Research

Christine Denise Research

In addition to the treatment provided at the Youth Anxiety and Depression, we are always engaged in research evaluating the effectiveness of our approaches. Our hope is that our research can lead to a better understanding of what factors contribute to youth anxiety and mood disorders and how to improve treatment outcomes for all. We are also interested in working with traditionally underserved communities, and forming partnerships to increase access to mental health care.

If you are a student wanting to get involved with conducting research, click here.

For a complete list of lab scholarly works, visit us on Research Gate.

Our most recent publications

Our most recent presentations

Individual Behavioral Activation Therapy (IBAT):

We are actively looking for youth who are anxious or depressed to participate in a randomized clinical trial (RCT) evaluating the effectiveness of Individual Behavioral Activation Therapy, a new cognitive-behavioral therapy that emphasizes active problem solving and behavioral practice. Participating families will be randomly assigned to the novel IBAT program, to two established cognitive-behavioral interventions (Coping Cat, PASCET) or to a 14-week waitlist (WL) control. Participants will be 200 youth (ages 9-17 years old) who receive a diagnosis of a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – 5th edition (DSM-5; APA, 2013) anxiety (n=100) or depression (n=100) disorder. The goal of this project is to establish the efficacy of IBAT and to examine different pathways to change.

If your family would like to participate in the IBAT clinical trial, click here:

Healthy Families Study

We are actively seeking families (caregivers and youth) who have a child or adolescent between the ages of 9 and 17 years-old. Two hundred families will participate in interviews, surveys, and interactive activities to tell us more about how caregivers and youth interact with each other and solve problems. Eligible families will complete two virtual visits and answer survey questions. Eligible families can earn up to $100 if they complete both virtual visits.

If you would like to participate and/or have any questions, please reach out to us at 848-445-5374 or HealthyFamilies@gsapp.rutgers.edu.

Technology Aids for Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety/Depression:

We have recently created an iPhone/Android application to better understand changes in anxiety and mood in youth throughout the day to best identify the times when kids are getting stuck. The Real-time Emotion Action and Cognition Tracker (REACT system) is being used in youth treatment studies to determine when and how it is best to intervene. A treatment application is also in development so that kids can make use of a mobile “coping coach” on their mobile device.

The Rutgers Community Partnership Project: Establishing Sustainable Clinic-Community Partnerships

This project strives to build meaningful relationships between community partners and GSAPP specialty clinics with a focus on youth mental health. These partnerships will inform efforts to better understand mental health needs and service use in underserved youths in our local communities. Through a collaborative process, we plan to develop a "toolkit," or set of recommendations, that can guide future clinics in building meaningful and sustainable community relationships. We are committed to promoting social justice and hope to begin to targeting the disparities in care for racial/ethnic, gender/sexuality, and socioeconomic minorities by increasing mental health services in underserved communities. To learn more about the Rutgers Community Partnership Project, click here.

Developing a Scalable and Sustainable Early Detection System for School Absenteeism

This project aims to develop a web-based attendance dashboard that leverages existing school administrative processes to monitor and provide feedback on student attendance to identify acute attendance problems (Tier 2) before they develop into chronic absenteeism (Tier 3) in middle school youth. The project consists of (a) an iterative technology development phase, (b) development of a brief socio-emotional risk factor screener, and (c) a long-term follow-up to establish attendance cutoffs of chronic absenteeism and build data-driven prediction models (attendance algorithms).

Novel Methods to Enhance and Extend Child/Pediatric Graduate and Professional Training

This project aims to conceptualize and initiate extended learning opportunities for graduate students and alumni focusing on youth mental health. The project will complete a mixed methods needs assessment to determine optimal structure, format, and function of synchronous and asynchronous peer learning collaboratives.

