Project Abstract
Risky sexual behavior (RSB) (i.e., inconsistent condom use, multiple partners, sex while using alcohol or
drugs) increases chances of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and unintended pregnancy. Girls are
disproportionately affected; each year one in four sexually active 15-19 year-old females in the U.S. are
estimated to have an STI and 15% experience unintended pregnancies. Understanding the mechanisms that
place some girls at greater risk for engaging in RSB is crucial for reducing the public health burden of STIs and
teenage pregnancy. Reward processing and maternal parenting predict adolescent girls' RSB, but how they
interact is unknown. Maternal history of depression also predicts adolescent RSB, likely via its negative impact
on parenting. Elucidating interactions between neural risk factors and family contextual processes could lead to
innovative, personalized preventative interventions that disrupt patterns of RSB before they become engrained.
In the current F32 application, the candidate seeks to address the following aims in a yet to be enrolled,
subsample (n = 80) of 12-16 year-old adolescents girls and their mothers, recruited as part of an ongoing study
of the intergenerational transmission of major depressive disorder (MDD) (K23MH113793). Half of the mothers
(n = 40) will have histories of recurrent MDD and half will have no history of psychopathology (n = 40). The
candidate proposes to utilize cost-efficient event-related potentials (ERP), derived from electroencephalogram
(EEG), to identify whether greater neural reward responsiveness predicts girls' RSB over 18 months (AIM 1).
The candidate will also delineate if maternal parenting moderates effects (AIM 2). The high-risk design of the
sample will ensure adequate variability in parenting and adolescent RSB. The candidate seeks to build upon
her strong background in developmental psychopathology and biosocial interactions in childhood by gaining
new training in: 1) adolescent health-risk behaviors and mental health; 2) developmental affective
neuroscience and EEG/ERP methodology; and 3) advanced longitudinal statistics. Training will occur in an
outstanding and unique interdisciplinary environment at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She will jointly train
in the newly established Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science and in the Department of
Psychiatry, which has a strong tradition of affective neuroscience research. The candidate's mentors Drs.
Donenberg, Burkhouse, Shankman, Bhaumik have expertise in adolescent health risk behaviors and mental
health, developmental affective neuroscience methods (e.g., EEG/ERP), longitudinal high-risk designs, and
advanced longitudinal analysis. The proposed study will inform the design of future projects examining whether
neural and family mechanisms of risk can be synergistically targeted within personalized HIV/STI risk reduction
programs. Accomplishing the study and training goals will allow the candidate to build an independent program
of research focused on improving health and behavior outcomes for youth living in high-risk environments.