Longitudinal Associations of Individual-, Interpersonal-, and Institutional-Level Assets with Cardiovascular Health

The candidate’s long-term goal is to become an independent investigator examining the role of psychosocial factors on cardiovascular health.The proposed supplement will provide a specialized 2-year training plan that will enable the candidate to develop expertise in psychosocial assets that confer cardiovascular health, longitudinal data analysis, and grant writing. The mentoring team will ensure a seamless transition into independence following completion of the supplement and the research plan will enhance the candidate’s research capabilities. Research has identified psychosocial determinants that are significant for cardiovascular health (CVH). Despite this growing evidence, much of the literature employs a “deficit framework” to studying the range and impact of psychosocial factors on cardiovascular outcomes. Scholars recommend implementing an “asset-based” framework, or focusing on identifying and leveraging existing strengths, skills, or other known “assets”. There is literature to suggest that specific individual-, interpersonal-, and institutional-level assets are likely determinants of CVH. Despite emerging evidence suggesting multiple assets may impact CVH, most studies focus on a single asset. Importantly, evidence suggests that only a fraction of assets have been empirically examined and more need to be considered. This supplement aims to implement the empirically-derived asset-based framework, to investigate whether individual-, interpersonal-, and institutional- level psychosocial assets confer favorable CVH longitudinally in the in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Characterizing psychosocial assets that confer ideal CVH will inform the development of multi-level interventions that can reach a broader segment of the population with the potential to equitability promote CVH.