How bullying and being left out affect teens' emotions and brain health
Behavioral and neurocognitive mechanisms linking peer victimization to adolescent psychopathology
This project looks at how negative social experiences (like rejection or bullying) and missing positive social connections change teens' thinking, brain responses, and risk for anxiety or depression.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11128597 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be asked to answer surveys about your social experiences and mood, play behavioral tasks that recreate social interactions, and some participants will have brain imaging and simple physiological measurements to see how the brain and body respond. The team separates two kinds of peer problems—peer threat (active rejection or bullying) and peer deprivation (absence of positive social contact)—to see if they lead to different patterns of threat detection, reward processing, and social motivation. Researchers will compare teens with different histories of victimization and follow changes linked to anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts. Combining questionnaires, lab tasks, and neuroimaging helps them map specific paths from peer experiences to later mental health problems.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adolescents (roughly ages 12–20) who have experienced peer victimization, rejection, or social withdrawal, as well as comparison teens without those experiences.
Not a fit: People outside the adolescent age range or those without any history of peer rejection or isolation are less likely to get direct benefits from the findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more tailored prevention and treatment approaches that target the specific ways bullying or social isolation harm teens' mental health.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked bullying and social rejection to later anxiety and depression and has used brain imaging to study social pain, but separating threat versus deprivation pathways and linking them to distinct neural and behavioral profiles is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Northeastern University — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rodman, Alexandra Mayorca — Northeastern University
- Study coordinator: Rodman, Alexandra Mayorca
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 below.