Research Studies

Current Studies & Publications

 

Treatment Studies

LINC- Liaison Intervention for Navigating Care: A Treatment Engagement Study for Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (PI: Thompson; Mentors: Spirito and Guadiano). This study is exploring the development and feasibility of a brief family-oriented intervention for hospitalized adolescents with psychosis-spectrum symptoms, to promote treatment engagement and service use after discharge.

Assessment Studies

Safety Net: A Qualitative Study of Psychosis and Suicidality to Inform Safety Planning for High-Risk Teens (PI: Thompson; Mentor: Yen). This qualitative study is exploring co-occurring psychosis-spectrum experiences and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among psychiatrically hospitalized teens at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis, with the goal of developing safety planning guidelines specifically tailored to CHR youth.

Social Media Use and Mechanisms of Suicide Risk (PI: Nesi; Mentor: Spirito). This study examines how and for whom social media use increases risk for suicidality among adolescents, using experimental eye-tracking methods and machine learning analyses of social media data.

Online Peer Experiences and Suicidal Behavior (PI: Nesi, Mentors: Spirito, Wolff). This mixed-method study uses qualitative interviews and social media data to explore the role of online peer experiences as risk and protective factors for suicidal behavior in high-risk adolescents.

Parenting and Social Media Use (PI: Nesi, Mentor: Wolff). This study aims to understand the effectiveness of parenting strategies in managing teens’ social media use, using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), questionnaires, and observations of parent-child interactions.

Teen Decision-Making Study (TEDS) (PI: Sarah Thomas, Ph.D.) The goal of this study is to understand behavior and brain activity related to how teens make decisions and respond to rewards because we want to understand how decision-making may differ based on teens’ amount of marijuana use. We are enrolling teens ages 14-17 with a range of marijuana use- from none to a lot. Participation involves answering questions in interviews and surveys, computer games, and a brain scan (MRI). To be eligible, teens must have a parent or guardian willing to participate (we do not share substance use information with parents), and must not have braces, permanent retainer, or implanted metal. For more information about the Teen Decision-Making study, call use at 401-365-4320, email use at teendecisionmakingstudy@gmail.com, or click here [tinyurl.com/teds1417].

The Longitudinal and Proximal Roles of Rejection and Rejection Sensitivity in Suicidality and Non-suicidal Self-injury among Sexual Minority Adolescents (PI: Poon, Mentor: Spirito). This study is using Ecological Momentary Assessment and other methods to identify longitudinal and proximal risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among psychiatrically-hospitalized adolescents up to 18 mos post-discharge—particularly those who identify as sexual minorities (e.g., gay, lesbian, bi+).

Featured Publications

  • Youth Suicidal Ideation and Mental Health 
    • López, R., Follet, L., Defayette, A.B., Whitmyre, E.D., Wolff, J.C., Spirito, A., & Esposito-Smythers, C. (In Press). Depression-related emotional problems mediate the relation between hopelessness and suicidal ideation severity. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
    • Spirito, A., Webb, M., Cheek, S., Wolff, J. C., & Esposito-Smythers, C. (2021). An Update on the Latest Treatment Approaches with Suicidal Adolescents. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 8(2), 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-021-00239-x
    • Duarté-Vélez, Y., Torres-Dávila, P., Spirito, A., Polanco, N., & Bernal, G. (2016). Development of a treatment protocol for Puerto Rican adolescents with suicidal behaviors. Psychotherapy, 53(1), 45-56. PMID: 26928136
    • Frazier, E.A., Liu. R., Massing-Schaffer, M., Hunt, J., Wolff, J., Spirito, A. (2016). Adolescent but not parent report of irritability is related to suicidal ideation in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Archives of Suicide Research, 20(2), 280-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2015.1004497
    • Peters, J.R., Mereish, E.H., Solomon, J.B., Spirito, A., & Yen, S. (2019). Suicide ideation in adolescents following inpatient hospitalization: Intensity and lability over six months of follow up. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(2), 572-585.

