# Decreasing Stress and Anxiety in Adolescents from High-Conflict Homes: Testing a Mindfulness Group + Ecological Momentary Intervention

> **NIH NIH K01** · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $129,456

## Abstract

Abstract
The candidate for this K01 application is an Assistant Professor with a well-established, productive program of
basic social science research investigating the effects of family relationships, particularly marital conflict, on
adolescent health. Her long-term goal is to build upon this research program to develop and test mind-body
interventions to improve stress and anxiety in adolescents from high-conflict homes. To do so, the applicant
needs additional training in: a) conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mindfulness interventions and
b) assessing the effects of RCTs over time by developing skills in the analysis of intensive longitudinal data.
The proposed training plan was developed to provide additional training in these key areas through workshops,
didactic courses, in-person mentoring, and primary research activities. The overall goal of the research project
is to support the development and testing of an intervention model to directly target a high-risk and
underserved adolescent group: those who are from high-conflict homes and are therefore likely to display
problems with dysregulated stress physiology, increased stress, and increased anxiety. Past efforts to reduce
negative effects of conflict on offspring have focused on targeting family conflict rather than directly focusing on
improving regulation in adolescents who are at-risk. Mindfulness interventions represent a promising approach
to directly target adolescents from high-conflict homes to build regulatory capabilities. However, they have not
been used in this way, nor have ecological momentary intervention (EMI) supplements to these interventions
been developed. Incorporating EMI into traditional treatments often increases treatment efficacy, and is
particularly appropriate for adolescents. The specific aims are to: 1) develop an EMI supplement (intervention
content delivered via cell phone between sessions) to Learning to Breathe (L2B), an evidence-based
mindfulness program for adolescents, and to determine the best delivery plan for this EMI supplement via a
mixed methods study; 2) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of L2B Plus (L2B plus EMI) for adolescents
from high-conflict homes, and, 3) examine the extent to which mindfulness reduces physiological stress
dysregulation, perceived stress, and anxiety in adolescents from high-conflict homes, both a) experimentally by
comparing L2B to a control, health education program and b) observationally in an existing dataset. In both
studies, links between mindfulness, stress, and anxiety will be examined between- and within-person. In line
with NCCIH’s focus on investigating how mind-body practices improve stress and anxiety, the current project
will advance understanding of how increasing mindfulness can support adolescents from high-conflict homes;
this project is expected to result in a flexible intervention model that is feasible to implement and well-liked by
families and adolescents, and that can be...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994195
- **Project number:** 5K01AT009592-04
- **Recipient organization:** COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Rachel Lucas-Thompson
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $129,456
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994195

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994195, Decreasing Stress and Anxiety in Adolescents from High-Conflict Homes: Testing a Mindfulness Group + Ecological Momentary Intervention (5K01AT009592-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994195. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*