Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent; approximately 50% of individuals who misuse alcohol experience alcohol withdrawal (AW). Early recognition of AW is critical in preventing complications and mortality, yet limited research has clinically characterized individuals who experience AW or identified associated factors. This secondary analysis compared adults with AUD who endorsed (n=65) versus did not endorse (n=42) AW as measured by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.), and tested whether demographics, alcohol dependence, and past 30-day alcohol use uniquely predicted AW. We hypothesized group differences on demographic and alcohol-related variables and expected dependence and use to uniquely predict AW. Independent t-tests, Chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression were used. Groups significantly differed on baseline variables; participants endorsing AW were older, had lower income, had higher AUD symptoms and severity, greater total drinks, drinks per drinking day, and drinks per week (all p's<.05). Results also showed that AUD severity was significantly associated with an increased odds of AW, such that compared to mild AUD, moderate AUD was associated with 4.7 times higher odds of AW (OR=4.67,p=.026), and severe AUD with 17.2 times higher odds (OR=17.20,p<.001). All other variables were nonsignificant (p>.05). These results identify some predictors of AW risk, offering clinical markers for early identification and intervention.

LGBTQ+ men of color face chronic exposure to stigma-related stressors that increase vulnerability to maladaptive coping behaviors, including substance use. Experiences of racialized and queer microaggressions represent everyday forms of discrimination that may contribute to these health disparities. The purpose of this study is to examine whether experiences of racial and heterosexist microaggressions are associated with substance use outcomes among Black sexual minority men. Using secondary cross-sectional data (N = 220), this study examines racial microaggressions experienced within white queer communities and heterosexist microaggressions experienced within communities of color. Regression analyses are used to examine the relationship between these microaggressions and several substance use outcomes, including cannabis misuse, alcohol misuse, non-medical drug use, nicotine dependence, and simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use. This study also examines whether ethnic identity and perceived social support buffer the relationship between microaggressions and substance use. By examining both risk and protective factors, this research aims to clarify how intersecting forms of stigma and resilience processes shape substance use risk among LGBTQ+ men of color and inform future efforts to reduce health disparities.

Adolescent depression has emerged as a major public health concern, with approximately 34% of youth at risk of clinical depression. Depression-related functional impairment has been associated with elevated risk of suicidal ideation (SI) among adolescents and predicts adverse long-term social, academic, and health outcomes. Studies have identified religiosity as a protective factor among adults; however, research remains inconclusive if results are similar for adolescents. To fill this gap, this study examines the relationships among functional impairment, suicidality, and religiosity in adolescents. We hypothesize that high functional impairment will be correlated with SI. We further hypothesize that religiosity will moderate the relationship between functional impairment and suicidality, shown by lower results of SI and functional impairment in adolescents with higher religiosity. Data was collected from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a nationally representative sample of persons aged 12 and over. This study includes a subsample of 1,299 adolescents (12-17) who met criteria for major depressive episode in the past year (70.1% female; 26.1% Hispanic, 48.0% non-Hispanic White). Suicidality was operationalized by the presence of past year SI. Data will be analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS Macro. Findings contribute to understanding the elevation of suicide risk among adolescents with major depressive episode, specifically with the role of functional impairment and religiosity as a potential protective factor.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is often recognized for its visible motor symptoms, yet public understanding of its non-motor features, treatment complexity, and daily functional burden remains limited. This project examines immersive virtual reality (VR) as an educational approach for improving understanding of the lived experience of PD. Built in Unity with C#, the simulation models motor and non-motor aspects of PD through interactive daily living tasks across progressive disease states. Core features include controller-based haptic feedback, slowed task performance, environmental modulation, and a medication mechanic that alters symptom burden and task difficulty to reflect symptom fluctuation and treatment timing. The pilot has been introduced in an academic setting and refined through early feedback from students and faculty. A planned evaluation will assess the simulation’s effects on empathy, symptom knowledge, and attitudes toward PD among students, trainees, and community members using pre- and post-experience measures. A comparison educational condition will use the same survey instruments to evaluate differences in understanding and perception across learning formats. By translating the clinical features of Parkinson’s disease into embodied experience, this project explores how immersive technology may support patient-centered education, broaden public understanding of PD, and expand new approaches to neurologic disease education.

Most youth in the carceral system report experiencing multiple traumatic events prior to incarceration (Abram et al., 2004). Trauma can continue during incarceration, increasing posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and continued legal system involvement (Dierkhising et al., 2014). Although trauma-focused therapies can reduce posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among incarcerated adolescents, implementation in carceral settings is hindered by barriers such as institutional policies and resource limitations. Credible Messenger Mentoring (CMM) addresses these barriers by employing individuals with shared lived experiences to mentor and support incarcerated youth. These models focus on resilience and skill-building approaches and show promise in meeting the needs of incarcerated youth (Kerig et al., 2024). Using deductive-inductive thematic analysis guided by an implementation science framework, this study identified barriers and facilitators to implementing and sustaining CMM within juvenile detention facilities. Data was collected through an in-person guided Theory of Change workshop with CMM staff (N = 21). Findings identified facilitators such as shared lived experience and mentorship, while barriers included limited familial engagement and challenges related to revisiting youths’ trauma histories. Understanding multilevel facilitators and barriers provides insight into optimizing the implementation and sustainment of CMM models in carceral settings.