    Youth Mental Health Symptoms 

    • Kudinova, A.Y., Brick, L.A., Barthelemy, C.M., MacPherson, H.A., Jenkins, G.A., DeYoung, L.A., Gilbert, A.C., Radoeva, P., Kim, K. L., Armey, M., & Dickstein, D.P. (Accepted for publication). Sex and age moderate the trajectory of guilt among children and adolescents with and without recent suicidal ideation. Cognition & Emotion.
    • Peters, J.R., Crowe, M.L., Morgan, T., Zimmerman, M., Sharp, C., Grilo, C., Sanislow, C.A., McGlashan, T.H., Morey, L.C., Shea, M.T., Zanarini, M.C., Skodol, A.E., &. Yen, S. (in press). Borderline personality disorder symptom networks across adolescent and adult clinical samples: Examining symptom centrality and replicability. Psychological Medicine. 
    • Kavanaugh, B., Fryc, A., Temereanca, S., Tirrell, E., Oberman, L., Carpenter, L. L., & Spirito, A. (2021). A preliminary investigation of childhood anxiety/depressive symptomatology and working memory across multiple units of analysis. Psychiatry Research, 298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113786 
    • Frazier, E.A., Hunt, J.I., Hower, H., Jones, R.N., Birmaher, B., Stober, N., Goldstein, B.I., Keller, M.B., Goldstein, T.R., Weinstock, L.M., Dickstein, D.P., Diller, R.S., Ryan, N.D., Gill, M.K., Axelson, D., & Yen, S. (2020). Correlates, Course, and Outcomes of Increased Energy in Youth with Bipolar Disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 127, 248-254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.03.171
    • Kim, K. L., Galione, J., Schettini, E., DeYoung, L., Gilbert, A. C., Jenkins, G. A., Barthelemy, C. M., MacPherson, H. A., Radoeva, P. D., Kudinova, A. Y., & Dickstein, D. P. (2020). Do styles of emotion dysregulation differentiate adolescents engaging in non-suicidal self-injury from those attempting suicide? Psychiatry Research, 291, 113240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113240 
    • Peters, J.R., Owens, S., Schmalenberger, K.M., & Eisenlohr-Moul, T.A. (2020). Differential effects of the menstrual cycle on reactive and proactive aggression in borderline personality disorder. Aggressive Behavior, 46(2), 151-161.
    • Wolff, J., Garcia, A., Frazier, E., Seaboyer, L., & Spirito, A. (2020). Development and piloting of decision rules in the treatment of comorbid conduct problems and depression in youth. Behavior Research and Therapy.
    • Kim, K.L., Christensen, R.E., Ruggieri, A., Schettini, E., Freeman, J.B., Garcia, A.M., Flessner, C., Stewart, E., Conelea, C., & Dickstein, D.P. (2019). Cognitive performance of youth with primary generalized anxiety disorder vs. primary obsessive compulsive disorder. Depression & Anxiety, 36(2), 130-140. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22848
    • Wolff, J.C., Thompson, E., Thomas, S.A., Nesi, J., Bettis, A.H., Ransford, B., Scopelliti, K., Frazier, E.A., & Liu, R.T. (2019). Emotion dysregulation and non-suicidal self-injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Psychiatry, 12 (59), 25-36. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2019.03.004

    Biological Underpinnings of Mental Health Symptoms

    • Kudinova, A.Y., Gano, A., James, K., Lawlor, C., Deak, T., & Gibb, B. (2020). Anhedonia and increased induced immune response. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity–Health, 6, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2020.10009
    • Thomas, S.A., Christensen, R., Schettini, E., Saletin, J.M., Ruggieri, A., MacPherson, H., Kim, K., & Dickstein, D.P. (2019). Preliminary analysis of resting state functional connectivity in young adults with subtypes of bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 246, 716-726. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.068

