Michigan Prevention Research Training Program

What is the aim of prevention research? Preventive interventions aim to promote well-being while reducing risk of a variety of negative life outcomes, with particular focus on mental health. Signs of well-being include life satisfaction, appropriate achievement of developmental milestones (such as developing social skills, completing school), and attainment of normative adult social functioning (establishment of a family, community engagement, career attainment, financial security). Signs of mental health problems include symptoms of anxiety or depression, for children and youth, "acting out," "externalizing," or "deviant/delinquent" behavior. For older teens and adults, substance abuse, diagnosed psychiatric disorder, and self-report or observation of difficulties in community functioning. Interventions can be universal (promoting well-being and reducing risk for all), selected (promoting well-being and reducing risk for subgroups already at risk), or indicated (promoting well-being and reducing risk for subgroups already exhibiting some signs of problematic outcomes).

What is prevention research? Prevention research aims at (1) developing testable process models pointing to factors that if manipulated, can promote well-being and reduce risk, (2) developing interventions targeted at those points in the process model where change is possible. As part of the Joint Program in Social Work and Social Science, prevention research combines an interest in basic topics in psychology and sociology with an interest in creating change.

Basic social psychological processes (e.g., situational influences on attitudes, cognition, judgment, stereotyping, self-concept, and identity) and developmental psychological processes (e.g. family processes and life transitions; social, cognitive, and emotional development; developmental psychopathology) can be studied both in traditional experimental or correlational designs and in field experiments with the goal of developing a process model of antecedents of well-being (or problematic outcomes) which can be translated into a testable intervention aimed at promoting well-being and reducing likelihood of problematic outcomes (e.g. depression, school failure).

In the same way, basic sociological processes (e.g. social structure, social institutions, social categories and their consequences for social disparities in health, well-being, and other life outcomes) can be studied with a goal of either developing process models of antecedents of well-being and mental illness, or of developing testable interventions to promote well-being and reduce risk.

What is the current training opportunity? NIMH has funded the Michigan Prevention Research Training Program to train future prevention researchers who are both conversant in structural, socio-cultural, and racial factors influencing well-being and mental health, and able to translate basic science into testable interventions, programs, and policies aimed at promoting well-being and reducing problems across the lifespan. Trainees obtain a degree in social psychology, developmental psychology, sociology, or the Joint Program in Social Work and Social Science with a focus on prevention. Students will have the opportunity to develop and test their own theories about antecedents of well-being (or problem behaviors).

Major elements of the training program are support in developing focused coursework, a four-semester training seminar sequence, and a two-year prevention research apprenticeship with a faculty member. As part of the training program, students will develop a publishable prevention research study and learn to write grant applications. Training support will be provided for four years for each trainee, with the fifth year funded through a teaching requirement. A central feature of the training program will be a special seminar colloquium series focused on

  1. substantive knowledge about mental health and sociocultural factors, including culture, race, gender, and poverty;
  2. translational skills - translating basic science findings into prevention intervention models and implementing them in field settings;
  3. research designs and measures - concepts of implementation evaluation, logic models, and program theory to enhance treatment effectiveness research, as well as issues in selecting appropriate intermediate and long-term outcome measures; and
  4. statistical analysis methods - conceptual understanding to select appropriate statistical tests and skills in conducting tests and interpreting results.

Trainees will learn multidisciplinary, collaborative, and negotiation skills needed for working with community stakeholders to carry out field research and disseminate interventions. Important program features include

  1. exposure to an array of prevention research foci,
  2. formation of collaborative learning relationships among trainees and faculty, and
  3. integration of trainees of diverse backgrounds. Thus, prevention research trainees will both take the regular disciplinary (psychology, sociology) training sequence and also focus on prevention. The training grant also funds summer statistical coursework through the ICPSR programs at Michigan.

Further information on the Michigan Prevention Research Training Program is available at www.mprt.isr.umich.edu/ (leave site)

Daphna Oyserman
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Associate Research Scientist, Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan

email: daphna.oyserman@umich.edu
telephone: 734-647-7622
fax: 734-647-3652
address: University of Michigan
Institute for Social Research
426 Thompson Street, Room 5240
Ann Arbor MI, 48109-1248