# Neural, dyadic, and cultural influences on risk for anxiety in young Latinx children

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2024 · $179,391

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Anxiety symptoms are one of the most prevalent and earliest forms of psychopathology in childhood and have
been linked with lasting effects on socioemotional wellbeing, reduce life satisfaction, and increase chance of
more severe psychopathology developing into adolescence and adulthood. Latinx children and adolescents
experience alarmingly high rates of anxiety and related internalizing disorders compared to other ethnic
groups, with some studies finding rates as high as 40%. Yet, we know little about risk and protective factors for
the emergence of symptoms in these children. Consistent with NIMH’s Strategic Objective 2 “to examine
mental illness trajectories across the lifespan” this K01 proposal will investigate early predictors of emerging
anxious behaviors, including neural biomarkers (Aim 1) and caregiver-child factors (Aim 2), while also
considering how broader cultural processes may influence risk trajectories for Latinx youth (Aim 3) from the
toddlerhood to preschool period. Knowledge from the proposed project could have a substantial impact on our
ability to identify which Latinx children are most likely to start trajectories towards anxiety early in life and could
help generate culturally-tailored interventions to modify developmental trajectories away from increased
symptoms in these children. This proposal leverages the opportunity to add measures to an ongoing 5-year
longitudinal study with children from a primarily Latinx area of Central Texas. This K01 proposal will add an in-
lab visit with neural and caregiver-child observational measures. The proposal will use EEG-based resting-
state measures (i.e., alpha asymmetry, beta-delta coupling) to assess general emotional processing and
regulatory tendencies (Aim 1), and observational measures of caregiver-child interactions to assess caregiver-
child emotion socialization (Aim 2). Additionally, the proposed K01 project will leverage caregiver and child
anxiety symptom and cultural socialization data (Aim 3) already being collected as part of the larger study.
Through this Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) the applicant will get needed training and
expertise on 1) EEG biomarkers in young children; 2) anxiety from a developmental psychopathology
perspective; 3) dyadic and longitudinal data analysis; and 4) cultural approaches. A rich training environment
with a multidisciplinary team of mentors and consultants in each of these areas has been assembled to meet
these goals. Findings from this study will offer the opportunity to map anxious trajectories as well as risk and
protective factors at a younger age than typically studied in Latinx youth development, and when dysregulation
patterns start to become noticeable but are still highly malleable. The proposed research and training plan will
enable the candidate to succeed in their long-term goal of launching a fully independent and unique research
program using multi-modal approaches to study biologica...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10874673
- **Project number:** 5K01MH133968-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura Quinones-Camacho
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $179,391
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10874673

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10874673, Neural, dyadic, and cultural influences on risk for anxiety in young Latinx children (5K01MH133968-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10874673. Licensed CC0.

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