Law Working

Recent Publications

Chu, B. C., Hoffman, L., Johns, A., Reyes-Portillo, J., & Hansford, A. (2015). Transdiagnostic behavior therapy for bullying-related anxiety and depression: Initial development and pilot study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 22, 415-429. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2014.06.007
Chu, B. C., Rizvi, S. L., Zendegui, E. A., & Bonavitacola, L. (2015). Dialectical Behavior Therapy for School Refusal: Treatment Development and Incorporation of Internet-based Coaching. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 22, 317-330. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2014.08.002
Chu, B. C., Talbott Crocco, S., Arnold, C. C., Brown, R., Southam-Gerow, M. A., & Weisz, J. R. (2015). Sustained implementation of cognitive-behavioral therapy for youth anxiety and depression: Long-term effects of structured training and consultation on therapist practice in the field. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 6, 70-79. doi: 10.1037/a0038000. NIHMSID: NIHMS706639
Hoffman, L. J., & Chu, B. C. (2015). Target problem (mis)matching: Predictors and consequences of parent-youth agreement in a sample of anxious youth. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 31, 11-19. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.12.015
Zandberg, L. J., Skriner, L. C., & Chu, B. C. (2015). Client-therapist alliance discrepancies and outcome in cognitive-behavioral therapy for youth anxiety. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 71 (4), 313-322. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22167
Ruggiero, K.J., Bunnell, B.E., Andrews III, A.R., Davidson, T.M., Hanson, R.F., Danielson, C.K., Saunders, B.E., Soltis, K., Yarian, C., Chu, B. C., Adams, Z.W. (2015). Development and Pilot Evaluation of a Tablet-Based Application to Improve Quality of Care in Child Mental Health Treatment. JMIR Research Protocol, 4(4), e143. DOI: 10.2196/resprot.4416
Chu, B. C., Crocco, S. T., Esseling, P., Areizaga, M., Lindner, A. M., & Skriner, L. C. (2016). Transdiagnostic group behavioral activation and exposure therapy for youth anxiety and depression: Initial randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 76, 65-75. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.11.005
Carpenter, A. L., Pincus, D. B., Conklin, P. H., Wyszynski, C., Chu, B. C., & Comer, J. S. (2016). Assessing cognitive-behavioral clinical decision-making among trainees in the treatment of childhood anxiety. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 10(2), 109-116. doi: 10.1037/tep0000111
Chu, B. C., Carpenter, A. L., Wyszynski, C. M., Conklin, P. H., & Comer, J. S. (2017). Scalable options for extended skill building following didactic training in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxious youth: A pilot randomized trial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 46 (3), 401-410. doi:10.1080/15374416.2015.1038825
Weisz, J. R., Kuppens, S., Ng, M. Y., Eckshtain, D., Ugueto, A. M., Vaughn-Coaxum, R., Jensen-Doss, A., Hawley, K. M., Krumholz, L. S., Chu, B. C., Weersing, R. V., & Fordwood, S. (2017). What five decades of research can tell us about the effects of youth psychological therapy: A multilevel meta-analysis and implications for science and practice. American Psychologist, 72, 79-117.
Durland, P. H., Wyszynski, C. M., & Chu, B. C. Predictors and outcomes of sudden gains and sudden regressions in CBT for youth anxiety. (2018, online). Behavior Therapy. Doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2018.01.006

Recent Presentations

Conklin, P. H., Chu, B. C., Carpenter, A. L., Wyszynski, C. M., & Comer, J. S. (2015). Scalable continued support options following didactic training in CBT for anxious youth: A pilot randomized trial. ABCT: Chicago, IL.

Fenley, A., Wyszynski, C. M., Toffey, K. L., Comer, J. S., Kuriyan, A., Altszuler, A. R., Grant, K., & Chu, B. C. (2015). Who watches the Watchmen? Professional profiles and satisfaction results from a large internet-based continuing education dissemination effort. ABCT: Chicago, IL.

Fitzgerald, H., Wyszynski, C. M., & Chu, B. C. (2015). Drugs or no drugs: Comparative efficacy of CBT with and without antidepressant medications in a naturalistic setting. ABCT: Chicago, IL.

Skriner, L. C., Chu, B. C., Bodden, D., Bogels, S., Kendall, P. C., Nauta, M., Silverman, W., & Wood, J. (2015). Trajectories and predictors of treatment response in CBT for youth anxiety: An integrative data analysis approach. SIG Poser Session; ABCT: Chicago, IL.

Cho, C., Fenley, A., Wyszynski, C.M., Guarino, D., Daly, K., Wood, J.J., & Chu, B.C. (2016). Parental Intrusiveness, Childhood Anxiety, and Depression: Reassessing the Parent-Child Interaction Questionnaire. ABCT: New York, NY.

Conklin, P.H., Yadegar, M., & Chu, B.C. (2016). Agreement between therapist and observer-rated treatment adherence in CBT for youth anxiety. ABCT: New York, NY.
Fenley, A., Johns, A., Hoffman, L., Wyszynski, C.M., & Chu, B.C. (2016). The psychometric properties of the multi-dimensional bullying impairment scales: Thoughts and actions scales. ABCT: New York, NY.

Fenley, A., Wyszynski, C.M., Toffey, K., Comer, J., Kuriyan, A., Altszuler, A., Grant, K., & Chu, B.C. (2016). Long-term satisfaction and impact of web-based training: 3-month and 1-year follow-up of a large internet-based continuing education dissemination effort. ABCT: New York, NY.

Mele, C. M., Temkin, A., Xue, J., Chen, J., & Chu, B.C. (2016). A systematic review of emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic process across anxiety and mood disorders. ABCT: New York, NY.

Temkin, A., Fenley, A., Li, S., Zhang, Y., & Chu, B.C. (2016). Usability and consumer appeal of a smartphone behavioral assessment suite: A tool to predict moods from behavioral phenotypes. Anxiety and Depression Association of America: Phila, PA.

Youth Anxiety and Depression Clinic