Session: Developmental Approaches to Understanding, Preventing, and Intervening in Behavioral Health Disparities Among Early Adolescents (Society for Social Work and Research 21st Annual Conference - Ensure Healthy Development for all Youth)

Early adolescence is characterized by multiple biological, psychological, and social changes that can have pernicious effects on the social and emotional adjustment of youth, including school behavioral problems, aggression, drug use, and suicidal behaviors. In fact, 14-20% of youth in the United States have diagnosable mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health disorders which can lead to long-term negative outcomes (O’Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009). However, a large body of research conducted over the last 30 years indicates that MEB health problems are preventable (Hawkins et al., 2015).

While we know that many of the worst outcomes are preventable, additional research is needed to better target strategies across development, as well as address racial, socioeconomic and contextual disparities. The Coalition for the Promotion of Behavioral Health and Prevention of Negative Developmental Outcomes, through the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative, asserts that social inequities can be reduced through wide-scale implementation of 1) universal health promotion and prevention strategies for all young people, and 2) targeted interventions to address specific risks experienced by children, adolescents, and young adults.  

Specific to the conference theme of ensuring the healthy development of all youth, the papers in this symposium address important individual and contextual factors related to youth risk that can be used to inform the development and implementation of school-based universal and targeted prevention and intervention programs. Specifically, the papers use system dynamics simulation modeling, multilevel models, and person-oriented developmental methods to examine variations in risk for suicide, school disciplinary problems, aggression and substance use across subpopulations.

The first paper draws on system dynamics modeling to test two major interpersonal theories of suicide among adolescents from various racial backgrounds. The findings of the paper suggest that the current major theories do not adequately apply to racial/ethnic subgroups and highlights the importance of disentangling differences in processes, values, and/or experiences by race/ethnicity when informing intervention development.

The second paper employs multilevel logistic regression models to assess the extent to which the relation between race and discipline problems can be accounted for by social-emotional competence. Despite the importance of social-emotional competence in reducing disciplinary infraction, racial disparities in disciplinary infraction still remained. The importance of broadening the focus of prevention programs to reduce racial gaps in school discipline problems will be discussed.

The third paper utilizes person-oriented developmental methods to evaluate for social-cognitive risk patterns among early adolescent boys at entry into middle school, their trajectories of aggression and drug use through the middle school years, and the ability of school context (e.g., behavioral norms, safety concerns, interpersonal climate) in moderating the relation between risk patterns and trajectories. The results suggest that the quality of interpersonal relationships is an important focus for school-based behavioral interventions targeting particular patterns of social-cognitive risk.

Applicability of findings from these three papers to understanding risk and behavioral health disparities will be discussed, as well as how results can be translated to inform program and practice strategies to promote the healthy development of all youth.