OUR RESEARCH
Seeking to learn how youths' life experiences shape the course of their mental health and the effectiveness of mental health treatments
Read about our research studies below
REACT STUDY: DEVELOPING AND TESTING A FRAMEWORK TO EVALUATE EQUITY IN RECRUITMENT & RETENTION FOR CLINICAL TRIALS WITH YOUTH
Sponsor: Pittsburgh Foundation, University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry
The goal of this study is to develop and test a framework for researchers to proactively evaluate equity in recruiting racially and ethnically diverse populations of youth in clinical trials of mental health interventions. The framework, Retention Equity Assessment for Clinical Trials (REACT) is designed to identify every "on ramp" and "off ramp" across the clinical trials pipeline, from eligibility screening to final evaluation of treatment outcomes, and specify ways to assess equity in study participation across youths' racial and ethnic identities. The REACT framework is being tested in a Center of Excellence grant, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, to evaluate recruitment and retention in a large clinical trial testing brief, digital interventions for suicide prevention among adolescents with identified suicide risk in pediatric primary care.
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DETECTING DEPRESSION IN TEENS: THE ROLE OF IDENTITY AND LANGUAGE IN DESCRIBING MOOD AND EMOTIONS
Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
This study aims to improve our understanding of how teens' diverse life experiences, identities, and backgrounds influence the language they use to describe symptoms of depression and their interpretation of mood disorder symptoms on standardized tools (interviews and surveys) used by doctors and clinicians to diagnose depression. This study involves qualitative coding and analysis of diagnostic interviews with teens to identify the language they most often use to describe different symptoms of depression. The study also involves focus groups with teens ages 13-17 to amplify their perspectives on the assessment tools used in psychology and medicine, and to learn how we can improve the relevance and accuracy of our methods for detecting and diagnosing depression.​​
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FOCUS GROUP ENROLLMENT OPENS SPRING 2026.
MORE ABOUT OUR RESEARCH
COMPLETED PROJECTS
​Life Experiences in Adolescents and the Development of Skills (LEADS) Study
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (K23 MH123876)
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The goal of the LEADS Study was to learn how teens' life experiences (i.e., adverse childhood events and stressors) impact the way they learn coping skills to manage their mood. Teens with elevated depression symptoms received a brief intervention to learn a common Cognitive Behavioral Therapy skill (Cognitive Restructuring) to respond to negative thoughts and feelings. The study explored how teens' life experience sand cognitive skills impacted the learning and use of this therapy skill.
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ShARE (Shaping Actions and Responses to Emotions) Study
Sponsor: Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation
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The ShARE Study compared two different types of psychotherapy skills for youth depression. The goal of the study was to learn whether certain therapy skills are more helpful for teens with different types of stressful and adverse life experiences, and to test whether the therapies improved cognitive function in the areas of executive functioning and reward.
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Project CARY
Sponsor: Sackler Foundation Fellowship in Psychobiology
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This project explored how youths' experiences with different types of life stress interacted with their body's physiological regulation when experiencing something stressful. We looked at how these environmental factors and biological responses relate to depression symptom severity in youth during middle school.
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Project conducted at Harvard University
COLLABORATERS
Our team works with many other creative and talented scientists and research labs to better understand and find ways to promote teen mental health. Here are some of our collaborators:
Tina Goldstein, PhD (University of Pittsburgh)
Oliver Lindhiem, PhD (University of Pittsburgh)
John Weisz, PhD (Harvard University)
Jay Huguley, PhD (University of Pittsburgh)
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Research Program (University of Pittsburgh)
Jessica Hamilton, PhD (Rutgers University)
Irene Tung, PhD (California State University at Dominguez Hills)
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OUR APPROACH
Our research team uses a variety of methods to study youth mental health
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1. We explore how youths' life experiences (reported through surveys and interviews) relate to their cognitive functioning and the ways they regulate their body's psychophysiological activity. Psychophysiological activity gives us clues about emotion regulation and stress response to different life experiences. Cognitive functioning gives us clues about how life experiences shape the way youth learn and process new information and interact with the world. ​
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2. We look at the intersection of all of these factors with youths' experiences of depression and other psychological symptoms and explore how youth learn to manage these symptoms through psychotherapy skills.
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3. We develop and test interventions to meet the needs of youth who may regulate emotions or process information differently following experiences of childhood adversity and stress. Currently, we do this work collaboratively in schools.