Understanding how mentalizing helps youth facing inequality
Official title: Investigating Mentalizing as a Cognitive Strength and Protective Factor Among Youth Impacted by Structural Inequality
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11070614 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how understanding other people's feelings and thoughts can help young people who face tough situations, like growing up in poverty, to build better relationships and stay mentally healthy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Fellowship grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 5, 2024 |
| Project end | September 4, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $40,572 |
| NIH project number | 1F31MH136792-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11070614 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are youth aged 0-20 who are experiencing or have experienced structural inequality, such as poverty.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who do not face any form of structural inequality or those outside the age range of 0-20 may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how the ability to understand others' thoughts and emotions, known as mentalizing, can serve as a protective factor for youth affected by structural inequality, such as poverty. The study focuses on how these cognitive strengths can help young people navigate challenging environments and maintain supportive social relationships. By examining the neural and behavioral differences in youth exposed to adversity, the research aims to identify ways to bolster mentalizing skills as a means of improving mental health outcomes. Participants will be assessed through various cognitive and social measures to understand the impact of mentalizing on their development.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could enhance mental health interventions for youth by promoting cognitive skills that protect against the negative effects of inequality.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown that enhancing cognitive skills like mentalizing can lead to improved social outcomes in youth, suggesting a promising avenue for this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Navarro, Esmeralda — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Navarro, Esmeralda
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
A center for coordinating data related to heart and blood health.
This study is working on a new system to gather and analyze health information about heart and blood disorders, which could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat these conditions, ultimately helping patients like you.
-
Healthy work design and worker well-being
A multi-site program aims to improve the health and well-being of workers by studying how work design affects safety, stress, and quality of life.
-
Unified and fair multimodal learning for autoimmune diseases
A patient-friendly AI approach will combine many kinds of health data to improve diagnosis and personalized care for autoimmune diseases, including lupus.
-
Structural factors linking minimum wage, COVID-19, and community violence
A long-term study will explore whether higher minimum wages and pandemic-related economic factors are connected to changes in violence in US communities.
-
Non-invasive tears biomarker for early Alzheimer's in LMICs
A low-cost, tear-based biomarker approach aims to detect early Alzheimer’s disease in older adults in Peru and similar settings.
-
How HPV interacts with our cells' DNA damage system and its effect on cancer
This project looks at how high-risk HPV uses the body’s DNA repair machinery to replicate and potentially drive cancer, with the goal of finding new antiviral and cancer-fighting approaches for people affected by HPV-related diseases.
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.