Psychological distress is a factor that may influence fetal growth and infant health outcomes. Prior studies have indicated correlations between variation in birth weight and maternal mood systems, but have not adequately accounted for gestational age at birth, limiting the ability to distinguish between the effects of preterm delivery and impaired fetal growth. Furthermore, few studies have investigated how changes in psychological distress across pregnancy relate to fetal growth using birth weight percentiles; this study aims to examine these associations. Data were drawn from the Mothers’ Cultural Experiences study, a cohort of approximately 100 pregnant Latina women in Southern California. Maternal psychological distress was recorded using depression, state anxiety, pregnancy anxiety, and perceived stress measurements at multiple timepoints, and linear regression models examined associations between changes in distress and infant birth weight percentiles, adjusted for gestational age, maternal age, and socioeconomic status. This study hypothesizes that increases in maternal psychological distress across pregnancy will be associated with lower birth weight percentiles. Results may clarify how dynamic patterns of maternal mental health relate to fetal growth, particularly in the context of prior inconsistent evidence. Findings may inform culturally responsive prenatal care and intergenerational health interventions.

While symmetry has been extensively studied in visual perception (Bartholow & Reeves 1979), symmetry detection in auditory perception remains relatively underexplored. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie symmetry and pattern perceptibility in auditory perception has far-reaching applications into speech processing and language acquisition. The present study examines human perception of auditory symmetry by analyzing the role of sequence length and structural variance in symmetry detection. Sequences ranged from 4 to 10 notes (C4–F6; 320 ms per tone) followed by the mirrored, reversed (symmetric) or altered (asymmetric) sequence. In a between-subjects design, participants receive either a “contour” condition, in which sequential pitch changes in a systematic manner (i.e., constrained to small 3-semitone intervals), or a free condition with unrestricted pitch variation and thus less structural regularity. Participants (N=40) completed a two-alternative forced choice task classifying sequences as symmetric or asymmetric. Results showed significantly higher accuracy in the contour condition over the free condition, while sequence length had only a small effect. This suggests that auditory symmetry perception relies mainly on sequence structure, consistent with structure-based encoding models of patterned sound (Zatorre et al., 2024). Future research will investigate how introducing a spatio-temporally aligned visual stimulus influences the perceptibility of auditory symmetry in multisensory settings.

Performing acts of kindness has been linked to improving overall well-being in adults, however, less work has focused on adolescents, with mixed findings. This randomized controlled study examines adolescents' reflections on their experiences performing kind acts in order to better understand the type of reflection adolescents engage in. A total of 40 high school students (Mage = 16.23 years, SD = 0.89, 60% female) were recruited from high schools in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and were assigned to a Kindness to Others with Reflection condition. In this condition participants completed one kind act on three predetermined days of the week and responded to two reflection questions at the end of each week for four weeks. The two reflection questions were What effects do you think your acts of kindness had on the recipients?, and How did your acts of kindness to others make you feel?. Reflexive thematic analysis is currently being conducted on these responses to identify key themes to further understand how adolescents reflected on their acts of kindness. These findings will contribute to our understanding of the ways adolescents reflect on their experiences performing kind acts.

Social media platforms amplify social comparison by presenting curated, idealized portrayals of peers, often distorting perceptions and contributing to negative mental health outcomes. Among undergraduates, these effects may be particularly salient given competitive academic and social environments. Impostor phenomenon, which is prevalent among undergraduates, could be linked to poor mental health outcomes through maladaptive social comparisons. This study examined how social comparisons shape imposter thoughts and mental health through social media among UCLA undergraduates, and what coping strategies students utilize. 16 students from a prior survey participated in 30-60 minute semi-structured focus group interviews via Zoom. Participants discussed their experiences with social comparison on social media, including usage, perceptions of others’ posts, emotional impacts, and coping strategies. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes were refined through comparison across cases and cross-checked by multiple researchers to ensure reliability. Five primary themes (with examples) emerged: 1.motivation to use social media (boredom), 2.social media usage (addiction), 3.social comparison (upward comparison), 4.emotional and cognitive outcomes (doubting oneself), 5.coping strategies (reframing thoughts). Findings from this study provide possible targets for mental health interventions and digital wellness initiatives for undergraduate students navigating high-pressure academic environments.

Hormonal birth control (HBC) is widely used among adolescent females, yet mental health effects remain unclear. As adolescence is a sensitive developmental period where neural maturation is modulated by gonadal hormones, HBC use might affect brain development and mental health outcomes by altering hormone levels. One potential mechanism involves brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a biomarker regulated by gonadal hormones and implicated in neuroplasticity and depression. We examined whether BDNF mediates the association between HBC use and mood symptoms in 28 adolescent females with Major Depressive Disorder in an ongoing clinical trial (ages 14-21; 9 HBC users, 19 non-users), who were not taking antidepressants. Mood symptoms were assessed with self-report (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) and clinician-rated measures (Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised). Linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted in R, controlling for age and body mass index. Independently, HBC use was marginally associated with lower BDNF (β=−281.4, p=.06) and significantly associated with more emotion regulation difficulties (β=19.7, p=.01). However, BDNF did not mediate associations between HBC use and mood outcomes (all ps>.05). These findings suggest HBC may be linked to altered emotion regulation in depressed adolescent females, though not via BDNF. Future research including precise hormone measures is needed to clarify mechanisms through which HBC use may modulate emotions.