Bidirectional Influences Between Adolescent Social Media Use and Mental Health (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
Study exploring the connection between adolescent social media use and mental health to understand impacts on psychiatric symptoms and psychopathology risk/resilience, excluding efficacy trials.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
National Institutes of Health has archived this opportunity.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: January 28, 2025 | October 20, 2025 | December 9, 2025 (Final deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $275,000 direct costs over 2 years; no more than $200,000 in any one year.
Summary: Supports exploratory research on the bidirectional relationships between adolescent social media use and mental health, including risk/resilience for psychopathology.
Key Information: No effectiveness/efficacy trials accepted; focus on feasibility and preliminary research.
Description
This opportunity invites R21 grant applications that investigate the complex, bidirectional relationships between adolescent social media use and mental health, psychiatric symptoms, and risk or resilience for psychopathology. The program encourages innovative, exploratory, and developmental research projects that move beyond simplistic measures (e.g., time spent online) to employ rigorous, fine-grained approaches to assess social media behaviors, contexts, and outcomes among adolescents (ages 10–20).
Key areas of interest include:
- Mechanisms by which social media use influences, or is influenced by, mental health and psychopathology.
- The impact of social media on risk and protective factors, including neurodevelopmental, psychological, and social determinants.
- The role of algorithmic bias, online discrimination, and digital social interactions.
- Feasibility and acceptability of social media–focused interventions and services, with an emphasis on early-stage development and deployment-focused research.
Projects may include the use of digital trace data, youth advisory boards, and ethical research components. Applications that propose animal research, rely solely on self-report or screen time, or lack theoretical and methodological consideration of mental illness are not responsive.
