

Current Research Studies
Discover more projects from the YVORI research group.
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YVORI_Pro Longitudinal Study
In our current research project, we are dealing with mental health of young people. Despite similar challenges and tasks, some adolescents develop mental health issues, while others show a certain mental stability. If difficulties arise, typically they already occur during the school years. The aim of our project is both to find out more about the factors that promote such mental health issues as well as to explore the factors that are related to mental stability. We also want to look at the progression of mental health over time. If that begins to falter, we can derive information on how and when to intervene to improve the mental health of young people. In light of the current Corona pandemic, we are convinced that it is the right time to better understand young people's mental health and as researchers, we are asked to help young people with our research findings.
For that purpose, we are conducting a short questionnaire study among students from grades 8 to 12, i.e., aged 13 to 18. Our research team is directly on site in the cooperating schools to carry out the tests together with the adolescents and to be available for questions and comments. The students' emotional state, their life experiences and circumstances as well as how they deal with difficult situations are assessed via questionnaire. The first measurement is scheduled for October/November 2021. The procedure will be repeated six months, one year and two years later in order to record potential changes.
It is important to us to make our research project as transparent as possible for students, teachers, parents and interested people. If you have any questions about our project, please do not hesitate to contact our research team.
Virtual Reality Study
In this research project, we want to contribute to a better understanding of unusual experiences in youth. Unusual experiences include seeing or hearing things that other people cannot see or hear, believing that someone is following you or having thoughts that seem strange to others such as the idea of having supernatural powers. Many young people have such experiences, and only for some people these experiences cause distress and occur in the context of a mental health disorder.
The aim of this project is to better understand how experiencing unusual experiences can play a role in social performance in young people by using a novel virtual reality (VR) paradigm. VR is a relatively new technology that has already opened many doors for research. It allows us to be immersed in an environment and interact with virtual agents (aka avatars) It then allows us to observe real-time interactions and behaviors and include physiological measures. We plan on beginning this study in February 2023.
