2-045 - Capturing Contextual Triggers of Adolescent Psychopathology and Health-Risk Behaviors Using Mobile Technologies

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Mobile technologies are providing new means of connecting with adolescents and capturing development in context. The papers in this symposium illustrate the use of mobile phones as valuable research tools with typically hard-to-reach populations, and advance what is known about the role of contextual triggers, such as exposure to violence and substance use, in shaping adolescent health and behaviors. Findings from two Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) studies tracking the daily experiences, emotions, and behaviors of adolescents from high-poverty families and neighborhoods are used to (a) identify adolescents who are the most biologically sensitive to context, (b) isolate key triggers of health-risk behaviors, and (c) examine how the use of mobile technologies by adolescents may be influencing, or may be influenced by, existing mental health problems.
Paper 1 provides one of the first examples of gene-environment interplay in the daily lives of high-risk adolescents, with those at greater genetic risk showing heightened behavioral reactivity to witnessing substance use in their schools and neighborhoods. Paper 2 provides evidence that exposure to violence can trigger same-day obesity-risk behaviors, and tests whether emotional responses to witnessing violence mediate the pathway to obesity risk. Paper 3 illustrates how adolescents with pre-existing mental health problems are more likely to experience technology-related impairments in daily life. The discussant, Professor Marion Underwood, who leads a large-scale study analyzing the content millions of adolescents’ online communications, will provide key insights into both the needs and opportunities for future research in this area.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Candice L Odgers, Duke University

Discussant

• Marion K. Underwood, University of Texas at Dallas

Individual Presentations

• Adolescents with the DRD4-7R Allele are More Reactive to Substance Use Exposure: Evidence for a GxE in Daily Life - Presenting Author: Michael Arthur Russell, Pennsylvania State University; Victor Wang, Duke University; Candice L Odgers, Duke University

• Violence exposure in daily life triggers obesity-risk behaviors - Presenting Author: Joy Piontak, Duke University; Michael Arthur Russell, Pennsylvania State University; Victor Wang, Duke University; Candice L Odgers, Duke University

• Adolescents’ Mental Health Symptoms and Technology Impairment in Daily Life - Presenting Author: Madeleine George, Duke University; Michael Arthur Russell, Pennsylvania State University; Victor Wang, Duke University; Candice L Odgers, Duke University