Understanding Social Connections and Past Threats to Prevent Suicide in Preteen Girls
Official title: Peripubertal Social Motivation as a Novel Risk Factor Linking Childhood Threat Exposure and Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in Preteen Girls.
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11176958 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores how social interactions and difficult childhood experiences might contribute to suicidal thoughts and behaviors in preteen girls.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 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 1, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $612,922 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH137698-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11176958 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be preteen girls from diverse backgrounds who have experienced childhood threats and may be experiencing or at risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
✕Less likely to help
Patients outside the preteen girl age range or those not experiencing the specific risk factors being studied may not directly benefit from this particular research.
What this research studies
Suicide is a serious concern for preteen girls, and while we know that difficult childhood experiences can increase risk, we need to understand more about other factors. This project aims to discover if a girl's social motivation, such as how much she wants to avoid social failure or her effort to connect with others, plays a role. We will look at how these social patterns, especially in girls who develop earlier, might link past threats to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Our goal is to develop better ways to identify and support preteen girls who might be at risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to earlier identification and more effective support strategies for preteen girls at risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
How similar studies have gone: While previous work has linked childhood threats and biological responses to suicide risk in adolescent girls, this project explores social motivation as a novel risk factor in preteen girls.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Baldelli, Andrea Pelletier — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Baldelli, Andrea Pelletier
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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.