Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus · PsychologyWadsworth Lab
Martha E Wadsworth · University Park, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Martha E. Wadsworth's lab at Penn State focuses on addressing mental health issues among low-income adolescents, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lab is especially interested in how chronic stress affects mental health and developing interventions that empower youth to cope with these challenges. Through programs like the Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills (BaSICS), they aim to reduce mental health disparities by fostering resilience and social identity in young people.
adolescent mental healthcoping skillstrauma-informed careyouth empowermentmental health disparities
Research Aims
5AIM 01Develop culturally affirming coping strategies for adolescents
AIM 02Investigate the impact of chronic stress on youth mental health
AIM 03Evaluate the effectiveness of the BaSICS program on depression and anxiety
AIM 04Empower low-income youth through community action
AIM 05Examine biological stress markers in relation to mental health outcomes
Skills the Lab Values
group facilitationstatistical analysisprogram evaluationqualitative research methodscommunity engagement
Output against the department
Publications178top 39% of dept.114th of 296
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations14ktop 18% of dept.54th of 296
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.