Award Abstract #2028534

RAPID: Collaborative Research: Understanding At-Risk Adolescents' and Parents' Daily Experiences During COVID-19

NSF Directorate:
SBE - Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
NSF Division:

Division of Social and Economic Sciences

Initial Amendment Date:

Latest Amendment Date:

Award Number:

2028534

Award Instrument:

Grant

Program Manager:

Naomi Hall-Byers

Start Date:

End Date:

Awarded Amount to Date:

$98,435.00

Investigator(s):

April Thomas [email protected] (Principal Investigator)

Sponsor:

University of Texas at El Paso
500 W UNIVERSITY AVE
EL PASO TX 799680001

NSF Program:
Law & Science
Program Reference Code(s):
096Z
7914
Program Element Code(s):
128Y
Abstract:

While the COVID-19 pandemic has far-reaching effects on communities and individuals, its impact on at-risk youth may be particularly pervasive and distinct. This RAPID project will study how at-risk adolescents and their parents experience COVID-19 in the initial time period following the novel coronavirus pandemic. The research will compare adolescents’ sleep, social skills, social relationship quality, stress, mood, substance use, mental health symptoms, physical health, psychosocial development, externalizing behavior, and delinquency across the COVID-19 outbreak. The project also will examine whether juvenile incarceration exacerbates the potential impact of COVID-19 on youth outcomes.

The project will engage in a longitudinal study of at-risk (justice-involved, low-SES) adolescents to address how adolescent-parent dyads respond to and are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research will use multiple methods, including self-report, collateral report, official records from the partnering department of probation, electronic daily diary reports, and actigraph technology, to assess changes in adolescents’ and parents’ functioning on a variety of outcomes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings will evince physical and mental health risks in response to the pandemic among at-risk youth. As well, the research will provide best practices for juvenile detention facilities and departments of probation in times of crises to ensure that youth continue to receive important rehabilitative services while maintaining the health and safety of youth, legal actors, and community members. Results will contribute to the limited existing knowledge base on the needs, risks, and potential protective factors of a vulnerable group of youth during a global state of emergency.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.