Adolescent Stress and Brain Development: How Life Events Shape Youth Mental Health
Official title: Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Underlying Stress Vulnerability during Adolescence
Funded at Harvard University · NIH-11404233 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study following teens to understand how everyday stressful events affect their emotions, thoughts, behavior, and brain signals over time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project start | July 10, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,555,579 |
| NIH project number | 4R37MH119194-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11404233 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents and young adults who experience everyday stressful life events and are willing to participate in long-term monitoring and assessments.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not experiencing or reporting stress-related concerns or those unable to commit to long-term participation may see limited or no direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project tracks adolescents as they experience daily stress and uses frequent assessments to see how these moments relate to mood, thinking, and brain activity. By collecting data from surveys, behavioral measures, wearable devices, and brain scans, researchers aim to map the real-time pathways from stress to mood problems. The goal is to identify actionable windows where interventions could prevent the development of psychiatric conditions. The study builds on a large existing dataset and uses an intensive longitudinal approach to capture dynamic processes as they unfold in daily life.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of how everyday stress affects teens could lead to earlier interventions and tailored strategies to support mental health.
How similar studies have gone: Previous long-term, intensive studies have shown that real-time data can reveal meaningful links between stress and mood, supporting this approach as promising.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard University
Cambridge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mclaughlin, Katie — Harvard University
- Study coordinator: Mclaughlin, Katie
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.