Research Publications

Generative Artificial Intelligence Use and Adolescent Mental Health

This paper synthesizes recent literature on the relationships between GenAI use and adolescents’ mental health, with particular attention to problematic use and psychiatric vulnerabilities.

Jason M. Nagata, Jacqueline O. Hur, Thang Diep, Hasan Alsamman, Eliot D. Lee, Alexander Heuer, Henry Huynh, Sahana Nayak, Ryan K. McBain, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jason M. Lavender

From Policy to Practice: How State Policies Relate to Public Pre-K Teachers’ Curriculum Use

We investigated the role that state policies related to preschool curriculum play in public school pre-K teachers’ reported curricula use across the United States.

Jennifer K. Duer, Allison Friedman-Krauss, Anna Shapiro, Elizabeth D. Steiner

Long-Term Growth in Child Mental Health Expenditures, 2004-2023

This paper estimates trends in mental health expenditures, probability of use and expenditures per user for US children aged 2-17 from 2004 to 2023.

Joshua Breslau, Dar Alon, Alyssa L. Halbisen, Jonathan H. Cantor, Ryan K. McBain, Ateev Mehrotra, Bradley D. Stein, Fang Zhang, Hao Yu

Legal and Clinical Liability of Comanaging Pediatric Mental Health With Unregulated AI Chatbots: Reply

We conclude that parents and clinicians should proactively discuss chatbot use to promote safety, appropriate expectations, and linkages to evidence-based care.

Ryan K. McBain, Jonathan H. Cantor, Hao Yu

When Counties Invest in Early Childhood: Successes, Challenges, and Lessons from Harris County, Texas

The authors evaluated the implementation of the Early Childhood Impact Fund (ECIF) in Harris County, Texas. ECIF provided $15 million to programs serving children from birth to age 5, their caregivers, and early childhood professionals.

Elaine Lin Wang, Karen Christianson, Jill S. Cannon, Jonathan Schweig, Adaeze Ibeanu

The Effect of Removing Point-of-Purchase Price Discounts on College Students’ Future Tobacco Use Susceptibility Depends on Price Sensitivity

Tobacco companies use point-of-sale discounts and coupons to sustain demand and normalize tobacco use. Removing price promotions could counteract these effects.

Steven C. Martino, Claude Messan Setodji, Michael S. Dunbar, Abigail Torbatian, Desmond Jenson, William G. Shadel

Adolescent Behavioral Health Outcomes of Child Welfare Involved Youth with and Without Childhood Suicidal Ideation

We examined whether child welfare-involved children aged 7-11 with suicidal ideation (SI) experience worse adolescent behavioral health compared to peers without SI.

Lynsay Ayer, Alexandria Smith, Elie Ohana, Beth Ann Griffin, Arielle Hope Sheftall, Gabriel W. Hassler

Examining the Implementation and Impact of Pediatric ACE Screening: Results from a Cohort of California Clinics

The authors assessed models of care developed by clinics to integrate Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) education, screening, and response. Findings provide evidence of the effects of pediatric ACE screening on health care utilization and quality.

Peggy G. Chen, Graham DiGuiseppi, Kandice A. Kapinos, Rachel M. Burns, Dana Schultz, Avah Mousavi-Raad, Gabriela Alvarado, Stacey Yi, Priya Gandhi, Joshua Breslau, Jeff Sheehy, Mikah Owens, Edward L. Machtinger, Shannon Thyne, Nicole K. Eberhart

Availability of Telehealth Services for Children at Mental Health Treatment Facilities

To quantify what percentage of MHTFs offer telehealth services for children and what facility-level, state-level, and county-level factors are associated with offering any telehealth services and specifically medication management via telehealth.

Jonathan H. Cantor, Ryan K. McBain, Shannon Walsh, Fang Zhang, Alyssa L. Halbisen, Russell Hanson, Aaron Kofner, Joshua Breslau, Ateev Mehrotra, Bradley D. Stein, Hao Yu

Strengthening Young People’s Life Skills: Practical Guidance and Resources for Intermediaries Supporting Out-of-School-Time Programs

This guide for out-of-school-time (OST) intermediaries (the organizations that coordinate and support OST providers) and its companion resource contain practical guidance and resources to help OST programs strengthen young people’s life skills.

