# Examining the Role of State-level Restorative Justice Policies and their Implementation in Mental Health Disparities among Adolescent Dating Violence Girl Survivors: A Mixed Methods Study > **NIH NIH F31** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $39,637 ## Abstract ABSTRACT Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is highly prevalent among girls in the US and can have devastating consequences for mental health, including increased risk for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. As such, there is a critical need for effective depression and suicide prevention strategies for ADV girl survivors. Restorative justice (RJ) is one policy-based justice and accountability response to ADV that has the potential to improve youth mental health disparities among ADV girl survivors. RJ allows survivors to narrate their ADV stories and offer perpetrators an opportunity to acknowledge and remedy the harm, and engage in rehabilitation, which supports survivor preferences and fosters healing. To our knowledge, no study has examined whether state-level RJ policies and their implementation impact depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation among ADV girl survivors over time and whether impacts differ by race or ethnicity. The proposed fellowship builds on the applicant's prior background to prepare her for a career as an independent mixed methods researcher and behavioral scientist with expertise in structural- and community-level prevention intervention efforts for gender-based violence and its mental health consequences. The specific fellowship goals are to: 1) deepen health policy methods and advanced multilevel and causal quantitative analysis skills, 2) develop and strengthen intersectional mixed methods skills in public health, and 3) refine academic writing and communication skills. These goals will be accomplished through coursework and workshops, mentorship from the sponsor team, and execution of the proposed research project including dissemination of study findings. The specific aims of this proposed research are to: 1) examine associations between state RJ policies with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among ADV girl survivors, and test the effect modification of race/ethnicity (N=82,400), 2) among states with a RJ policy, examine associations between policy implementation with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among ADV girl survivors, and test effect modification of race/ethnicity (N=41,200), and 3) qualitatively describe perceptions of mental health and preferences for justice and accountability among ADV girl survivors (N=30). The proposed research uses a sequential explanatory mixed methods (QUANT -> QUAL) approach in a two-part research project. Aims 1 and 2 leverage 4 waves of population-representative data in 48 states from the 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 waves of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) and data on RJ policies specific to adolescents from a RJ legislative database. Aim 3 uses semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 white, 10 Black and 10 Hispanic ADV girl survivors to contextualize quantitative findings and identify ways to improve and tailor the justice response for ADV girl survivors. This proposal aligns with NIMH's youth mental health disparities call by examini... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10997540 - **Project number:** 1F31MH138053-01 - **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL - **Principal Investigator:** Laurel Ann Sharpless - **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $39,637 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2025-05-10 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10997540 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10997540, Examining the Role of State-level Restorative Justice Policies and their Implementation in Mental Health Disparities among Adolescent Dating Violence Girl Survivors: A Mixed Methods Study (1F31MH138053-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10997540. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*