NCT07040449

Stress Trajectories and Anhedonia in Adolescence Research Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 192 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 13 Years – 15 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This project will examine how multiple biological measures from the brain and the body's stress response system contribute to anhedonia (the loss of pleasure) in adolescence. The goal of this project is to see if it is possible to combine these biological measures to describe different patterns of activity in the brain and body that adolescents may have in response to stress. The main question this study aims to answer is whether different patterns of activity in the brain and body are related to whether adolescents develop anhedonia and how high or low levels of anhedonia are over time. This study will enroll 192 adolescents who are between 13 and 15 years. Adolescents will complete tasks three times: at the beginning of the study, 10 months after that, and then 10 months after that. In total, they will be part of the study for 20 months. At each time, adolescents will complete surveys, provide samples of spit to measure hormones and provide pictures of their brain to measure brain activity, participate in mildly stressful tasks, and complete different activities that measure how they think. The investigators will also ask each adolescent's parent or legal guardian to answer some surveys about themselves and their child.

Detailed description

Participants will complete tasks at 3 timepoints (Baseline, 10-Months, and 20-Months). Some tasks will be in-person, while others will be virtual. The assessments being administered at all three timepoints are: * Psychological measures (self-report, completed remotely): Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS), Mood and Feelings Questionnaire short version (MFQ), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Emotional Distress and Anxiety, PROMIS Psychological Stress Experiences, Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) * Cognitive (researcher administered, conducted in-person): NIH Cognitive Toolbox * Brain Imaging via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) * Physiological (researcher administered, conducted in-person): Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Photoplethysmography (PPG), Impedance Cardiography (ICG), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP), Salivary Cortisol Additionally, the following will be administered at each respective timepoint: Baseline Assessment (Month 0): Self-Report, Remote Questionnaires: demographic survey, address history survey, Protocol for Responding to \& Assessing Patients' Assets, Risks \& Experiences (PRAPARE), Pediatric Adverse Childhood Experiences and Related Life-events Screener (PEARLS) Cognitive (researcher administered, conducted in-person: Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Second Version (WASI-II) Psychological interview: Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS) Time 2 (10-Months) Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) (self-report, completed remotely) Time 3 (20-Months) Psychological interview: Abbreviated Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS)

Conditions

• Anhedonia
• Stress Response
• Adolescent Development

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Montreal Imaging Stress Task	Psychosocial stress procedure consisting of completing sections of mental arithmetic that are 5.5 minutes in length, during which the individual receives neutral and negative evaluative feedback about their performance relative to their peers.
BEHAVIORAL	Trier Social Stress Test for Children	Psychosocial stress procedure in which the individual tells a story for 5 minutes in front of two neutral judges and performs mental arithmetic in front of the judges for 5 minutes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-03-12
• Primary completion: 2030-02-01
• Completion: 2030-02-01
• First posted: 2025-06-27
• Last updated: 2025-06-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States