Jennifer T. Leschitz, Alice Huguet, Catherine H. Augustine, Katie Tosh, Laura S. Hamilton

Levers for Increasing College Student Access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Evidence from Colorado

In this report, the authors aim to provide federal, state, and local decisionmakers with evidence on four different options for expanding college student participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Brian Phillips, Lindsay Daugherty, Min Jung Kim, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jennifer Kret, Michael Vente

What States Can Do to Boost College Student Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Evidence from Colorado

This brief describes two options that states can pursue to expand college student participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Colorado data offer evidence on how these two actions might increase college student participation.

Brian Phillips, Lindsay Daugherty, Min Jung Kim, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jennifer Kret, Michael Vente

What Colleges Can Do to Boost Student Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Lessons from Colorado

This research brief provides an overview of how Colorado public postsecondary institutions have scaled application and case management support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the implications for student participation.

Lindsay Daugherty, Brian Phillips, Amanda Perez, Min Jung Kim, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jennifer Kret, Michael Vente

College Students and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Colorado: Key Findings for State Agencies, Colleges, and Counties

This brief presents four key findings on Colorado college student participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the barriers that college students face to participation.

Brian Phillips, Lindsay Daugherty, Min Jung Kim, Amanda Perez, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jennifer Kret, Michael Vente

Teaching Computational Thinking to Children in Head Start Classrooms: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

This article reports on the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluation of a novel curriculum that teaches computational thinking (CT) skills to children ages three through five in Head Start classrooms.

Christopher Joseph Doss, John F. Pane, Victoria L. Jones

Right-sizing Incentives

This paper presents results from a field experiment in Nigeria in which expectant mothers were offered cash payments conditioned on using formal medical care.

Edward N. Okeke, Isa Sadeeq Abubakar

AI Chatbot Use and Disclosure for Mental Health Among US Adolescents and Young Adults

The objective of this paper is to assess the prevalence, frequency, perceived helpfulness, and disclosure of AI chatbot use for mental health advice among US adolescents and young adults in 2025.

Ryan K. McBain, Jonathan H. Cantor, Joshua Breslau, Melissa Kay Diliberti, Li Ang Zhang, Fang Zhang, Alyssa L. Halbisen, Aaron Kofner, Benjamin Rader, Pat Pataranutaporn, Bradley D. Stein, Ateev Mehrotra, Hao Yu

Gender Norms Survey Measurement in Very Young Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Survey Efforts and Synthesis of Best Practices

This report provides a review of existing survey efforts and promising methodological practices for measuring gender norms among very young adolescents ages 10 to 14 in low- and middle-income countries, based on literature and expert consultations.

Julia Rollison, Laura J. Faherty, Lia Pak, Maya Rabinowitz

Updating California’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Toxic Stress Risk Assessment and Response Algorithm

The authors describe the updated ACEs and Toxic Stress Risk Assessment and Response Algorithm, which enables clinicians to determine patient risk of toxic stress physiology and identify an appropriate clinical response.

Nicole K. Eberhart, Edward L. Machtinger, Ingrid Estrada-Darley, Suzanne Perry, Priya Gandhi, Alejandro Roa Contreras, Ryan K. McBain, Nadine Burke Harris

Preventing Alcohol and Cannabis-Impaired Driving Among Adolescents: Effects of a Web-Intervention in a Driver Education Program

Evaluates a single-session web intervention added to driver education for adolescents in Colorado. WebCHAT participants showed lower perceived peer alcohol and cannabis use norms at 6 months. Both groups reduced substance use and perceived impaired driving as riskier.

Karen Chan Osilla, Katherine Nameth, Anthony Rodriguez, Justin F. Hummer, Elizabeth J. D'Amico

State Paid Sick Leave Mandates and Receipt of Pediatric Preventive Dental Care

State paid sick leave mandates were associated with a 3.2% increase in children receiving preventive dental care, suggesting these policies help parents overcome work-related time barriers to pediatric dental visits.

