Current research projects

Duration: 2024 - 2028
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, FOR 5389)
Status: in preparation
Contact: Johannes Lehnen & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Lüken (HU Berlin) & Dr. Rasmus Bruckner (FU Berlin)

This project is part of the research unit "Kontexteinflüsse auf dynamische Lernprozesse in sich verändernden Umgebungen: Grundlegende Mechanismen und klinische Implikationen" (FOR 5389, Spokesperson Prof. Dr. Tania Lincoln, U Hamburg)

Background: Learning is key to survival when facing dynamically changing environmental threats. Many environments are characterized by uncertainty due to (1) irreducible outcome variability, e.g., when the location of an attacking predator can only approximately be predicted, and (2) uncertainty arising from systematic changes, e.g., when the location in which a predator appears, changes systematically. An adequate consideration of these types of uncertainty requires dynamic belief updating (DynBU), promoting survival by balancing explorative vs. defensive behaviors. This pertains particularly to internal models of threats. Aims: We provide an in-depth behavioral and neural analysis of statistical learning, particularly DynBU, as a function of the anxiety phenotype across the lifespan. Further, the project examines if individual ifferences in DynBU in anxiety disorder (AD) patients can be related to intervention-driven changes (cognitive behavioral therapy) in threat expectations. Hypotheses: (1) We hypothesize an overestimation of how much should be learned from new outcomes (learning rate) in the anxiety phenotype, shaped by defensive reactions. This effect will particularly be dependent on the presence of expected uncertainty. We further assume a correlation between anxiety and learning-rate related activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortex as well as a stronger involvement of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) in higher anxiety levels. (2) We hypothesize a negative correlation between age and the tendency to show overly high learning rates under expected uncertainty, as well as a moderation of this effect by the anxiety phenotype. On an exploratory level, (3) we will test the applicability of clinical and experimental paradigms in a younger group of children (aged 8 to 9 years), and (4) target the relation between DynBU and threat expectations during exposure treatment. Planned methods: Participants will report on relevant clinical information (see clinical backbone). They will further complete the common Confetti-Cannon-Task (comparison across all projects) and a salience context sensitive Predator-Task (comparison with project 5). Finally, an adult subsample will complete the Predator-Task in the MRI scanner which will offer important insights into the neural systems of statistical learning under heightened defensive reactivity in the anxiety phenotype. Expected impact: The current project will enrich the RU's goals, mainly aim 2 (developmental and environmental context influences) and aim 3 (clinical manifestations of DynBU). We will extend the RU's clinical focus by including the anxiety phenotype from childhood to adulthood. A shared paradigm allows comparability across development (projects 6 & 7) and psychopathology (projects 2 & 9). This will allow for developing and testing innovative treatments focusing on uncertainty processing for the prevention and early intervention of AD during a putative second funding period.

Duration: 2023 - 2026
Funding: internally funded
Status: in preparation
Contact:  Nora Spirkl de & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: N.N.

The climate crisis has negative impacts on the natural world as well as the physical and mental health of many people. These impacts can stem from exposure to its direct and indirect impacts such as extreme weather events, air pollution, food shortages, forced migration, and war. In addition, many people that are not (yet) directly impacted are increasingly aware of the existential threat posed by the climate crisis, often resulting in distress alongside a complex array of negative emotions.

Plenty of research demonstrates the negative role high and persistent levels of stress can play in mental health outcomes. However, research has so far mainly focused on the impact of individual stressors while leaving the impacts of societal crises as stressors largely unexamined. Yet, there is some research pointing to a negative impact of societal crises such as the climate crisis on mental health among adolescents, beyond the effects of individual stressors. Thus, it is vital to study how young people can cope with and regulate their climate emotions to prevent negative mental health outcomes.

The focus of the research project Deal with it! - Coping with Climate Stress among Adolescents is to examine how young people cope with the climate crisis in comparison with other stressors, as well as exploring different ways to support their coping efforts.

Duration: 2023 - 2026
Funding: internally funded 
Status: ongoing
Contact: Nora Spirkl de & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: N.N.

