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Evaluation ViewAttendees 2

Child / Adolescent - Depression
Symposia

Symposium 14 - Linking Contemporary Stressors of Adolescence and Young Adulthood to Emotional Health to Inform Cognitive-Behavioral Targets for Prevention and Intervention

Friday, November 15, 2024
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
Location: Regency Ballroom C2, Second Floor Mezzanine, Loews Hotel
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Adolescents, Stress, Emotion
Level of Familiarity: Basic to moderate
Recommended Readings: Crandon, T. J., Scott, J. G., Charlson, F. J., & Thomas, H. J. (2022). A social–ecological perspective on climate anxiety in children and adolescents. Nature Climate Change, 12(2), 123-131.,   Odgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020). Annual research review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: Facts, fears, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(3), 336-348.,   Núñez-Regueiro, F., & Núñez-Regueiro, S. (2021). Identifying salient stressors of adolescence: A systematic review and content analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(12), 2533-2556.,   Green, A. E., Price, M. N., & Dorison, S. H. (2022). Cumulative minority stress and suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 69(1-2), 157-168.,  

This symposium brings together clinical psychologists with expertise in developmental affective science to discuss considerations for supporting young people today, who face many challenges, including climate change, increasing academic pressure, social stress on and off social media, and stress associated with holding a minoritized identity. These challenges may be contributing to the current mental health epidemic; over the past decade, rates of emotional health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, have skyrocketed in teens and young adults (Twenge et al., 2019). Importantly, however, research linking these contemporary stressors to emotional health in young people is scarce, and existing studies are limited by majority cross-sectional analyses and use of measures that are not developmentally sensitive or specific. For example, questionnaire assessments of climate anxiety were created with adults (Clayton & Karazsia, 2020), impeding our understanding of how climate anxiety presents in youth. Additionally, most research on social media (SM) and mental health has focused on time spent on SM without attending to youths’ experiences on SM, which may have a stronger impact on emotional health. Improved assessment tools and longitudinal designs are needed to advance understanding of how contemporary stressors are contributing to changes in emotional health and psychopathology in young people. Improving research in this area may have direct clinical benefit and inform new strategies for intervention with young people today.

Four speakers will present innovative studies using novel, developmentally sensitive measures and intensive longitudinal designs to advance understanding of how several common stressors are experienced by, and impacting emotional health in, diverse samples of teens and young adults. The first speaker presents a 16-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study with teen girls, showing that school stress (the most frequently reported daily stressor) is associated with lower positive affect but not negative affect, and is linked to future depressive symptoms. The next speaker uses EMA to characterize daily social experiences teens have on SM, showing (surprisingly) that negative SM experiences are less frequent than positive SM experiences, and may not be driving short-term changes in emotional health. The third speaker dives further into EMA-reported social threat in sexual and gender minority young adults, showing that negative emotional responses to threat and altered brain activity predict suicidal thoughts. The final speaker validates a climate anxiety measure in teens, discussing how climate anxiety may present in youth and providing tips for assessing this important construct in future research and treatment. Results highlight the nuance needed when considering common stressors, including school, social media, and climate change, in research and treatment with young people. Aligning with the goals of ABCT, the discussant will leverage their expertise to lead a discussion on innovative approaches to treatment, research, and advocacy that are needed to address these stressors in today’s world, as well as strategies to engage community stakeholders in this work.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify common stressors impacting emotional health in teens and young adults today
  2. Explain how negative social experiences on and offline might be impacting youths' emotional health
  3. Describe methods for assessing climate anxiety in research and treatment with young people
  4. Discuss methodological innovations needed to advance research on psychosocial stressors and adolescent emotional health
  5. Describe strategies for applying research findings to treatment and advocacy efforts to improve mental health in young people
  6. Identify specific strategies for engaging community stakeholders in research on contemporary stressors in young people

Presentations:

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 14) School-related Worries in the Day-to-day Lives of Teen Girls: Links to Positive Affect and Depressive Symptoms

    Speaker: Jennifer S. Silk, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Kirsten McKone, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Hennepin Healthcare/University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Samantha Silk (they/them/theirs) – Kenyon College

    Co-author: Alexandra F. Petryczenko, B.S., B.A. – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Cecile Ladouceur, Ph.D. – University of Pittsburgh, Department Of Psychiatry

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 14) Linking Social Media Experiences to Momentary Affect in Adolescence

    Speaker: Stefanie L. Sequeira, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Virginia

    Co-author: Kirsten McKone, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Hennepin Healthcare/University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Ella Diab, B.S. (she/her/hers) – The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

    Co-author: Jennifer Wolff, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Alpert Medical School of Brown University

    Co-author: Jacqueline Nesi, Ph.D. – Alpert Medical School of Brown University

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 14) Social Neural Systems and Emotional Responses to Everyday Social Threat Experiences Influence Suicidal Thoughts in High-risk Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults

    Speaker: Tien Hong Stanley Seah, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

    Co-author: Kristen Eckstrand, MD, PhD – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Michele Bertocci, PhD – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Helmet Karim, PhD – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Carly Lenniger, BA – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Chloe Horter, BA – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Peter Franzen, PhD – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Dana Rofey, Ph.D. – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

    Co-author: Jennifer S. Silk, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Erika Forbes, Ph.D. – University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 14) Measuring Climate Change Distress in Adolescents: A Validation Study

    Speaker: Kirsten McKone, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Hennepin Healthcare/University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Anvi Joshi – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Alexandra F. Petryczenko, B.S., B.A. – University of Pittsburgh

    Co-author: Stefanie L. Sequeira, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Virginia