Alexandra Skinner, Johanna C. MacLean, Bradley D. Stein, Ashley M. Kranz

Pediatric Dental Surgeries in Children with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Paid by Means of Medicaid

Children with intellectual disabilities or autism were less likely to receive Medicaid-covered dental surgeries at lower-cost ambulatory surgery centers than hospital outpatient departments.

Katherine M. Rancaño, Ashley M. Kranz

Evaluation of Networks for School Improvement: Impacts, Implementation, and Lessons for Network-Based Continuous Improvement

This brief summarizes the results of a network-based continuous improvement initiative to increase the proportion of students who are Black, Latino, or experiencing poverty and are on track for high school graduation and college enrollment.

Evaluation of the Networks for School Improvement Initiative—How Network Hubs Develop and Support Continuous Improvement Networks: Data Sources and Methodology

The authors review the data and methods used to examine how intermediaries developed and supported 25 school networks using continuous improvement approaches to improve educational outcomes for students who are Black, Latino, or experiencing poverty.

Stephani L. Wrabel, Samantha E. DiNicola, Tiffany Berglund, Jonathan Schweig

Evaluation of the Networks for School Improvement Initiative—How Network Hubs Develop and Support Continuous Improvement Networks: Final Report

In this report, the authors examine how intermediary organizations developed and supported 25 networks of schools using continuous improvement approaches to improve educational outcomes for students who are Black, Latino, or experiencing poverty.

Susan Bush-Mecenas, Rebecca Herman, Karen Christianson, Stephani L. Wrabel, Peter Nguyen, Sarah Zelazny, Tiffany Berglund, Pierrce Holmes, Isaiah Simmons, Nazia Wolters, Samantha E. DiNicola, Laura Assanmal Peláez, R. L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy

Dental Surgeries in Hospitals and Surgery Centers for Children With Developmental Disabilities

A Medicaid data analysis found that children with autism or intellectual disabilities receiving dental surgery at ambulatory surgery centers had shorter wait times, lower costs, and no increase in adverse outcomes compared to hospital settings.

Katherine M. Rancaño, Xiaoxi Zhao, Elizabeth L. Munnich, Christopher M. Whaley, Jessica Y. Lee, Ashley M. Kranz

Examining the Impact of Total Sleep Duration on Daily Affect Among Short-Sleeping Adolescents: An Experimental Study

This study examined whether increasing sleep duration was associated with changes in daily affect, specifically, increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect, among short-sleeping adolescents.

Avah Mousavi-Raad, Ariel B. Neikrug, Dean W. Beebe, Uma Rao, Jessica L. Borelli, Kate Kuhlman

National Guard Youth ChalleNGe: Program Progress in 2024–2025

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program serves young people ages 16 to 18 who risk not completing a high school credential. This report, the tenth in a series of annual updates, covers the program and the participants who entered during 2024.

Jennie W. Wenger, Stephani L. Wrabel, Linda Cottrell

Gaza’s Reconstruction Must Begin With Its Youth: A Better Future for Palestine Depends on Psychological Recovery

The Israeli‑Palestinian crisis shows that violence and human development are inseparable. Rebuilding trust and treating mental health must precede diplomacy for any durable peace.

Rita T. Karam

Policy Actors’ Perspectives on Improving Federal Grants to Promote the Implementation Success of Evidence-Based Behavioral Health Practices

To understand EBP reach through federal grant mechanisms, we conducted a series of focus groups with relevant federal and state policy actors to gather their perspectives on how to improve federal grants to support EBP implementation.

Blanche Wright, Grace M. Hindmarch, Jin Kim, Sarah B. Hunter, Danielle Schlang, George Timmins, Gregory Aarons, Jonathan Purtle, Alex R. Dopp

The Changing Landscape of School-Based Health Centers and Other School-Based Clinics in California, 2011-2023

This study describes California school-based health centers and other school-based clinics and identifies school characteristics associated with access.

Katherine M. Rancaño, Ashley M. Kranz, Jessica Richard, Catria Gadwah-Meaden, Christine Mulhern, Laura J. Faherty

US Child Mental Health Care Need, Unmet Needs, and Difficulty Accessing Services

We used nationally representative data to quantify household-level receipt of and difficulty accessing mental health treatment for children.