Objective: The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) are widely used clinical tools developed within Western contexts. This study examined response differences among White, Black, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) participants. Methods: BDI-II (n=2,988) and BAI (n=2,202) item-level data were analyzed from the National Neuropsychology Network. Ordinal logistic regressions were performed on total scores and all items of each test. Race was dummy-coded to compare Black (x1), Asian (x2), NHPI (x3), and AI/AN (x4) participants against a White reference group. Results: Black participants reported elevated symptom severity for 8 items of the BDI-II and higher total depression scores (Estimate: .273, p = .002), and elevated symptom severity for 12 items of the BAI and higher total anxiety scores (Estimate: .354, p < .001). Asian participants showed a significance for 6 BDI-II items, but total scores were not statistically elevated (p = .058). Symptom severity was elevated in 6 items of the BAI, but total scores were not (p = .114). AI/AN participants showed minimal to no significant differences. Conclusion: Total scores can mask variation in symptom expression across racial groups. While Black participants showed broad elevations, Asian participants showed symptom clusters not captured by total scores. These findings highlight the importance of item-level analysis in diverse populations.

Difficulties in emotion regulation have been proposed as a mechanism linking childhood trauma to anxiety, as adverse childhood experiences may heighten emotional reactivity and disrupt adaptive coping strategies. Few studies have examined these associations in adolescents, whose emotion regulation abilities are still maturing. The present study utilized data from 64 clinically depressed adolescents (22 males, ages 13-18, mean age=16.14) varying in childhood maltreatment and anxiety symptoms to examine whether emotion dysregulation mediated associations between childhood maltreatment and anxiety symptoms 9 months later. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale assesses facets of emotion dysregulation: nonacceptance of emotion, impulse control difficulties, lack of emotional awareness, lack of clarity, difficulty staying goal-directed when distressed, and limited access to effective emotion-regulation strategies. Separate mediation models tested whether each facet of emotion dysregulation explained how childhood trauma predicts future anxiety. Of the 6 subscales, nonacceptance of emotion was the most robust mediator (indirect effect: 0.32, p<.002). Impulse control, and access to effective strategies were also significant, while emotional awareness, emotional clarity, and staying goal-directed were not. These findings identify emotion regulation processes that may be intervention targets against future anxiety symptoms among depressed youth with a history of childhood trauma.

Language switching in bilinguals often requires cognitive control to manage the interference of two active linguistic systems. Prior research suggests that cognitive control is not consolidated, but rather divided into proactive and reactive control strategies. Proactive control involves maintenance of task goals before stimulus appearance, while reactive control involves late correction in response to the interference. Our study investigates whether individual differences in cognitive control style, measured through the AX Continuous Performance Task, will predict the language switching costs in bilinguals. We hypothesize that bilinguals demonstrating stronger proactive control will have reduced switching costs compared to reaction control styles. Participants complete the AX-CPT to assess cognitive control tendencies and alternate between two languages in response to cues. Switch costs are measured through Reaction Times and Accuracy between switch and non-switch trials. We predict that proactive control will be associated with faster and more accurate language switching due to preparation buffer while reactive control will result in higher switch costs due to reliance and post-conflict interference. This project is significant because it clarifies how two individual cognitive control mechanisms contribute to bilingual language performance. Understanding how these models work can help us create more general models of bilingual executive function. This, in turn, can affect how bilinguals use language in real time.

Caregiver-child attachment quality, or the degree to which a caregiver provides a reliable sense of safety and support, is an important predictor of socioemotional development. Through emotional socialization, children may adopt emotion regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal (generally considered more adaptive) or expressive suppression. Although prior literature often links secure attachment to more adaptive emotion regulation, findings are limited by inconsistent definitions of attachment and emotion regulation. This study clarifies these links using validated self-report measures. Using data from 142 participants aged 9-24 (M = 15.94, SD = 3.60, F = 81), we examined how perceived attachment quality affects adolescents' emotion regulation strategies. We hypothesized that higher perceived trust and communication would predict higher reappraisal and lower suppression, while alienation would predict the inverse. Linear regression analyses revealed that mother-child attachment had a more consistent association with adolescents’ emotion regulation than father-child attachment. For mothers, higher alienation predicted greater suppression, while greater trust and communication predicted greater reappraisal. Across both parents, higher trust and communication were associated with lower suppression, and alienation was not significantly associated with reappraisal. Overall, caregiver-child attachment quality, especially with mothers, plays a meaningful role in adolescent emotion regulation.