Promoting Psychological Health
ORI scientists study emotional and behavioral health in order to understand what makes people vulnerable to serious mental health disorders. Researchers also examine the factors that increase people’s ability to cope with daily challenges. An important component of research in this area is developing and evaluating interventions for the prevention and treatment of disorders.
Current Research
Understanding and Treating Eating Disorders
An ORI body acceptance program has reduced thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative mood, unhealthy dieting, and eating disorder symptoms in college-age women. Current research includes dissemination of the research team’s successful eating disorders prevention program, which is being implemented in colleges and universities nationwide. Investigators also brain imaging and neural response training to better understand the impact of eating on the brain’s reward circuitry.
Current ProjectsMore
- Enhancing Effectiveness of a Dissonance-Based Obesity Prevention Program
- Implementation Support for Prevention Program Delivery by College Peer Educators
- Biological Risk Factors for Onset of Binge Eating and Compensatory Behaviors - Teen Health Study
- Target Engagement of a Novel Dissonance-Based Treatment for DSM-5 Eating Disorders
- Effectiveness Trial of Peer-Led Dissonance Eating Disorder Prevention Groups
- Targeted Obesity Prevention Program for Adolescent Females
- Response-Inhibition Training for Obesity Treatment - A pilot study
Understanding and Treating Depression
The causes and treatment of depression have been a focus of study at ORI for over 30 years. Recent research focuses on understanding family, emotional, and biological processes related to adolescent and maternal depression, methods for treating depression in youth with multiple disorders, and developing and evaluating innovative prevention and treatment programs for use by clinicians.
Current ProjectsMore
- Mechanisms of Depression and Anhedonia in Adolescents: Linking Sleep Duration and Timing to Reward- and Stress- Related Brain Function
- ICBT for Maternal Depression: Community Implementation in Head Start
- Automatic Multimodal Affect Detection for Research and Clinical Use
- Long-Term Effects of the Family Check-Up on Depression and Suicide Across Trials and Development
- Depressed Mothers' Parenting of Adolescents: Social-cognitive & Neural Mechanisms
- Prevention of Suicidality in College Students: A Common Core Process Approach
- Effectiveness Trial of an Adolescent Depression Prevention Program
- A Multimedia Depression Amelioration Program for Family Dementia Caregivers
- Sequenced vs Integrated Delivery of Treatment for Adolescent Depression and SUD