Recent Publications

Anxiety sensitivity as a transdiagnostic risk factor for trajectories of adverse posttraumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae in the AURORA study

Investigators tested whether anxiety sensitivity, a psychological risk factor defined as fear of anxious arousal, early after trauma predicted posttraumatic outcomes in the eight weeks posttrauma. Results showed that among 2,269 participants from the AURORA study, anxiety sensitivity predicted worse posttraumatic symptom trajectories across many different types of symptoms, including posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, sleep … Continued

Derivation and Validation of a Brief Emergency Department-Based Prediction Tool for Posttraumatic Stress After Motor Vehicle Collision

This paper describes the development and validation of a clinical decision tool designed for use in the emergency department to identify patients who are at high risk of experiencing persistent and severe post-traumatic stress symptoms three to six months after their initial trauma. The 8-question tool is brief enough for bedside use, and demonstrated good … Continued

Caregiver Experiences of Adolescent School Reentry After Adolescent Hospitalization Due to Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: Recommendations to Improve Reentry Practices

This study presents caregiver-informed recommendations to facilitate an improved school reentry process for adolescents reintegrating into school after a hospital stay for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. As few reentry recommendations account for the specific challenges faced by families, recommendations informed by caregiver experiences are needed to ensure that families can effectively support the recoveries of … Continued

Effect of methylphenidate on functional controllability: a preliminary study in medication-naïve children with ADHD

In children with ADHD, methylphenidate may stabilize functional network dynamics and reduce reactivity of brain organization. This, in turn, may make it easier for children with ADHD to achieve brain states necessary for cognitively demanding tasks.

Long-term effects of a prenatal mindfulness intervention on depressive symptoms in a diverse sample of women

In this study, 162 racially and ethnically diverse pregnant women were assigned to an 8-week mindfulness intervention (MIND) or treatment as usual (TAU). Symptoms of depression were measured at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-, 2-, 3-4, 5-, 6- and 8 years from baseline. Before the intervention, there were no differences in depression between women in the … Continued

Toll-like receptor 3 neuroimmune signaling and behavior change: A strain comparison between Lewis and Wistar rats

This work examined the interaction between the immune system and behaviors such as arousal and anxiety-like behavior and found individual differences in immune response that influenced changes in the behaviors.

Development and validation of an eating-related eco-concern questionnaire

Eco-concern, the distress experienced relating to climate change, is associated with mental health, yet no study has examined disordered eating related to eco-concern. This study developed and validated a 10-item scale assessing Eating-Related Eco-Concern (EREC).

Early Childhood Development of Node Centrality in the White Matter Connectome and its Relationship to IQ at 6 years.

Alterations in the white matter connections or network of the brain are schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. We found that the white matter network of the brain is established early in childhood, suggesting that the alterations observed in psychiatric illness may arise very early in life.

Pathological dissociation in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R): Prevalence, Morbidity, Comorbidy, and Childhood Maltreatment

The 1 month prevalence of pathological dissociation (PD) was examined in a large (N=6644) representative sample of the U.S. general population. Pathological dissociation (as measured by the DES-T) was present in 4.1% and associated with poor medical and mental health, increased suicide attempts and psychiatric hospitalizations compared with non-PD subjects.

“If I wasn’t in a rural area, I would definitely have more support”: social needs identified by rural cancer caregivers and hospital staff

This multi-stakeholder qualitative study seeks to clarify the most pressing social needs of cancer caregivers. Results from this study informed the development of a multidimensional social support intervention to improve the quality of life and coping self-efficacy of rural dwelling cancer caregivers.