Study Status
Ongoing
Project Team
Principal Investigator: Rosi Kaiser, PhD
Research Team Member: Madeline Firestone, BA
Alignment with Crown Institute Vision
The study will investigate brain biomarkers that predict student wellness over the course of important college transitions, with special attention to biomarkers that reflect reward sensitivity and stress coping.
Background & Context
Consistent with the idea that stress-related mental illness is an important – and growing – concern on campus, a 2016 survey of students by the American College Health Association found that more than half of students reported feeling hopeless (52.7%), and more than a third (39.1%) reported severe depression in the past year. Further, Colorado is ranked among the top ten states in the USA for rates of depression and suicide (colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/vital-statistics-program; coloradohealthinstitute.org). At CU and at colleges across the country, the demand for mental health services are expanding.
Primary Aims
The primary aim of the CU Well Brain study is to test prospective brain biomarkers of wellness in CU students. We hypothesize that (a) students characterized by biomarkers reflecting higher cognitive regulation, adaptive reward sensitivity, and better stress coping, will demonstrate better wellness over time in the form of academic success and lower symptoms of depression and anxiety; and (b) students who experience more wellness promoters (positive social support, physical activity, self-care) will demonstrate better wellness over time, but students who experience more wellness detractors (social, physical, or financial stress) will demonstrate lower wellness over time especially if they are also characterized by biomarkers of lower self-regulation, lower reward sensitivity, and poorer stress coping.
Research Methods
The CU Well Brain Study is a longitudinal neuroimaging study. Participants complete an in-person baseline session, including a clinical diagnostic interview, behavioral tasks, self-report surveys, and a neuroimaging scan (fMRI). Self-report survey data is collected every 3 months from participants for one year following their in-person session. At 12 months, one year after baseline, participants complete their final survey timepoint and a remote clinical diagnostic interview assessing the past year.
Key Findings & Publications /
Presentations
Currently completing data collection and analysis.
Contact to Learn More
Visit our website to learn more: https://www.colorado.edu/lab/raddlab/
References
American College Health Association. (2017).
American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Undergraduate Student Reference Group Executive Summary Fall 2016. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. (n.d.).
Vital statistics program. https://cdphe.colorado.gov/center-for-health-and-environmental-data/registries-and-vital-statistics/vital-statistics-program
Colorado Health Institute. (n.d.). https://www.coloradohealthinstitute.org/