September 1997
Professors' Research to Affect America's Youth The findings of two professors whose research won national recognition and financial support could influence the quality of life for many young Americans.
Sociology professor Susan Gore was awarded a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for her project "Reducing Mental Health Risk in Young Adult Transitions." Gore, along with research fellows Robert H. Aseltine and Mary Ellen Colten of the Center for Survey Research, will study the transition high school students make in planning their immediate futures.
Over the course of five years, they will interview 1,370 high school seniors with two additional follow-up interviews over the next three years. According to Gore, the transition from high school is a major normative event in early adulthood characterized by significant developmental challenges and occurring during a period of documented mental health risk. "Despite the importance of this life transition in the young adult period, it has received virtually no attention in mental health research," Gore wrote in a summary.
Dr. Peter N. Kiang, associate professor in the Graduate College of Education and American Studies Program, was named a 1997-98 National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow. The fellowship is intended to enhance research in education by developing new talent in the many fields of education scholarship.
Kiang will use the $40,000 award to address the absence of significant research on Asian American youth in hopes of giving scholars and practitioners a realistic understanding of their strengths, needs and conceptions of leadership. "As a result of my study, scholars and practitioners will have a realistic understanding of Asian American students' experiences as well as a grounded theory to support Asian American youth leadership development," Kiang said.