# A Longitudinal Analysis of Factors that Reduce the Risk of Problem Behaviors Among Urban Middle School Students

> **NIH NIH F31** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $45,509

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Peers play a powerful role in adolescents' adjustment. Deviant peer affiliation has consistently been linked
to adverse outcomes among ethnic minority adolescents residing in urban communities, including substance
use, aggression, and other delinquent behaviors. This is particularly concerning when taken with the
disproportionate consequences that ethnic minority youth face for engaging in problem behaviors (e.g., school
discipline). There is a critical gap in our knowledge of promotive factors that may reduce exposure to deviant
peers and promote prosocial peer affiliation among ethnic minority adolescents across the middle school
years, a period of heightened susceptibility to peer influence. The goal of the proposed study is to identify
modifiable promotive factors that reduce the risk of problem behaviors by decreasing exposure to deviant
peers and promoting prosocial peer affiliation. This focus aligns with NICHD's research priority of identifying
mechanisms that promote psychosocial adjustment for youth exposed to high-risk neighborhood environments.
The aims will be addressed through secondary analysis of a unique and rich data set with 12 waves of data
that were collected every three months across all three grades of middle school (including the summers
between each school year) between 2010 and 2018. Participants were a predominantly African American
sample of 2,755 early adolescents living in urban communities with high rates of violence. Autoregressive
models will be used to examine between- and within-person effects across each year of middle school. The
specific aims are to: 1) examine the unique and combined influences of deviant and prosocial peer affiliation on
problem behaviors within and across each grade of middle school, 2) determine the extent to which promotive
factors (i.e., disclosure of activities to a caregiver, presence of a caring adult, positive future orientation)
influence adolescents' peer group affiliation within and across each grade of middle school, and 3) investigate
whether promotive factors reduce the risk of problem behaviors by decreasing exposure to deviant peers and
promoting prosocial peer affiliation. Sex differences will be examined for each aim given that male and female
adolescents have been found to differ in their susceptibility to deviant peer affiliation and problem behavior in
previous work. Clarifying the complex relations among promotive factors for peer affiliation and problem
behavior is essential to guide efforts to reduce risk and bolster positive development for youth living in urban
communities with high rates of violence. The findings could inform these efforts by identifying change
mechanisms and pinpointing times when interventions may be most effective within middle school. Further, the
research and training outlined in this NRSA F31 pre-doctoral fellowship application will equip me with the skills
and support needed to pursue a successful career as a research scien...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999286
- **Project number:** 5F31HD100073-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelly E. O'Connor
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $45,509
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-25 → 2021-08-24

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999286

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999286, A Longitudinal Analysis of Factors that Reduce the Risk of Problem Behaviors Among Urban Middle School Students (5F31HD100073-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999286. Licensed CC0.

---

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