Past research

Past research

Our data provides us an opportunity to better understand and disseminate findings on unmet needs and gaps in care among specific populations, such as youth, trauma survivors, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Our findings also help to create better public education, materials for providers to use in clinical care, and better inform future research and interventions. Here you'll find a summary of completed projects with links to published findings.

Analyzing user behavior

In our efforts to improve future outcomes, we have invested time and resources into understanding past and present behaviors. Being able to predict how users might behave has helped us advance our efforts to create equitable, accessible, and relevant resources.

Building effective, validated resources

Our research has indicated that our users find the MHA Screening program to be validating and an appropriate first step to receiving care. Through our usage of clinically validated screens such as the PHQ-9 and our commitment to adapting screens for readability and accessibility, we have been able to build a platform that reaches over 5 million users a year.

  • Bergmann, P., Lucke, C., Nguyen, T., Jellinek, M., Murphy, J. (2018) Identification and Utility of a Short Form of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist Youth Self-Report (PSC-Y). European Journal of Psychological Assessment.
    This research explored whether the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Youth self-report (PSC-Y) a subset of items from the parent report version of the PSC could be used to create a brief form of the PSC-Y.
  • Murphy, J.M., Nguyen, T., Lucke, C., Chiang, C., Plasencia, N., & Jellinek, M. (2017). Adolescent Self-Screening for Mental Health Programs; Demonstration of an Internet-Based Approach. Academic Pediatrics. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2017.08.013
    This research examined the prevalence of positive screening scores, construct validity, and opportunities for follow-up in a large sample of adolescents who chose to fill out the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Youth Form (PSC-Y) through the Mental Health America (MHA) web site. The large number of respondents suggested that many adolescents use the Internet to learn about mental health and that a very high percentage of them might be at risk. The availability of brief, free Internet-based psychosocial screens might offer a viable way to identify at-risk youth and provide them with pathways to additional support and/or treatment.
  • Kruzan, K. P., Meyerhoff, J., Nguyen, T., Reddy, M., Mohr, D. C., & Kornfield, R. (2022, April). “I Wanted to See How Bad it Was”: Online Self-screening as a Critical Transition Point Among Young Adults with Common Mental Health Conditions. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
    In this project, researchers conducted focus groups to better understand why online self-screening is preferred over traditional treatment for help-seeking young adults. Findings suggested that screenings serve as a transition point for many; while results help to validate lived experience, many were unsure of how to proceed with the information. Results could implicate the need for post-screening supports and digital interventions.

Enhancing digital technology

In a constantly evolving world, technology has become such an integral part of human life and social interaction. By prioritizing digital innovation, MHA is able to enhance our reach across multiple generations and populations that don't have access to traditional mental health care.

  • Sharma, A., Rushton, K., Lin, I.W., Wadden, D., Lucas, K.G., Miner, A.S., Nguyen, T., & Altohoff, T. (2023). Cognitive Reframing of Negative Thoughts through Human-Language Model Interaction (Version 1). arXiv. 
    This paper won an "outstanding paper" award at ACL '23. In this paper, we conduct a human-centered study of how language models may assist people in reframing negative thoughts. To investigate what consitutes a "high-quality" reframe, we conduct an IRB-approved randomized field study on a large mental health website with over 2,000 participants. We show that people prefer highly empathic or specific reframes, as opposed to reframes that are overly positive. Our findings provide key implications for the use of LMs to assist people in overcoming negative thoughts.
  • Kornfield, R., Stamatis, C.A., Bhattacharjee, A., Pang, B., Nguyen, T., Williams, J.J., Kumar, H., Popowski, S., Beltzer, M., Karr, C.J., Reddy, M., Mohr, D.C., & Meyerhoff, J. (In press). A text messaging intervention to support the mental health of young adults: User engagement and feedback from a field trial of an intervention prototype. Internet Interventions. 
    In this study, we used Wizard-of-Oz methods in which study staff sent messages based on a detailed script. Transcripts of interviews were subject to qualitative analysis to identify aspects of the program that need improvements, and to gather participant perspectives on possible solutions.
  • Meyerhoff, J., Nguyen, T., Karr, C.J., Reddy, M., Williams, J.J., Bhattacharjee, A., ... & Kornfield, R. (2022). System design of a text messaging program to support the mental health needs of non-treatment seeking young adults. Procedia Computer Science, 206, 68-80.
    This paper presents the design of an automated text message-based intervention for symptom self-management. The intervention comprises: (1) psychological strategies (i.e., types of evidence-based techniques leveraged to achieve symptom reduction) and (2) interaction types or the form that intervention content takes as it is delivered to and elicited from users.
  • Dannenberg, M.D., Bienvenida, J.C. M., Bruce, M. L., Nguyen, T., Hinn, M., Matthews, J., ... & Barr, P.J. (2018). End-user views of an electronic encounter decision aid linked to routine depression screening. Patient education and counseling.
    This study gathered community stakeholder input to inform the development of a digital system linking depression screening to decision support. Results showed that linking depression decision support to screening was viewed positively by patients and clinicians, and could help overcome barriers to shared decision-making implementation in this population.
  • Buck, B., Chander, A., Tauscher, J., Nguyen, T., Monroe-DeVita, M., & Ben-Zeev, D. (2021). mHealth for Young Adults with Early Psychosis: User Preferences and Their Relationship to Attitudes About Treatment-Seeking. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 6(4), 667-676.
    This study recruited young adults with psychosis and surveyed their interest in mobile health (mHealth) interventions, particularly their features, delivery modalities, and attitudes toward treatment. Overall, respondents reported high utilization of digital health and high interest in psychosis-specific mHealth. These results suggest mHealth may have potential to engage individuals with early psychosis, and that the most effective strategies may be those that are most straightforward, including direct psychoeducational information.

Evolving approaches to care

In times of economic uncertainty, pandemic, and isolation, new ways to connect and improve mental health outcomes have emerged. By supporting community level work and peer support efforts, MHA is able to promote the power of lived experience and change at a local level.