Neighborhood social cohesion can be defined as the perceived degree of connection and trust among residents, as well as individuals’ sense of belonging within their neighborhood (Kim & Kawachi, 2017). Higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion have been largely linked to positive mental health outcomes among youth (Breedvelt et al., 2022). However, perceptions of neighborhood environment and resulting feelings of social cohesion can vary widely across individuals (Haslam et al., 2024). The present qualitative study explores how academically high-achieving Latine and AAPI youth (N = 17) perceive social cohesion in their neighborhoods and its impact on their well-being. Participants in the study are from immigrant backgrounds living in underserved ethnic enclaves across Los Angeles County. Utilizing a participatory photovoice methodology (Wang & Burris, 1997), participants photographed strengths and limitations in their neighborhoods and wrote short narratives, both of which were used to facilitate semi-structured focus group interviews. The data is being analyzed by four researchers using an inductive reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; 2019). Preliminary findings suggest that high achieving Latine and AAPI youth perceive ethnically-affirming and public, free communal spaces as facilitators of social cohesion which, in turn, positively influence their well-being. The findings aim to inform community-level interventions that will enhance social cohesion in diverse neighborhoods to support youth’s wellbeing.

ADHD can complicate the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Grit, or perseverance toward long-term goals, is associated with greater academic and interpersonal outcomes. This study examined the mediating role of grit in functional outcomes among emerging adults with and without ADHD (NA). 123 emerging adults with ADHD (n=74) or NA (n=49), ages 16–40 (M=24.82, SD=4.86), completed a diagnostic interview and self-report measures, including the Grit Scale and the Launching Emerging Adult Form. This includes self-care, finances, relationships and sex, work and school, independent tasks, recreation, altruism, religious/political views, living situation, and emotional independence. Compared with the NA group, participants with ADHD reported lower grit (p<.001) and lower independence in self-care, finances, relationships and sex, work and school, independent tasks, recreation, and emotional independence. Regression analyses suggest that ADHD symptoms and grit significantly predicted and accounted for unique variance in self-care, relationships and sex, work and school, independent tasks, and recreation (all p’s <.05). Grit significantly predicted altruism and emotional independence and ADHD symptoms significantly predicted finances and religious/political views (p’s <.05). In all significant results, ADHD symptoms were associated with worse functional outcomes and grit predicted better functional outcomes. Grit-enhancing interventions may lead to improved functional outcomes among young adults with ADHD.

As short-form social media videos have become integral to how young adults consume information, a trend has emerged in which familiar background visuals are added to retain viewer attention. Despite claims that this format improves attention, limited research has tested whether such visuals support learning. This study examined whether social-media-inspired background visuals influence learning of STEM content and whether effects depend on viewers’ familiarity with the format. In a between-subjects design, adults aged 18-30 were randomly assigned to watch a two-minute educational video on a biology or engineering topic presented either in a traditional video with a plain background or a split-screen with Subway Surfers gameplay beneath the content. Afterwards, participants completed a 10-item multiple-choice quiz measuring recall and conceptual understanding, and a post-survey assessing media- format familiarity. Learning outcomes were analyzed using a linear regression model with video type and media familiarity. Results revealed a significant main effect of video type (p<0.001) as traditional videos led to higher quiz scores than videos with background gameplay. Media familiarity neither predicted quiz performance nor moderated the effect. Instead, adding gameplay caused lower quiz scores, suggesting distraction. These findings challenge the assumption that attention-grabbing visuals facilitate learning, and highlight a disconnect between perceived engagement and actual learning.

Adolescents attending High-Achieving Schools (HAS) report elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms, as well as broader adjustment difficulties relative to national normative samples. Identifying contextual determinants that influence risk and resilience is critical for informing effective prevention. Prior research using latent profile analysis (LPA) discerned three parental perfectionism profiles based on adolescent-reported parental expectations and criticism, with youth in the high perfectionism class exhibiting the greatest psychopathology. Emerging research suggests specific dimensions of student-teacher relationships are directly associated with adolescent mental health, but little is known about whether these relationships moderate the effect of parental perfectionism on adolescent psychopathology in high-achieving contexts. The study examines perceived teacher academic support, caring adult relationships, alienation from teachers, and school adults’ achievement expectations as moderators of parental perfectionism profiles and adolescent psychopathology. Using a sample of high school students (N=710, mean age=16.7 years, 45% female), regression-based moderation analyses will assess whether these teacher-related factors influence the relation between parental perfectionism classes and self-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results aim to clarify how school-based relationships may act as protective or risk-enhancing moderators in this context.

