Adolescents increasingly use digital technology. However, there may be variability in how important adolescents perceive their interactions with media and technology, such as in 1) bridging online and offline experiences; 2) exploring outside one’s identity or offline environment; and 3) building social connection. Moreover, there are limited instruments for examining this topic in Latin American countries. This study aims to validate the Spanish version of the Adolescent Digital Technology Interactions and Importance Scale (ADTI), originally developed for US adolescents. 1,425 Peruvian adolescents (10-17 years, Mage = 13.2; 52% female) completed the Spanish ADTI via Qualtrics in April 2020. I conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to determine the fit of the Peruvian data with that of the original 3 factor structure of the English version and investigated developmental and gender differences in these subscales. The Spanish ADTI scale did not exactly replicate the English structure. Most issues were with Factor 2: exploring outside one’s identity or offline environment; I removed items, “steal or copy other’s identities” and “explore your sexuality” from the original measure due to communality scores and factor loadings below an established cut-off value of 0.4. Older adolescents endorsed higher levels of importance of technology for bridging online and offline environments as well as social connection. Girls bridged online and offline experiences more than boys. This analysis advances our toolkit of research methods to investigate the cultural nuances which can inform future translations of research instruments and the implementation of safer practices in technology for adolescents.

Incarcerated men often lack mental health care when in and released from prison. There is a high prevalence of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis which are often exacerbated by the prison environment. Our research studies how incarceration impacts the mental health of men in prison and influences their reentry. Incarceration negatively affects men’s mental health, with various symptoms that begin, then increase during imprisonment and persist into their post-release. Furthermore, we have looked into how the experience of incarceration itself acts as a stressor that can begin or worsen mental health symptoms. Utilizing the Masculine Dysfunction Strain theory, aspects of incarceration that contribute to severe psychological distress, like solitary confinement and continued exposure to violence, are considered. In addition, men are also more likely to adopt hypermasculine behaviors as a survival strategy within the prison hierarchy, which can also lead to psychological distress. This study uses an existing data set of qualitative face-to-face interviews and focus groups of formerly incarcerated men from Wisconsin. A discussion on addressing this public health concern with policy recommendations and social support systems will be included.

Schizophrenia is typically diagnosed by its positive symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, and irregular behavior. However, the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are often overlooked despite its profound interference with everyday life and functionality. Currently, antipsychotic medications primarily treat positive symptoms and have shown to have minimal effects on negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Antipsychotic medication’s lack of efficacy brings attention to alternative treatment options. Although most studies have investigated its use in depression, a growing number of studies have begun to assess electrical stimulation effect on symptoms and cognition in schizophrenia. There is a lack of research looking into numerous moderating variables such as stimulation site, dosage, etc. on negative and cognitive symptoms. These issues will be examined by performing a systematic search and conducting a meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines (Moher et al., 2009). This study aims to determine whether these non-invasive brain stimulation treatments are viable as well as identify various treatment or patient characteristics that may affect the efficacy of these treatments. By refining and progressing the issue of non-invasive brain stimulation as an effective treatment option for the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, future research could focus on pinpointing the active components of these treatments. Some key components would include finding the underlying mechanisms involved in specific negative and cognitive symptoms. Out of 2450 studies, a total of 1664 studies have been screened. After screening, 1402 studies have been rejected and 262 studies have been extracted. Preliminary findings will be presented.