Ongoing Studies in the Lab

Daily Experiences of Depression and Anxiety

This study is focused on understanding how symptoms of anxiety and depression among young adults fluctuate on a daily basis.  Many measures of depression and anxiety were originally designed to assess how individuals experiences these disorders over long periods of time (e.g., over the past two weeks), and it is currently not known if these measures are able to accurately measure symptom fluctuations as they occur over shorter, more dynamic periods of time (e.g., over the past few hours). The purpose of this study is to address this issue using a longitudinal research design, where individuals currently experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety will track their symptoms multiple times a day over the course of two weeks. We will then assess whether our current concepts of depression and anxiety disorders are adequate to capture how these disorders occur in real-time, or if how measures need to measure more specific aspects of these disorders (e.g., measuring specific aspects of depression separately rather than as one large "depression" score).

Mapping Symptom Variability in ADHD (Starting Fall 2024)  

This project focuses on mapping momentary fluctuations in ADHD symptoms and their association with impairment and emotional functioning.  We are also interested in how factors such as cognitive functioning, emotion regulation, and psychosocial adversity impact symptom trajectories and fluctuations over time.  Participants will complete a 2-hour testing session followed by 1 week of ecological momentary assessment. More details on enrollment are coming soon!

Teen Transition Study (Analysis Underway)

This study examines how transitions during adolescence, like puberty, influence mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression, ADHD).  We are interrested in how these transitions into the teen years are further impacted by different factors, like youth cognitive skills and emotion processes, as well as their relationships with their family and friends.  Data collection is complete for this cohort and lab research staff is actively engaged in analyzing the data.  Families in this study also completed 2 weeks of ecological momentary assessment to determine how pubertal development predicts individual-level fluctuations in youth behavior and emotions.  

Evaluation of G-E Processes Across Harmonized ADHD Cohorts

Polygenic Risk for ADHD: With assistance from collaborators at Oregon Health and Science University Center for ADHD Research and the Broad Institute at MIT, we are conducting analyses with archival samples of youth with and without ADHD to examine how polygenic risk scores derived from data in large genetic consortia may help characterize one pathway of genetic risk for ADHD.  We are particularly interested in whether polygenic risk scores may serve as moderators of risk and protective factors for ADHD.  We are interested in early developmental exposures (e.g., preterm birth, lead exposure) as well as contextual processes within the family (e.g., exposure to conflict, inconsistent parenting).  We are also exploring these associations using data from the ABCD Study.