Bidirectional dynamics of daily behavior and mood associated with adolescent non-suicidal self-injury in a clinical and community sample: a passive mobile sensing study

The National Institute of Mental Health awarded the University of Oregon $159,560 on January 1, 2027, under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) to conduct a study examining the bidirectional dynamics of daily behavior and mood associated with adolescent non-suicidal self-injury using passive mobile sensing.

The research leverages passive smartphone data collection, including GPS technology and the Effortless Assessment of Risk States (EARS) platform, to observe associations between daily changes in movement, location, and mood fluctuations as potential indicators of emotional distress and non-suicidal self-injury risk. The project analyzes existing data from two ongoing studies: the Mobile Assessment for the Prediction of Suicide (MAPS) study, which includes 221 high-risk adolescent boys and girls, and the Transitions in Adolescent Girls (TAG) study, both of which employ continuous digital behavior data collection. The approach captures real-time behavioral data from adolescents' smartphones without requiring active participant input, addressing the gap in understanding how non-suicidal self-injury risk unfolds dynamically through moment-to-moment and day-to-day changes rather than relying on static diagnostic characteristics.

Work is performed in Eugene, Oregon. The project period runs from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2029. This award carries the assistance type designation of Project Grant.

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (nssi), the deliberate harming of one's body without suicidal intent, is a transdiagnostic behavior affecting nearly one in five adolescents worldwide, with twice the rates for girls than boys. Nssi often occurs outside the context of formal clinical care, making early detection difficult. Traditional approaches to understanding risk rely on static characteristics, such as diagnostic labels, but emerging evidence suggests that nssi risk unfolds dynamically, through moment-to-moment and day-to-day changes in mood and behavior. The proposed research utilizes passive mobile sensing, a cutting-edge and low-burden method that captures behavioral data from adolescents' smartphones without requiring active input, to better understand these dynamic risk processes in real-time. Nssi is highly understudied using passive mobile sensing, despite its growing prevalence, transdiagnostic significance, and association with rapid changes in emotions. Using GPS technology, this approach provides an unprecedented opportunity to observe the associations between daily changes in movement and location with mood fluctuations that serve as potential signs of emotional distress and nssi risk. This proposal leverages existing data from the mobile assessment for the prediction of suicide (maps; 1U01MH116923-01) study and the transitions in adolescent girls (tag) study (R01/R56 MH107418; R01 MH127408) to assess study hypotheses in a high risk clinical sample and a community sample. Both studies utilize the effortless assessment of risk states (ears) smartphone technology to collect continuous digital behavior data in adolescents, offering rich, ecologically valid, and temporally fine-grained indicators of risk. The maps study includes 221 high-risk adolescent boys and girls followed for 6 months, while tag includes 94 adolescent girls from the community followed for one month. With the applicant's background in adolescent development and longitudinal research, combined with advanced training from sponsors in developmental psychopathology and clinical science, digital phenotyping, statistical modeling of intensive longitudinal data, and grant writing and scientific communication, the research team is uniquely positioned to fulfill this applicant's highly innovative, translational F32 proposal. Findings will directly inform the design and implementation of scalable, real-time nssi prevention approaches. In parallel, the training and mentorship provided through this fellowship will accelerate the applicant's development as an independent translational scientist by strengthening her ability to secure funding and lead high-impact research on adolescent mental health that advances precision prevention efforts. In the long term, this work will contribute to a program of person-centered, dynamic research on adolescent mental health, moving the field beyond static predictors of risk and toward real-world, real-time strategies for promoting resilience and preventing self- harm.