Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

Rural and Urban Differences in Social Media Use, Online Experiences, and Mental Health Among Socially Disconnected Adolescents

Award Number: R21MH142318
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Rural and Urban Differences in Social Media Use, Online Experiences, and Mental Health Among Socially Disconnected Adolescents - Project Summary / Abstract Adolescent mental health challenges have reached crisis levels in the United States, with nearly half of high- school students reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness and one in five seriously considering suicide. Risks are highest among youth who lack dependable offline support and rely heavily on digital spaces for connection. These socially disconnected adolescents (SDA) often experience harmful online encounters— harassment, exclusion, or threats—that erode self-worth and heighten distress. Supportive interactions, by contrast, foster belonging and resilience. Because online content reflects both personal choice and algorithmic exposure, experiences accumulate into self-reinforcing digital states that fluctuate between distress- and support-weighted modes. This R21 will clarify how daily social-media engagement influences short-term mood and coping among adolescents in rural or low-resource areas, where offline services are scarce. Stage 1 will collect one month of content-free passive mobile-use data from 20 rural SDA (ages 13–17) to derive preliminary usage profiles and identify “support-weighted” versus “hostile-weighted” digital states. Semi-structured interviews will member- check these patterns and refine event-tagged Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts for Stage 2. Stage 2 will recruit ~100 adolescents for three 14-day EMA bursts across the school year, paired with one- month pre- and post-EMA passive sensing. Twice-daily EMA surveys and optional event tags will capture recent online experiences, affect, belonging, and stress reactions; passive indicators (app-category minutes, notifications, unlocks) will contextualize behavior without content capture. Analyses will integrate qualitative, EMA, and passive data via Bayesian hierarchical and Hidden Markov Models to identify within-person transitions between distress- and support-weighted states and test how timing, dose, and provenance of encounters predict mood and coping. Deliverables include validated event-tagged measures, a taxonomy of exposure-weighted digital phenotypes, and pilot data for scalable, privacy-preserving monitoring strategies. By distinguishing when online interactions harm or help adolescents—particularly in settings with limited in-person resources—this project will inform just-in-time digital interventions and guide public-health strategies to promote emotional well-being. burden and usability. Deliverables will include validated event-tagged measures, a taxonomy of exposure-weighted digital phenotypes, and pilot data for scalable, privacy-preserving digital-monitoring strategies. By distinguishing the moment-to-moment conditions under which online interactions harm or help adolescents—particularly those in settings with limited in-person support—this project will generate actionable knowledge to guide just-in-time adaptive digital interventions and inform public-health strategies promoting adolescent emotional well-being.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $405,505 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	8/18/2026	NEW	$405,505
														Subtotal = $405,505

Grand Total All Awards = $405,505

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Rural and Urban Differences in Social Media Use, Online Experiences, and Mental Health Among Socially Disconnected Adolescents

Award Number: R21MH142318

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer