Neighborhood environment, puberty, sleep quality, and trajectories of depression in adolescent girls: a longitudinal study of risk and resilience

The National Institute of Mental Health awarded the University of Oregon $346,214 on September 28, 2025, under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) to conduct a longitudinal study examining linkages between neighborhood environment and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls, with investigation of how pubertal development and sleep quality mediate or moderate that relationship. The study leverages the first five waves of the ongoing Transitions in Adolescent Girls (TAG) study, a prospective longitudinal investigation of biological and psychosocial changes in adolescence with initial enrollment of 174 girls ages 10.0–13.0 years. The three main research aims are to identify direct effects of neighborhood environmental factors on depression, investigate the mediating and moderating role of pubertal development across biological and psychosocial processes, and characterize the mediating and moderating role of overall sleep quality. Work is performed in Eugene, Oregon, with a period of performance through June 30, 2027. The assistance type is a project grant.

Abstract

Depression continues to be a major source of disability and one of the most burdensome illnesses globally, particularly for girls. Adolescence is a period of marked risk for the onset of depression. This vulnerability coincides with new opportunities for more autonomy, community involvement, and social connections. The availability and quality of these opportunities relies on one's physical context. The neighborhood - with its parks, sidewalks, community centers, and schools - acts on various biological and behavioral mechanisms to affect adolescent mental health. However, IT is as yet unclear not only the degree to which neighborhood factors affect adolescent depression, but also how biological and behavioral processes mediate and/or moderate this relationship. The overall objective of the proposed research is to identify structural and individual sources of risk and resilience by longitudinally examining the linkages between the neighborhood environment and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls and explore the roles of puberty and sleep quality in this relationship. Our main aims are to 1) identify the direct effects of different facets of the neighborhood environment on depression; 2) investigate the mediating and/or moderating role of pubertal development, composed of both biological and psychosocial processes; and 3) characterize the mediating and/or moderating role of overall sleep quality, a health-supportive behavior that both shifts during puberty and is also reciprocally associated with depression. This proposal leverages the first five waves of the ongoing transitions in adolescent girls (tag) study (initial N=174, age 10.0-13.0 years; R01/R56 MH107418; R01 MH127408), a prospective longitudinal investigation of the connections between biological and psychosocial changes in adolescence. The proposed project takes an interdisciplinary approach to effectively integrate across developmental psychology, endocrinology, clinical science, behavioral health, and urban planning. With the applicant's background in urban studies and spatial analysis skills in combination with the training and expertise provided by the sponsors and consultants in pubertal development, sleep, and adolescent mental health, this research team is uniquely positioned to carry out this innovative F31 proposal. Fulfilling the training and research aims will also help advance the applicant's career in adolescent development and psychopathology research. Using longitudinal modeling techniques embedded within sophisticated multiverse analyses, we intend to identify which features of the environment confer risk, which build resilience, and how each feature together and separately acts on biological (i.e., pubertal timing) and behavioral (i.e., sleep quality) processes to impact the onset of adolescent depression. The findings from the proposed project will inform the design and implementation of well-timed strategies to address adolescent depression at the systemic and individual levels.