Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders affecting adolescents. A successful transition to adulthood requires interpersonal, organizational, and planning skills, making adolescence a critical time to treat ADHD symptoms, which include distractibility, disorganization, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Sibley et al. (2014) concluded that medication and behavior therapy produce similar positive effects on ADHD symptoms in adolescents. This project aims to update findings of the prior review based on the past decade of research. First, I conducted an electronic database search using four categories of terms: (1) sample age, (2) disorder, (3) treatment, and (4) randomized control trial. Inclusion criteria were then applied: (1) published between 2013-present, (2) ages 10-19, (3) ADHD diagnosis, (4) quantitative data reported for at least one ecologically valid outcome measure (e.g., ADHD symptom severity), (5) in studies where individuals not meeting age or diagnostic criteria are included, data must be presented separately, (6) treatment efficacy study. 20% of the studies were randomly selected for an inter-rater reliability probe. Next, I collected data on type of study, methodology, and participant demographics for every study. Effect sizes were calculated for several outcome measures. This review is still in its preliminary stages, but predicted findings include considerable growth in the number of effective treatments for ADHD in adolescents. The next steps will involve determining trends for each treatment and concluding findings. This review will update the current literature on adolescent ADHD and will allow for more effective treatment.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a severe autoimmune condition characterized by significant and often debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms leading to embarrassment, pain, isolation, and frustration. Online support groups have emerged as valuable platforms for individuals with IBD symptoms to seek solace, share experiences, and access support. This research aims to comprehensively explore the types of support sought and received by individuals in online communities dedicated to IBD. An additional goal is to bridge the gap in understanding between healthcare providers and patients, ultimately improving the quality of healthcare services provided. Utilizing a qualitative exploratory design, the study employs a content analysis of posts from IBD-related subreddits on Reddit, a popular social media site. Data was coded using a previously developed coding scheme from a pilot study. A qualitative thematic analysis revealed that users most often sought medical advice, with “medication related clarity” being the most popular, followed by “diagnostic/symptom clarity.” Additionally, “expression of negative emotions/thoughts” was found to be associated with the majority of posts. The significance of this research lies in equipping healthcare providers with a deeper understanding of patients' needs and preferences, particularly regarding diagnostic clarity and taboo/personal topics related to IBD. The findings have implications for health psychology, gastrointestinal medicine, and cyberpsychology. Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, online support groups, social media, qualitative analysis, support seeking, medical advice, patient care, information needs.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in postmenopausal females, and vasomotor symptoms (VMS; hot flushes and night sweats) of menopause are associated with an increased risk of CVD. However, the mechanisms of this increased CVD risk in females with VMS are still unknown. Autonomic dysregulation, sympathetic and parasympathetic dysfunction is a potential driver of CVD risk in postmenopausal females. This study aims to determine how a hot flush influences sympathetic activity and blood pressure in postmenopausal females. This study will involve two visits. Visit One: Participants will provide consent and complete questionnaires to determine eligibility, history of hot flushes, and physical activity questionnaires. The questionnaires are Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to evaluate depression, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess levels of anxiety at the moment and generalized anxiety. In addition, participants are also required to fill out the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) to rate their level of menopausal symptoms in the previous 28 days in 4 categories: psychosocial, vasomotor, physical, and sexual. Visit Two: Participants will arrive at the laboratory in a fasted state and will have abstained from alcohol, caffeine, and physical activity for 12 hours. A total of five participants experienced 12 hot flushes during the study. While there was no change in mean arterial pressure (MAP) during a hot flush (Before HF: 96±13 mmHg; During hot flush: 98±13 mmHg; p=0.34), there was an increase in heart rate (Before HF: 72±10 bpm; During hot flush: 76±10 bpm; p=0.01). Muscle sympathetic nerve activity was successfully acquired for one hot flush. During this flush, MSNA burst frequency increased from 43 bursts per minute before the hot flush to 70.82 bursts per minute. There was an increase in MSNA burst incidence from 61 bursts per 100 lbs before the flush to 65 bursts per 100 lbs during the flush. No statistical tests were run for MSNA given the small sample size.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodivergent disorder characterized by a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. While problems with social communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests can be traits commonly observed in individuals diagnosed with ASD, there are many other traits for this disorder. My Investigation will be looking at the mental, physical, and emotional effects of having a child between the ages of 4 and 18 years old diagnosed with nonverbal ASD on the primary caregivers. Notably, these mental, physical, and emotional effects, such as caregiver burden, caregiver strain, depression, and more, have been increasingly high in primary caregivers of individuals with ADS. Based on previous research in this area, I hypothesize that parents and caregivers with nonverbal autistic children will exemplify high levels of distress, that effective communication between primary caregivers and their nonverbal Autistic child will significantly mitigate caregiver stress, and that external factors such as community, financial support, self-care will significantly mitigate caregiver stress. By addressing these factors, this research aims to enhance understanding and inform interventions to support the well-being of caregivers in this context.