# Strengthening Adolescent-Adult Networks to Reduce Youth Violence

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $157,450

## Abstract

Male youth in urban environments bear a disproportionate burden of violence perpetration and victimization,
which can negatively impact physical and mental health. Strengthening adolescent-adult connections is a
promising evidence-based strategy to increase social support and prevent youth violence. However, studies
suggest that the simple presence of a supportive adult may not universally confer protection in low-resource
urban neighborhoods, and that concurrent social influences may dictate risk. The overall goal of this proposal
is to apply social network analysis techniques to elucidate the structure and quality of adolescents' adult
support networks across family, school, and community contexts that confer protection from violence in low-
resource urban neighborhoods. Results will inform the design and pilot testing of a social network-based
adaptation of the `building intergenerational partnerships' component of Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES),
an evidence-based violence prevention program that fosters community engagement and reduces aggressive
behavior. We will leverage data, research infrastructure, and community partnerships from an ongoing study
engaged with male adolescents in twenty disadvantaged neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA. In Aim 1, we will
identify adolescent-adult support network structures and relationship qualities across family, school, and
community contexts inversely related to violence involvement and explore mechanisms through which these
networks confer protection. In Aim 2, we will design and iteratively test a stakeholder-engaged community-
based social network adaptation of the YES intervention designed to strengthen and expand adolescent-adult
support networks. In Aim 3, we will conduct a pilot cluster-randomized feasibility trial of the adapted YES
intervention among adolescent males and key adult supports. Completion of these aims will provide critical
insights into how adolescent-adult support networks can be leveraged to reduce youth violence in urban
environments. The proposal is supported by an interdisciplinary mentorship team with nationally-recognized
expertise in youth violence, social network analysis, intervention design, and clinical trial implementation. With
guidance from committed mentors and strong institutional support, the PI will receive the necessary intensive
mentorship, didactic education, and research experience to become an independent investigator, supporting
career development objectives in social network analysis, intervention design, and implementation science.
This work will provide essential preliminary data to support future grant applications to: 1) use social network
analysis methods to investigate how multimodal interactions across social and environmental contexts affect
violence risk, and 2) to test in a cluster randomized controlled trial the effectiveness of a social network-based
violence prevention program. The PI will be poised to become an independent physician-scientis...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10434841
- **Project number:** 5K23HD098277-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Alison J. Culyba
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $157,450
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-05 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10434841

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10434841, Strengthening Adolescent-Adult Networks to Reduce Youth Violence (5K23HD098277-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10434841. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*