Projects

• Timeline: Ongoing Program of Research

• Focus Population: Adolescents, Youths, Young Adults

My ongoing program of research examines how adverse and positive childhood experiences jointly shape mental and behavioral health across development. Rather than approaching risk and protection as separate or competing domains, this work conceptualizes childhood experiences as co-occurring and interacting forces that influence how young people experience distress, adapt to adversity, and regain stability. This perspective reflects the reality that many youths navigate significant challenges alongside meaningful sources of support, and that mental health outcomes emerge from the dynamic interplay of these experiences rather than from adversity alone.

A central focus of this research is understanding how these interactions unfold within youths’ relational and ecological contexts, including family, peer, school, and community environments. Childhood experiences are embedded within systems that shape access to safety, belonging, and opportunity. Accordingly, this work emphasizes relational experiences as active developmental mechanisms, highlighting how supportive relationships with caregivers, peers, and educators can function as protective and facilitative forces even in the presence of substantial risk.

This program is conceptually grounded in the Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACE) framework, which integrates risk and protective processes within a unified, developmentally informed model. The PACE framework underscores that childhood experiences accumulate over time, vary in meaning across developmental stages, and are shaped by intersecting social conditions and identities. From this perspective, adverse and positive experiences are understood as correlated and cumulative, jointly influencing vulnerability, resilience, and recovery rather than operating in isolation.

Building on this conceptual foundation, future directions of this program focus on translating the PACE framework into school- and community-based youth mental health contexts, particularly in the areas of screening, assessment, prevention, and intervention. This work aims to inform approaches that move beyond deficit-oriented identification of risk toward integrative practices that assess both adversity and protective experiences, guide prevention efforts that intentionally cultivate positive relational contexts, and support interventions that promote recovery and sustained well-being. By embedding this framework into applied youth mental health systems, this program seeks to strengthen developmentally responsive, equity-informed practices that address both risk and resilience across time.