Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting among Native Hawaiian Youth

Description: This mixed method study has two goals: (1) examine factors contributing to teenage pregnancy among Native Hawaiian youth, whose rate of teen pregnancy exceeds five times the national average; and (2) explore experiences of pregnancy and parenting among Native Hawaiian youth. The study team analyzed quantitative data from the Hawai’i Pregnancy Risk And Monitoring Survey (PRAMS) 2009-2011 dataset. Qualitative data will be collected and analyzed within the 2015-2016 school year to complement quantitative findings.

Study Team and Partners: Hokulani Porter and Patricia McKenzie, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center; Naomi Manuel, Alu Like, Inc.; Andrew Wey, PhD, UH RMATRIX Biostatistics Core; Hawai’i Department of Health.

 

Wahine Talk Program Evaluation

Description: This mixed method evaluation will examine the initial implementation of Wahine Talk, an incentivized teenage pregnancy prevention program among homeless and at-risk youth. The Wahine Talk Program is being offered through YO!, a Waikiki Health and Hale Kipa collaboration.

Wahine Talk PI: Kent Anderson, Waikiki Health

External Evaluation PI: Elizabeth Aparicio, PhD, MSW

 

ABC4Keiki: Pilot Implementation Study of the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) program for Child Welfare-Involved Teenage Mothers and their Young Children

Description: This study is the first to examine the implementation of the ABC Program with teenage mothers in foster care and otherwise involved with child welfare services due to their own experiences of abuse and neglect. The ABC Program was developed by Dr. Mary Dozier and colleagues and is an evidence-based 10-session home visiting program during which a parent coach assists a parent through video feedback and live, in-the-moment coaching to (1) improve nurturance, (2) enhance infant-parent synchrony by helping the parent to follow their child's lead, and (3) reduce frightening parenting behaviors.

Study Partners: Hawaii DHS-CWSB and Parents and Children Together (PACT)

Study PI: Elizabeth Aparicio, PhD, MSW

 

National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)

Description: Case-level data of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) Child File are available from 2009-2011. Records are provided at the level of each child on a report, also known as the report-child pair. Data elements include the demographics of children and their perpetrators, types of maltreatment, investigation or assessment dispositions, risk factors, and services provided as a result of the investigation or assessment. Data is used to examine factors related to outcomes such as re-entry, recurrence, and placement stability with respect to demographic factors (i.e., gender, age) and type of abuse. In addition, the impact of differential responses, which is initiated in most of the states around 2003, on reentry will also be examined. 

 

Contributing Factors of Status Offenses and Further Juvenile Justice Involvement

Description: The rate of status offenses in Hawai'i is one of the highest in the nation. However, very little is known on the reasons for this phenomenon and the experience of status offenders in the Juvenile Justice System after point of arrest. Thus, this research project will attempt to examine the experience of status offenders in the Juvenile Justice System for the purpose of service improvement and deterrence of further involvement in the system

 

Child Care Choices among Immigrant Families

Description: This project explores child care choices among immigrant families, particularly vulnerable immigrant families (low income, single parent, etc.). In particular, this project examines factors that affect child care choices, and in turn tries to understand the impact of child care choices on child's school readiness.

 

Childhood Adversity and Family Resilience

Description: The literature indicates that physical abuse in early childhood is associated with later adolescent dysfunctions and adult mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Researchers have found increasing evidence that the same experience of child maltreatment can result in different outcomes. While individual factors (e.g., positive self-esteem, ego resilience) have been examined as predictors of resilient functioning in maltreated children, little is known about the protective influence of familial factors. This project will investigate a family resilience framework as a potential protective mechanism for the impact of early childhood adversity on later adolescent and/or adult outcomes; and (2) examine the mediating impact of family resilience on the link between early child adversity and later mental health outcomes.

 

Family and Child Care Policy in the US from a Comparative Perspective

Description: The Family and Child Care Policy project will utilize secondary data from available comparable data sets to analyze American family and child care policies in comparison to other industrialized countries. The project will focus on child care policy for low-income families, and its impact on child care arrangement and children's well-being. The main objectives of the project are to develop a working data set based on available comparable data sets, such as the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Family Database, and to compare family and child care policy in the United States and other industrialized countries. 

 

Public Attitudes on Family Issues by Welfare Regime

Description: This project will use European Social Survey data to analyze public attitudes toward work, gender, and government responsibility among various different welfare states. Specifically, this project will attempt to examine if public attitudes have changed during the global economic crisis. This project hopes to highlight whether public opinion on those social issues varies by welfare regime, and whether these attitudes stay consistent in times of economic strain.

 

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Pacific Region

Description: The bulk of research on sexual minorites and transgender people haslargely focused on white, middle and upper class American and Europeans as the gay rights movement has expanded across "western" cultures. Little is known about the health, well-being, concerns, or stregths of sexual and gender variant minorities throughout Asia and the Pacific Basin. This project focuses on expanding data collection efforts into the pacific region to bring light to the unique cultural impacts on LGBT people as a world-wide population, and not just a 'western' one. 

 

Youth Sexual Orientation Bias Crimes

Description: Although bias crimes are steroetypically seen as an adult issue, and dealth with in adult courts, almost a third of all bias crimes are actually committed by youths under the age of 18. This project explores those youths involved (both as victims and as suspects) in sexual orienation-motivated bias crimes in Los Angeles County. This project will illumiante the ways that youths are struggling with sexual minority status, painting a descriptive picture of how youth involvement may be different than adult involvement.