Projects
Currently recruiting studies:
Project CRAFT (Culturally Responsive Assessments for Teens)
WHO?
Black and/or Latina/e/o adolescents ages 12-17 who have struggled in school, with their mental health, and/or their attention. Adolescents with a diagnosis of ADHD are welcome.
WHAT?
Participating in this project will involve answering questions about:
Emotional/behavioral health
Wellbeing
Community Connections
Identity
Academic achievement
Health care use
Behavioral difficulties including inattention and concentration
WHEN?
Now! Call or text 312-487-1489 or email ACCTIONLab@luc.edu to see if you're eligible to participate
WHAT DO I GET?
Full wellbeing assessment that includes interview with behavioral health provider, achievement testing results, diagnoses to help provide school accommodations/resources, and information about wellbeing
Free report describing results
Receive up to $95 for first two visits and $180 for completing online surveys. That's a total of $275 if you complete all the steps!
Current projects
Culturally Responsive Assessments for Teens (CRAFT)
Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Scholars for Action (RWJF-79247), project CRAFT focuses on creating trauma-informed assessments for Black and Latina/e/o adolescents with suspected ADHD. Graduate students will help with psychodiagnostic interviewing with parents and adolescents, neuropsychological tasks, creation of psychodiagnostic reports, and culturally-informed feedback sessions. Graduate students will also have the opportunity to participate in the parent and youth advisory board meetings throughout the project.
TikTok Misinformation Study
Understanding how much misinformation is really out there on TikTok about mental health, particularly for ADHD, bipolar disorder, and other mental health diagnoses.
Trauma comorbidities in college students
Created by multiple undergraduate research assistants in the ACCTION Lab, this project focuses on areas of interest related to trauma, ADHD, and CDS. Research questions include how childhood ACEs are associated with CDS and ADHD and what is the experience of Loyola college students with academic accommodations (and how is that associated with mental health difficulties).
ADHD LGBTQ+
In collaboration with RISE lab, we will launch a cross-sectional survey battery in summer 2022 to explore the intersectional experience of LGBTQ+ individuals living with ADHD. Based upon the preliminary data and student interest, we may complete follow-up interviews with some of the participants about their experiences as an LGBTQ+ person living with ADHD.
Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome
Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (formerly known as SCT, Sluggish Cognitive Tempo) is a set of behavioral symptoms that include maladaptive daydreaming (i.e., being disengaged from your environment so often it has negative consequences), mental confusion/fogginess, and slowed behavior/thinking. It is associated with higher levels of mental health difficulties, academic and social impairment, and sleep problems. We will continue exploring the association of CDS and its association with multiple areas of impairment, but also start focusing on areas of strength (e.g., creativity, thoughtfulness, positives of mind wandering). This will be driven by both Dr. Z and student interest.
Dissemination of work on social media
Although not an explicit research project, ACCTION lab and its members take dissemination of our work very seriously. Lab members get to be thoughtful and creative by developing infographics and other materials to disseminate more widely to families we serve. These allow for our research to be digested by more people outside of journal pay walls and jargon.