Adolescence is marked by heightened reward sensitivity and increased vulnerability to anxiety, yet how anxiety shapes the relationship between perceived and actual risk-taking remains unclear. Anxious youth are often overly risk-averse, and among People of Color (POC), this tendency is compounded by unique cultural and systemic stressors. Prior work has largely relied on either self-report or behavioral measures in isolation, limiting our understanding of how adolescents interpret their own decision-making and resilience. Using data from the Development of Anxiety in Youth Study (DAYS), this study examined the relationship between self-perceived and behaviorally measured risk aversion, and whether anxiety and resilience influence their alignment, especially for POC. Regression models tested associations between anxiety severity and both forms of risk aversion, controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Results showed that greater anxiety was associated with increased self-perceived risk aversion, but not with behavioral risk aversion. Anxiety was significantly associated with a greater mismatch between perceived and actual risk behavior. This relationship was not mediated by ventral striatum activation nor moderated by resilience or race. Sex differences emerged in both behavioral risk-taking and the alignment between perception and behavior. Thus, suggesting that anxiety may be characterized by distortions in self-perception rather than behavioral avoidance alone.

Existing literature consistently links perceived racial discrimination to adverse mental health outcomes across racial groups. However, less is known about how multiracial adults cope with discrimination through the use of substances. This study uses nationally representative data from the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine alcohol consumption (heavy drinking, binge drinking, DUI) and smoking as potential responses to perceived racial discrimination among multiracial and monoracial adults. Results indicate that multiracial adults report higher levels of perceived racial discrimination than White and Asian individuals, but lower levels than Black and Hispanic respondents. Multiracial adults were also more likely to binge drink compared to Black and Asian groups, and heavy drink compared to Asians. However, multiracial individuals were less likely to engage in heavy drinking than White and Hispanic adults and showed a lower smoking prevalence than White, Black, and Hispanic groups. While White participants who experienced discrimination were more likely to smoke than White individuals who had not experienced discrimination, no significant interactions were found in the drinking models. These findings highlight the need for culturally informed therapeutic approaches that distinguish between multiracial and monoracial experiences. Future research should investigate "cognitive flexibility" as a potential buffer to racialized stress.

Value-directed remembering (VDR) helps individuals prioritize important information. To examine its underlying physiological mechanisms, we monitored two markers of neuromodulatory activity using eye tracking. Pupil dilation served as an index of the locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system, reflecting arousal and preparatory attention, while blink rate served as a proxy for dopaminergic activity, capturing reward processing and reinforcement learning. Cognitively healthy young adults (n=40) completed a VDR task with 120 unfamiliar landscape paintings and 120 words. Each item was preceded by a high- or low-value cue indicating potential points for later memory. Eye-tracking recorded pupil size and blink rate during encoding. After a 24-hour delay, participants completed a recognition test without eye-tracking. Results showed that high-value items were remembered better than low-value items across both stimulus types. Although average pupil dilation did not differ by value, individuals with larger value-related pupil responses showed greater next-day memory benefits for high-value items. Blink rate decreased during preparation for high-value items but increased during and after their encoding. These findings suggest that selective memory is supported by two processes: preparatory attention linked to norepinephrine and reward-related encoding linked to dopamine.

Current literature has demonstrated that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience a host of symptoms that can negatively impact the family environment. Much research has examined the positive influence of parent training interventions for treating core ASD symptoms, as well as reducing parents’ stress and improving parent-child relationships (Akhani, 2021). Past research indicates that parenting interventions may be particularly useful for reducing levels of disruptive behavior in autistic children. However, research has not explored how a telehealth behavioral parent training model impacts the reduction of parent-child conflict in the home for families of autistic children. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Behavioral Parent Training Group (PTG) program is a 13-week evidence-based Telehealth parent training program that supports parents of children aged 2-12 years old with behavioral difficulties, many of whom have diagnoses such as ASD and other neurodevelopmental conditions. UCLA’s PTG directly measures parent-child relationships pre- and post-parent training through conflict, revealing information about the impact of treatment on parent-child relationships and daily behavior, a vital aspect not present in past research. This study investigates the effectiveness of PTG on parent-child relationships among parents of autistic children by examining changes in Parent Report of Home Behavior (PRHB) conflict scores from pre- to post-treatment.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic condition marked by an inability to stop or control alcohol use. Alcohol craving is a clinical diagnostic symptom of AUD. This symptom is often measured in clinical research settings using alcohol cue-exposure paradigms, where individuals are exposed to alcohol cues and asked to rate their urge to drink. However, it is unclear how well this clinical symptom corresponds with laboratory-based measures. Thus, this study aimed to examine this relationship. 115 individuals with AUD completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID) for AUD and an alcohol cue-exposure paradigm, including assessment of alcohol urge via the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ) before and after alcohol cue-exposure. Two analyses of covariance were utilized to test if 1) baseline alcohol urge and 2) cue-induced alcohol urge differed between individuals who endorsed the symptom of craving on the SCID (+Crave) versus individuals who did not endorse the craving symptom (-Crave). Sex was included as a covariate in all analyses. The +Crave group had significantly higher baseline alcohol urge ((M=22.0, SE=1.8) compared to the -Crave group (M=15.8, SE=1.9) (F(1,110)=5.4, p=0.02). There were no significant differences in craving following alcohol cue exposure between the +Crave and -Crave groups (p=0.19). These findings suggest that the SCID craving symptom reflects generalized, baseline craving rather than cue-induced craving.