family, school, and neighborhood factors that either increase or decrease the risk of violent behavior; however, to date, their simultaneous and interrelated effects have not been examined. This proposed research will investigate the roles of family, school, and neighborhood during middle childhood and how, together, they impact the risk of violence in adolescence. Researchers will identify risk and protective
factors of family, school, and neighborhood at each level, and evaluate their relevant interactive effects.
An existing dataset from the Johns Hopkins Prevention Intervention Research Center will be used to carry out the aims of the study. Cross-classified hierarchical models will be used to estimate the effects of family, school, and neighborhood-level variables and the interactions between them. This study addresses two of CDC’s research priorities set forth by its research agenda: 1) identify modifiable socio-cultural and community factors that influence youth violence; and 2) identify modifiable factors that protect youth from becoming victims or perpetrators of violence. Identifying risk factors
for youth violence will aid the development of effective prevention strategies.
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