NSF Award
1559899
This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate. As such, it has both scientific and societal benefits, and it integrates research and education. The Social-Behavioral Research Training in American Indian Community-Based Projects REU will provide a 10-week hands-on research experience and training activities including weekly training seminars/journal club. Underrepresented students (women, racial and ethnic minorities, rural, first-generation college students) will be recruited utilizing recruitment methods and contacts previously established with a successful summer internship for American Indian undergraduates. The undergraduates benefiting from this program will be able to contribute to projects which are advancing knowledge of American Indian infants, children, adolescents, and communities in the social- behavioral research context. The results of these innovative studies fill a gap in the research literature, because there is little published on American Indian populations. The proposed program fits well with several aspects of the NSF mission and impacting society. For example, it increases diversity in the social science workforce, particularly among women, American Indian, rural, and first generation undergraduates. Undergraduate research training for underrepresented students has the potential to reduce educational disparities for these groups by increasing the number of underrepresented students matriculating from 4-year universities with degrees in the social-behavioral sciences, which in turn will increase the diversity in the regional and national scientific community. <br/><br/>This investment in building Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe's research infrastructure is critical, and the proposed REU expands networks and partnerships, enhancing the social capital of the trainees, mentors, and broader American Indian communities. Some of the projects the students work on involve quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the role of adolescent self-efficacy, empowerment, historical trauma, family and peer norms in decision-making in risky behaviors; Risk Models for infant death (vulnerable infant, critical developmental period, & exogenous stressor) to establish the risk profile that combines genetic, environmental, biochemical, and physiologic information; community-based participatory research, with a needs assessment of the obesity epidemic and associated factors; and other projects in the general areas related to American Indian community. The objectives are to a) increase students' research skills and knowledge of the research process and b) assist students in short- and long-term goal setting to help increase their future educational and research-related career success. The long-term intended impact is to increase the diversity of the social-behavioral science workforce with graduate degrees. This REU will benefit society through its results which will inform new areas for research, interventions, and ultimately public policy. This research has great potential for transformative outcomes for population health and wellness, through informing best practices in interventions for American Indian communities. The ultimate focus of the evaluation will determine the degree to which the REU achieves its objectives and works towards the overall mission of increasing the diversity of the social-behavioral science research workforce with graduate degrees through increasing the number of underrepresented undergraduates completing hands-on, independent research internships in the social-behavioral sciences. Our program is guided by the Circle of Courage model, which emphasizes the importance of fostering a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity among the trainees. <br/>This project is co-funded by the NSF EPSCoR program.