Alyssa L. Halbisen, Joshua Breslau, Jonathan H. Cantor, Ryan K. McBain, Aaron Kofner, Mir M. Ali, Fang Zhang, Bradley D. Stein, Hao Yu

Back-to-Basics Hospital-Wide Training Improves Inpatient Pediatric Care Experiences

We examined whether a hospital-wide Back-to-Basics training for clinical and nonclinical providers that focused on communication behaviors and safety protocols improved inpatient pediatric care experiences.

Denise D. Quigley, Maria Panayotou, Mary Ellen Slaughter

'We Just Want to See People Like Us': Lessons Learned on Engaging Youth Advisory Groups for Public Health Awareness Efforts

This study evaluates a statewide youth and young adult council established as part of a public health initiative addressing adverse childhood experiences.

Gabriela Alvarado, Stacey Yi, Alejandro Roa Contreras, Sarah Ismail, Anda Kuo, Setareh Harsamizadeh Tehrani, Gabriela Escobar, Nicole K. Eberhart

Analysis of West Virginia’s State School Aid Funding Formula: Recommendations to Enhance Adequacy, Fairness, and Efficiency of State Funding for Education

This report, prepared for the West Virginia House of Delegates, is intended to provide an independent, holistic assessment of the state’s school aid funding formula and to identify opportunities for improvements in the state’s funding strategy.

Benjamin K. Master, Brian Phillips, Ben Senator, Nathan Remillard, Luke Muggy, Srikant Kumar Sahoo

Assessing the Impact of Grade Retention: A Cautionary Tale of Exclusion Restriction Violations

Reading improvements among flagged students result from added help rather than retention, exposing flaws in RD analyses and emphasizing careful evaluation of policy effects.

Jordy Berne, Brian A. Jacob, Christina Weiland, Katharine Strunk

Evaluation of Texas's Student Success Acceleration Program 2.0: Interim Report

This report presents an overview of the design of the Student Success Acceleration Program 2.0 and key themes from national and state research on student success, documenting the 33 projects funded across Texas colleges and universities.

Isaiah Simmons, Jason C. Lee, Jenna W. Kramer, Peter Nguyen, Min Jung Kim

School-entry Vaccine Exemptions in Maine Before and After Public Law 154, 2018-2023

We examined how this policy change affected vaccine exemption rates and clustering in kindergartens.

Ashley Gromis, Laura J. Faherty

Differential Eating Disorder Symptom Trajectories Across the Perinatal Period and Associated Psychosocial Factors

The current study aimed to explore eating disorder symptom trajectories and their psychosocial correlates during pregnancy and the first postpartum year using person-centered statistical approaches.

Caroline Christian, Lydia B. Brown, Christine C. Call, Shannon D. Donofry, Zoe Bridges-Curry, Marquis S. Hawkins, Michele D. Levine

Clarity and Consistency in Government-Funded Implementation Strategies Associated with Greater Evidence-Based Practice Reach: A Mixed-Method Comparative Case Study

Our mixed-method comparative case study advances policy-focused implementation research related to EBP financing strategies, demonstrating how examination of large-scale real-world funding initiatives can produce generalizable lessons.

Matthew Lee, Sarah B. Hunter, Baji Tumendemberel, Mekdes Shiferaw, Mark D. Godley, Jonathan Purtle, Gregory Aarons, Alex R. Dopp

Evaluation of the Peaceful Connections Violence Prevention Program: Local Evaluation Report

The authors share their findings of their evaluation of the Boys & Girls Clubs' Peaceful Connections program in Los Angeles County, and they include recommendations for improving both the program and evaluation efforts going forward.

Mallika Bhandarkar, Stephanie Brooks Holliday, Kami Ehrich, Alexandra Bilder, Elizabeth Marsolais

Minimal Progress Toward Sustainment: 10-Year Replication of Substance Use EBP Sustainment Trajectories and Associations with Implementation Characteristics

Our findings suggest that work over the past decade promoting sustainment of evidence-based practices for youth substance use may not have produced measurable impacts.

