Mental Health Research

The goal of the Mental Health Research Program is to advance the understanding and treatment of youth mental illness to improve mental health outcomes for children and adolescents. A particular focus of our research is on understanding and preventing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In this research, we work in close collaboration with the Nock Lab at Harvard University and the Kleiman Lab at Rutgers University.

Our research often uses digital technology (e.g., smartphones, wearable devices) and real-time monitoring to better understand clinical outcomes, such as suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and test novel interventions aimed preventing suicide and improving youth mental health.

Ongoing Projects

• Part of an NIMH-funded study using smartphone surveys, wearable Fitbit-like devices, and measuring phone behavior (e.g., screen time) to monitor adolescents in the six months following discharge from psychiatric hospitalization to better understand suicidal thoughts and behaviors during this particularly high-risk period.
• Identify and address sleep disturbances that affect many hospitalized youth and adversely contribute to mental health issues.
• Test whether physiological data collected on wearable devices can predict when youth are at risk for experiencing distress that may result in suicidal behaviors.
• Test novel interventions delivered on smartphones that help youth manage emotions in their daily life and aim to prevent suicidal behaviors.
• Understand causes of mental illness stigma and develop ways to combat it.

People

Kelly Zuromski, Ph.D., Director of Research
Ralph Buonopane, Ph.D., Director, McLean-Franciscan Child & Adolescent Inpatient Mental Health Program
Lia Follet, M.P.S., Research Assistant
Flynn Kelly, B.A., Research Assistant

Collaborators

Matthew Nock, Ph.D.
Evan Kleiman, Ph.D.
Alex Millner, Ph.D.
Members of the Nock Lab

Support
Fuss Family Research Fund
Novack Family Foundation
Alden Trust
John Leopold Weil and Geraldine Rickard Weil Memorial Charitable Foundation
Patient Centered Research Outcomes Institute (PCORI)
Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts
Yawkey Foundation
Rockland Trust Foundation

Recent Representative Publications
Fortgang, R.G., Wang S.B., Millner A.J., Reid-Russell, A.,, Beukenhorst, A.L., Kleiman, E.M., Bentley, K.H., Zuromski K.L., Al-Suwaidi M., Bird S.A., Buonopane R.J., DeMarco, D., Haim A., Joyce V.W., Kastman E.K., Kilbury, E., Lee H.S., Mair P., Nash C.C., Onnela J., Smoller J.W., Nock, M.K. (2021) Increase in Suicidal Thinking During COVID-19 Clinical Psychological Science

Weinstein, E., Kleiman, E. M., Franz, P. J., Joyce, V. W., Nash, C. C., Buonopane, R. J., & Nock, M. K. (2021). Positive and negative uses of social media among adolescents hospitalized for suicidal behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 87, 63-73.

King, C.D. , Joyce V.W., Nash, C.C., Buonopane, R.J., Black, J.M., Zuromski, K.L., Millner, A.J. (2021) Fear of sleep and sleep quality mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and suicide attempt in adolescents. Journal of Psychiatric Research 21;135:243-247

Kleiman, E., Millner, A. J., Joyce, V. W., Nash, C. C., Buonopane, R. J., & Nock, M. K. (2019). Using Wearable Physiological Monitors With Suicidal Adolescent Inpatients: Feasibility and Acceptability Study. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 7(9), e13725.

Want to learn more about our mental health research?

Contact Kelly Zuromski, Director of Research, at KZuromski@franciscanchildrens.org.

Contact Now