Climate change, pandemic, wars - we live in times of multiple and concurrent global crises. This can lead to negative emotions and mental distress for many people. A vulnerable group that has not yet received sufficient attention are families (children, adolescents, and parents). Therefore, the focus of the research project Crisis pathways - Impacts of Global Crises on Families and Children is to examine how families emotionally process different global crises. A particular spotlight will be on younger children and their parents, since there is a notable lack of research in this population.

While parents may provide an important source of social support to their children, many also struggle to regulate their own emotions about the climate crisis and other global crises. This can present a barrier to effectively addressing these issues with their children. Thus, research on the effects of parental support and moderating factors is urgently needed in order to develop tools to aid parents in this regard.

To investigate this research question, an online survey and a subsequent laboratory study with parent-child dyads will be conducted.

Duration: 2024 - 2025
Funding: Internally funded
Status: Ongoing
Contact: Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand, Dr. Nele Dippel & Nora Spirkl
Cooperation Partners: Dr. Michael Eichinger & Dr. Felix Peter

Pediatric care is typically the first point of contact not only for somatic issues but also for psychological stress in children and adolescents, which can be triggered by global crises, among other things. How primary care providers deal with this stress is crucial in determining how young people experience such crises (COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, wars, etc.) and what support services they receive. The handling of psychological stress due to global crises in children and adolescents in primary care is barely researched so far.

Our study aims to address this gap by examining which concerns about various global crises (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, war, etc.) are reported by children and adolescents in practice, the potential impacts of media reports in this regard, and whether pediatricians and other professionals in this field explicitly address these concerns. We also assess the personal stress of pediatricians regarding socio-ecological crises, as well as their risk perception and perceived competence in dealing with psychologically stressed children and adolescents concerning the climate crisis. We explore how aware pediatricians are of socio-ecological crises in their professional everyday life to assess whether these factors are related to addressing the crises in practice. These questions will be investigated through an online survey among professionals working in pediatric care.

In the long term, this is intended to lead to concrete information and support offers for pediatricians to further develop their competence and better support children, adolescents, and families.

Duration: 2023 - 2027
Funding: internally funded
Status: in preparation
Contact: Hannah Boltz, Dr. Nele Dippel & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: N.N.

Waiting times for an outpatient psychotherapy are often far too long and can be up to one year. During this time, children and adolescents often do not receive the support they actually need and there is a risk that existing symptoms will worsen or become chronic.

Internet and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) enable immediate, comprehensive, easily scalable and versatile use in psychotherapeutic settings. Among other things, they are already being used to bridge waiting times in the adult sector. So far, there are no equivalents in the child and adolescent sector. For this reason, the app I-WAIT (Intervention zur WArtezeitüberbrückung auf einen Individuellen Therapieplatz) is being developed as part of this doctoral project and piloted for feasibility in the outpatient clinic setting.

Duration: 2024
Funding: internally funded
Status: ongoing
Contact: Nora Spirkl de & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Dr. Felix Peter

The climate crisis and other societal and global crises lead to various emotions in young people, which are often experienced as distressing. The key question is therefore how to process and respond to these emotions in a healthy way. Psychometrically validated instruments are needed to be able to research this. As part of this research project, a questionnaire on coping with climate-related emotions will be further developed and then validated in a young sample (15 to 25 years). In addition, associations with climate-related distress, conspiracy thinking and psychopathology will be investigated.

Duration: 2023 - 2024
Funding: internally funded
Status: in preparation
Contact: Nora Spirkl de & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Dr. Felix Peter

There is a large body of evidence showing that the climate crisis causes a wide array of emotions in young people. When encountering these emotions, they employ different kinds of emotion regulation and coping strategies. However, research in this area is still facing difficulties in terms of assessment: Psychometrically sound questionnaires to examine both climate emotions and subsequent emotion regulation and coping strategies in this age group are currently lacking. In addition, existing questionnaires are often developed for trait-based research; however, our focus is state-based research that can demonstrate the deployment of different strategies in a concrete situation. Thus, the goal of this project is to develop psychometrically sound questionnaires for a wide age span of young people that can be used in state-based experimental research.