Social networks and drug use among low-income students in high-performing schools

优秀学校低收入学生的社交网络和吸毒情况

基本信息

批准号：
8846087
负责人：
MITCHELL David WONG
金额：
$ 62.71万
依托单位：
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2012-06-15 至 2016-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8846087
关键词：
Academic achievement Accountability Administrator Admission activity Adolescent Alcohol consumption Alcohols Area Attitude Behavior Belief Characteristics Child Communities Control Groups Data Drops Drug usage Education Educational Status Environment Evaluation Experimental Designs Family Friends Health Health behavior Intervention Knowledge Lead Life Link Longitudinal Studies Los Angeles Low income Mediator of activation protein Minority Natural experiment Outcome Performance Pharmaceutical Preparations Policies Population Professional counselor Recruitment Activity Research Risk Behaviors Role Running Sampling Sampling Biases Schools Sex Behavior Shapes Social Environment Social Network Societies Structure Students System Testing Time Tobacco Tobacco use Translating Violence base behavior influence cohort demographics eighth grade expectation gang high risk high risk sexual behavior high school improved low socioeconomic status marijuana use metropolitan peer programs public health intervention teacher

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Social networks are increasingly being recognized as an important determinant of health behaviors, including use of marijuana and other drugs among adolescents. While knowledge about how social networks influence behaviors is expanding rapidly, translating these findings into actionable health interventions or policies is difficult. However, the school environment may be a potentially modifiable factor that has a strong impact on social networks and on adolescent health behaviors. In this proposed study, we will take advantage of a natural experiment and examine the impact of successful public charter schools on social networks and marijuana use. Charter schools have rapidly multiplied in the U.S., primarily in low-income communities. While not all have been successful, many, particularly those run by larger charter management organizations, have been effective in raising academic performance. Two of the largest organizations, Green Dot and Alliance, have more than 30 schools in Los Angeles, serving several thousand low-income, minority students annually. These schools have graduation rates of 85-100% compared to 50% at nearby public schools, and standardized tests scores 2.5 standard deviations higher than nearby public schools. Despite the clear impact of these schools on students' academic achievement, the impact on social networks and health behaviors has not been studied. Because admission to these schools is based on a random lottery that ignores demographics or previous academic performance, Green Dot and Alliance schools provide a perfect setting in which to conduct a natural experiment. We propose a 4-year longitudinal study, sampling among 8th grade students who apply to one of several Green Dot or Alliance charter schools. We will compare those who are randomly chosen for admission to the school (Experimental Group) with those who are not selected for admission (Control Group). We will follow the natural experimental cohort over 4 years exploring how social networks form and evolve over time and how they are related to marijuana use and other risky health behaviors in two very different academic environments. We will examine the impact of high-performing charter high schools on student's social networks and on use of marijuana and other risky behaviors (alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, sexual activity, and violence). We will also examine whether social networks acts as a mediator in the impact of these schools on marijuana use and other risky behaviors. If successful schools influences marijuana use as hypothesized, the results of the proposed study will provide extraordinary and compelling evidence that not only can education reform be achieved, but also that such reform has a wide range of benefits to society including better health. These results could stimulate new research and efforts on ways to improve health through education reform and also through changing social networks.

描述（由申请人提供）：社交网络越来越被认为是健康行为的重要决定因素，包括在青少年中使用大麻和其他药物。尽管有关社交网络如何影响行为的知识正在迅速扩展，但将这些发现转化为可行的健康干预措施或政策很困难。但是，学校环境可能是一个可能改变的因素，对社交网络和青少年健康行为产生强烈影响。在这项拟议的研究中，我们将利用自然实验，并研究成功的公立特许学校对社交网络和大麻使用的影响。特许学校在美国迅速成倍增加，主要是在低收入社区中。虽然并非所有人都取得成功，但许多人，尤其是由较大的宪章管理组织运行的人，在提高学业绩效方面一直很有效。两个最大的组织，绿点和联盟，在洛杉矶拥有30多所学校，每年为数千名低收入，少数族裔学生提供服务。这些学校的毕业率为85-100％，而附近的公立学校为50％，标准化测试得分为2.5标准偏差，高于附近的公立学校。尽管这些学校对学生的学术成就产生了明显的影响，但尚未研究对社交网络和健康行为的影响。由于这些学校的入学是基于一个随机彩票，该彩票忽略了人口统计学或以前的学业表现，因此绿色点和联盟学校为进行自然实验提供了完美的环境。我们提出了一项为期4年的纵向研究，在申请几个绿色点或联盟特许学校之一的八年级学生中进行了采样。我们将比较那些被随机入学的人（实验组）与未被选中的人（对照组）进行比较。我们将遵循4年的自然实验人群，探讨社交网络如何随着时间的流逝形成和发展，以及它们与大麻使用以及在两个非常不同的学术环境中的其他风险健康行为相关。我们将研究高性能的宪章高中对学生社交网络以及使用大麻和其他危险行为（酒精，烟草和其他毒品使用，性活动和暴力）的影响。我们还将研究社交网络是否充当这些学校对大麻使用和其他风险行为的影响的调解人。如果成功的学校影响了假设的大麻使用，那么拟议的研究的结果将提供非凡而令人信服的证据，表明不仅可以实现教育改革，而且还表明这种改革对包括更好健康在内的社会有很大的好处。这些结果可以激发通过教育改革以及通过不断变化的社交网络改善健康的方法的新研究和努力。