    Parent-Child Studies or Family Studies

    • MacPherson, H., Wolff, J., Nestor, B., Frazier, E., Massing-Schaffer, M., Graves, H., Esposito-Smythers, C.,  Spirito, A. (2021). Parental Monitoring Predict Mood Symptom and Suicidal Ideation Outcomes in Adolescents Being Treated for Co-Occurring Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders. J Affective Disorders, 284, 190–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.02.021
    • Micalizzi, L., Marceau, K., Brick, L. A., Evans, A., Palmer, R. H. C., Heath, A. C., & Knopik, V. S., (2021). A sibling-comparison study of smoking during pregnancy and risk for reading-related problems, Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 84, 106961. doi: 10.1016/j.ntt.2021.106961 PMID: 33577969 PMCID: PMC796535
    • Thomas, S.A, Brick, L.A., Micalizzi, L., Wolff, J., Frazier, E., Graves, H., Esposito-Smythers, C., & Spirito, A. (2020). Parent-adolescent relationship characteristics and adolescent cannabis use: A growth curve analysis. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 46, 659-669. doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2020.1789159
    • Wolff, J., Thomas, S., Hood, E., Bettis, A., Rizzo, C., & Liu, R. (2020). Application of the actor-partner inter-dependence model in parent-adolescent emotion regulation and depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 733-741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.075
    • MacPherson, H. A., Ruggieri, A. L., Christensen, R. E., Schettini, E., Kim, K. L., Thomas, S. A., & Dickstein, D. P. (2018). Developmental evaluation of family functioning deficits in youths and young adults with childhood-onset bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 235, 574-582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.04.078
    • Micalizzi., L., Sokolovsky, A. W., Janssen, T. & Jackson, K. M. (2019). Parental social support and sources of knowledge interact to predict children’s externalizing behavior over time. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 48(3), 484-494. doi: 10.1007/s10964-018-0969-4 PMID: 30560511 PMCID: PMC639121
    • Spirito, A., Hernandez, L., Cancilliere, M. K., Graves, H., Rodriguez, AM, Operario, D, Jones, R, & Barnett, N. (2018). Parent and adolescent motivational enhancement intervention for substance using, truant adolescents:  A pilot randomized trial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 47, S467 – S479. PMC6188837
    • Thomas, S., Jain, A., Wilson, T., Deros, D.E., Jacobs, I., Dunn, E.J., Aldao, A., Stadnik, R., & De Los Reyes, A. (2019). Moderated mediation of the link between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent risk-taking: The role of physiological regulation and hostile behavior in an experimentally controlled investigation. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 41, 699-715. doi: 10.1007/s10862-019-09747-w
    • Kudinova, A.Y., Woody L. M., James, K., Burkhouse, K. L., Feurer, C., Foster, C.E., & Brandon E. Gibb. (2019). Maternal major depression on the synchrony of facial affect during mother-child interactions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 128, 284-294. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000411
    • Kudinova, A.Y., James, K., & Gibb, B.E. (2018). Cognitive reappraisal use and depression in children with a parental history of depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46, 849-856, doi: 10.1007/s10802-017-0333-2

    Intervention and Treatment Studies 

    • Kemp, K., Pederson, C., Webb, M., Williamson, S. & Spirito, A. (in press). Feasibility and acceptability of a brief suicide intervention for youth involved with the family court. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, PMC in process
    • Sara J. Becker, Sarah A. Helseth, Tim Janssen, Lourah M. Kelly, Katherine Escobar & Anthony Spirito (2021) Parent Smart: Effects of a Technology-Assisted Intervention for Parents of Adolescents in Residential Substance Use Treatment on Parental Monitoring and Communication, Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 6:4, 459-472, DOI: 10.1080/23794925.2021.1961644
    • Wolff, J., Esposito-Smythers, C., Frazier, E., Stout, R., Gomez, J., Massing-Schaffer, M., Nestor, B., Cheek, S., Graves, H., Hunt, J., & Spirito, A. (2020).  A randomized trial of integrated cognitive behavioral treatment for adolescents receiving community home-based services for co-occurring disorders. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108055
    • Wolff, J., Frazier, E. A., Weatherall, S., Thompson, A., & Hunt, J. (2019). Mind the gap: A model for implementing empirically informed treatment in an inpatient psychiatric setting. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 5(3), 211-214.  https://doi.org/10.1080/23794925.2019.1685418 

    Substance Use 

    • Linakis, J. G., Thomas, S. A., Bromberg, J. R., Casper, T. C., Chun, T. H., Mello, M. J., Richards, R., Ahmad, F., Bajaj, L., Brown, K. M., Chernick, L. S., Cohen, D. M., Dean, J. M., Fein, J., Horeczko, T., Levas, M. N., McAninch, B., Monuteaux, M. C., Mull, C. C., Grupp-Phelan, J., Powell, E., Rogers, A., Shenoi, R., Suffoletto, B., Vance, C., Spirito, A., & for Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. (2021). Adolescent alcohol Use Predicts Cannabis Use Over a Three Year Follow-up Period. Substance abuse, 1–6. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2021.1949665
    • Micalizzi, L., Sokolovsky, A. W., Delaney, D., Gunn, R. L., Spirito, A., & Stein, L. A. R. (2021). A psychometric assessment of the Brief Situational Confidence Questionnaire for Cannabis (BSCQ-C) in justice-involved youth. Addictive Behaviors. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107154
    • Spirito, A., Nestor, B., Esposito-Smythers, C., Massing-Schaffer, M., Stout, R., Fraizer, E., Gomez, J., Graves, H., Yen, S., Hunt, J., & Wolff, J. (2021). Predictors and Moderators of Marijuana and Heavy Alcohol Use Outcomes in Adolescents Treated for Co-Occurring Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders in a Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 108536. 
    • Micalizzi, L., Brick, L. A., Thomas, S. A., Wolff, J., Esposito-Smythers, C., & Spirito, A. (2020). Cannabis use and emotional awareness difficulties in adolescents with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders. Substance Use & Misuse, 55(7), 1146–1154. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2020.1729202 PMID: 32107955

