Meeting young people where they are: Using technology to promote resilience among child maltreatment victims

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT There are approximately four million referrals to child protective services (CPS) in the United States each year. Children and youth who receive adequate support often experience fewer negative physical, mental, and social health outcomes and are less likely to perpetrate violence in the future than their peers who received no or inadequate support. Younger children tend to exhibit signs and symptoms that help others to identify their need for intervention. However, young people are unlikely to discuss and report their experiences through traditional, face-to-face interactions. Technology-facilitated communication (e.g., text, chat, social media) is the preferred communication method for many young people. The candidate’s prior work demonstrated that many young people share their child maltreatment experiences through social media and other technology-facilitated platforms. Thus, technology-facilitated communication may be leveraged to support young people through their help-seeking experience and connect them with appropriate resources. The objectives of this K01 are twofold: 1) This K01 will support the candidate to gain additional training required for an independent, interdisciplinary research career developing and evaluating technology-based interventions that support young people while seeking maltreatment-related resources and information. Working with a team of experts in the fields of developmental psychology, child and adolescent health, bioethics (including online research and research with vulnerable populations), computational analytics, and digital health communication, the candidate will gain 1a) knowledge and expertise in research ethics related to technology and vulnerable populations, 1b) skills in computational data analytics and visualization, and 1c) experience in developing and implementing health communication interventions. 2) The research conducted through this K01 will build the empirical foundations for future interventions by 2a) identifying the language used by young people to discuss their maltreatment experiences (Aim 1), 2b) evaluating the feasibility of using technology to reach young people seeking maltreatment-related information and support (Aim 2), and 2c) developing and piloting technology-facilitated interventions that connect young people to appropriate resources (Aim 3). After completing the training and research activities proposed in this K01, the candidate will be uniquely prepared to launch a career as an NIH- funded researcher investigating novel approaches to preventing the negative health consequences of child maltreatment.