ADOLESCENT FAMILY LIFE RESEARCH GRANTS - FY 2006

The 2006 Adolescent Family Life (AFL) Research Grants were awarded to the following:

RCT to Reduce Rapid Repeat Adolescent Pregnancy

Grantee Organization:
University of Maryland - Baltimore
Department of Family Medicine
29 S. Paca Street, LL
Baltimore, MD 21201
Principal Investigator: Beth Barnet, M.D.
Project Period: 7/01/06-6/30/09
Project Officer: Barbara Cohen

The aim of the project is to complete and enhance an innovative Computer-Assisted
Motivational Interviewing (CAMI) intervention grounded in the Transtheoretical Model
(TTM) of behavior change and designed to prevent reduce rapid repeat birth (RRB).
Using a randomized trial, 236 teens (ages 12-18 yrs) in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy
were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) Home Visitation+CAMI
(HV+CAMI); 2) CAMI-only; and 3) Control. The CAMI is a computer program that
measures contraceptive attitudes and behaviors and stages the teen by assessing her
readiness to engage in behaviors that protect against pregnancy. A trained counselor then
conducts stage-matched counseling, known as motivational interviewing, to enhance
motivation to remain non-pregnant. The proposed plan is to test the CAMI in 2 settings:
1) as part of home visiting in which the teen mother receives bi-weekly parenting
education and support as well as the CAMI at quarterly intervals and 2) CAMI delivered
quarterly as a stand-alone intervention. Intervention activities will continue until the
child's 2nd birthday. This study will provide a rigorous evaluation of an innovative
intervention, enhance understanding of motivational processes, and contribute to
evidence-based strategies to prevent RRB.

Parenting among Mexican-origin Adolescent Mothers

Grantee Organization:
Arizona State University
Department of Family and Human Development
Tempe, AZ 85287
Principal Investigator: Debra A. Madden-Derdich, Ph.D
Project Period: 07/01/06-06/30/09
Project Officer: Patricia Thompson, Ph.D.

This study will give in-depth information about how the dynamics of culture and family
influence the social support received by teen mothers who are Mexican-Americans of
Mexican origin. In-home data will be collected on 200 adolescent mothers 15-17 years of
age and an extended female family member, each identified by the mother as her closest
source of support. The study will identify adolescent mothers who are in the last
trimester of their pregnancy for the initial wave of data collection and will conduct a
follow-up when the target children are 9 months old. The extensive data-collection will
take place during the last trimester of the pregnancy and when the target child is 9 months
old. Of particular interest is the degree of congruence across generations in acculturation
to American culture or adherence to the original Mexican culture (enculturation) and the
effects of such congruence or lack of it on parenting success. Thus, this study should
provide insights about interventions needed for Mexican-American teen moms of Mexico
origin, who are in an ethnic group with the highest birthrate for adolescent child-bearing
in the nation.

Relationship Context and Adolescent Childbearing

Grantee Organization:
Child Trends
4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20008
Principal Investigator: Jennifer S. Manlove, Ph.D.
Project Period: 7/01/06-6/30/09
Project Officer: Pankaja Panda, Ph.D.

Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, this study will provide
important information about: 1) how teens’ relationships with their parents, family
stability, and peer environments are associated with the development of romantic and
sexual relationships in adolescence; 2) how teen-partner relationships, family stability,
and peer environments are associated with the transition to a birth during the teen years;
and 3) what teens themselves perceive to be critical dimensions of healthy romantic
relationships. The hypothesis is that relationships with partners, parents, and peers
during adolescence will influence romantic and sexual relationship development during
adolescence, which will in turn influence the likelihood of becoming a teen parent. Using
the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 analyses will consist of OLS
regression, event history analyses and structural equation modeling techniques to
examine both direct and indirect (mediating) influences. Where possible, all analyses will
be conducted separately by gender, race/ethnicity, and parental socioeconomic status. In
order to help inform the quantitative analyses, as well as to further research and data
collection on this topic, the project will also include focus groups and cognitive
interviews with teens to identify, from the teens’ perspective, a critical set of dimensions
of healthy adolescent relationships.