    Mental Health in Psychiatric Inpatient, Outpatient, and Partial Hospitalization Programs 

    • de Steiguer, A., Fraizer, E.A., & Hedrick, M. (in press). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Mental Health in an Adolescent Partial Hospital Program. Evidence-Based Practice in Child & Adolescent Mental Health.
    • Peters, J.R., Mereish, E.H., Krek, M.A., Chuong, A., Ranney, M.L., Solomon, J.B., Spirito, A., & Yen, S. (2020). Sexual orientation differences in non-suicidal self-injury, suicidality, and psychosocial factors among an inpatient psychiatric sample of adolescents. Psychiatry Research, 284, 112664.
    • Thompson, E., Spirito, A., Frazier, E., Thompson, A., Hunt, J., & Wolff, J. (2020). Suicidal Ideation and Psychosis-risk Symptoms among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents. Schizophrenia Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2019.12.037
    • Thompson, E., Spirito, A., Sperry Saarinen, J., & Wolff, J. (2020). Psychosis-spectrum experiences linked to specific psychotherapy readiness domains among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 15(4), 949-956. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13040

    Mental Health and COVID-19 

    • Leffler, J., Esposito, C., Fraizer, E.A., Patriquin, M., Reiman, M., Thompson, A., & Waitz, C. (in press). Pivoting to Provide Services in Acute and Intensive Treatment Settings during a Pandemic: Donning PPE and Booting up Technology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 
    • Burke, T. A., Bettis, A. H., Kudinova, A. et al. (2021). COVID-19 Specific Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents. Child Psychiatry Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01225-3
    • Kudinova, A. Y., Bettis, A. H., Thompson, E. C., Thomas, S. A., Nesi, J., Erguder, L., MacPherson, H. A., Burke, T. A., & Wolff, J. C. (2021). COVID-19 Related Daily Stressors, Coping, and Suicidal Ideation in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Youth. Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-021-09641-1
    • Thompson, E. C., Thomas, S. A., Burke, T. A., Nesi, J., MacPherson, H. A., Bettis, A. H., Kudinova, A. Y., Affleck, K., Hunt, J., & Wolff, J. C. (2021). Suicidal thoughts and behaviors in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents pre- and post- COVID-19: A historical chart review and examination of contextual correlates. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 4, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100100. 

    Mental Health and Social Media  

    • Nesi, J., Burke, T. A., Extein, J., Kudinova, A. Y., Fox, K. A., Hunt, J., & Wolff, J. C. (2021). Social media use, sleep, and psychopathology in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 144, 296-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.10.014
    • Nesi, J., Burke, T.A., Bettis, A.H., Kudinova, A.Y., Thompson, E.C., MacPherson, H.A., Fox, K.A., Lawrence, H.R., Thomas, S.A., Wolff, J.C., Altemus, M.K., Soriano, S., & Liu, R.T. (2021). Social media use and self-injurious thoughts and behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102038
    • Nesi, J., Rothenberg, W.A., Bettis, A.H., Massing-Schaffer, M., Fox, K.A., Telzer, E.H., Lindquist, K.A., Prinstein, M.J. (2021). Emotional responses to social media experiences among adolescents: Longitudinal associations with depressive symptoms. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2021.1955370
    • Nesi, J., Telzer, E.H., Prinstein, M.J. (2020). Adolescent development in the digital media context. Psychological Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2020.1820219
    • Nesi, J., Johnson, S. E., Altemus, M., Thibeau, H. M., Hunt, J., & Wolff, J. C. (2020). 13 Reasons Why: perceptions and correlates of media influence in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Archives of Suicide Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2020.1779155
    • Nesi, J., Wolff, J.C., & Hunt, J. (2019). Patterns of social media use among adolescents who are psychiatrically hospitalized. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.03.009