Alex R. Dopp, Michelle Bongard, Bing Han, Grace M. Hindmarch, Mekdes Shiferaw, Sapna J. Mendon-Plasek, Baji Tumendemberel, George Timmins, Kendal Reeder, Philip Pantoja, Danielle Schlang, Lora L. Passetti, Mark D. Godley, Sarah B. Hunter

Pre-K Teachers Are Optimistic About Educational Technology, Though Current Use Varies Widely: Findings from the American Public School Pre-K Teacher Survey

This report describes educational technology usage by public school pre-kindergarten (pre-K) teachers. Findings cover the technologies pre-K teachers use, how often they use them, and teachers' attitudes toward educational technology.

Jordy Berne, Christopher Joseph Doss, Anna Shapiro

Pre-K Teacher Pay, Benefits, and Intentions to Leave in 2025: Findings from the American Public School Pre-K Teacher Survey

The authors describe the status of pre-kindergarten (pre-K) teachers’ pay, benefits, and intentions to leave their jobs based on survey results from a nationally representative sample of pre-K teachers in U.S. public schools.

Jordy Berne, Christopher Joseph Doss, Anna Shapiro

Professional Learning Opportunities for Public School–Based Pre-K Teachers: Findings from the Spring 2025 American Public School Pre-K Teacher Survey

This report describes professional learning (PL) experiences of pre-kindergarten teachers, such as whether teachers received PL on various topics, the types of additional PL they need, the forms of PL they find useful, and barriers to accessing PL.

Ashley Woo, Jill S. Cannon, Christopher Joseph Doss, Anna Shapiro, Elizabeth D. Steiner

How Public School–Based Pre-K Teachers Use and Combine Instructional Materials: Findings from the American Public School Pre-K Teacher Survey

Instructional materials are a crucial aspect of quality early childhood education. This report presents a national picture of how public school–based pre-kindergarten teachers used and combined instructional materials during the 2024–2025 school year.

Ashley Woo, Christopher Joseph Doss, Anna Shapiro, Elizabeth D. Steiner

Education and Violence: A Policy and Practice Review of England and Wales

The primary aim of this study is to identify what needs to change at the policy and system levels to empower more education settings to reduce violence.

Ana FitzSimons, Natalie Picken, Emily MacLeod, Annalena Wolcke, Shann Corbett, Teresa Turkheimer, Dave Thomson, Christopher Taylor

Assessment of Military Child Development Program Staffing: Initial Findings Regarding the Workforce

The U.S. Department of War’s Child Development Program has struggled to meet the demand for child care. To understand this issue, RAND researchers assessed factors related to staff recruitment, training, development, compensation, and retention.

Lynn A. Karoly, Laura Werber, Laura Bellows, Jonah Kushner, Ashley Woo, Jonas Kempf

Evaluation of the 'SAFE' (Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed) Taskforces

This independent evaluation of the SAFE Taskforces programme seeks to contribute to the evidence base on what works to tackle youth violence.

Ana FitzSimons, Emma Disley, Veruska Oppedisano, Richard Dorsett, Dave Thomson

Extension Evaluation of the 'SAFE' (Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed) Taskforces

This extension evaluation seeks to provide added value by estimating longer term causal effects of SAFE on the pupils and LAs that participated in the programme during the initial pilot period.

Ana FitzSimons, Martha Aitken, Veruska Oppedisano, Richard Dorsett, Dave Thomson

The Role of Services in Children's Identity Formation, and How This Influences Children's Involvement in Violence in England

This research report investigates the role of services in shaping children’s identity formation, and how these identity-forming experiences in turn influence children’s involvement in violence in England.

Ana FitzSimons, Emily MacLeod, Teresa Turkheimer, Annalena Wolcke, Julie Harris, Charlotte Woodhead, Cristina Preece

A Maturity Model for Regional Collaboration: Strengthening Partnerships Among Colleges, Workforce Development Boards, and Employers to Meet Regional Needs

The authors developed a partnership maturity model to foster more-robust and sustainable regional collaborations. Although derived from a rural context, the model is generalizable to inform partnership development in a variety of settings.

Rita T. Karam, Marwa AlFakhri, Melanie A. Zaber, Elaine W. Leigh