Making context visible: structural intersectionality as a component of scientific rigor in child mental health research

About this video

The JAACAP Family of Journals have made a concerted effort to publish outstanding science on the impacts of structural and social determinants of health on the mental health of children and adolescents. This presentation provides an overview of this initiative and details structural intersectionality and the need for explicit context integration in children’s mental health research, practice, pedagogy, and policy. Article preparation guidance is included. 

References:

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  2. Verhoog S, Eijgermans DGM, Fang Y, Bramer WM, Raat H, Jansen W. Contextual determinants associated with children’s and adolescents’ mental health care utilization: a systematic review. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024;33(7):2051-2065. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-02077-5
  3. Janecka M, Medina C, Zaks N, Ben Messaoud K, Khachadourian V, Croen LA. Unveiling disparities: the case for group-specific analyses in child psychiatry. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025;65(3):337-339. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2025.05.009
  4. Gonzalez MR, Cardenas-Iniguez C, Linares DE, Wonnum S, Bagot K, White EJ, et al. Responsible research in health disparities using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ (ABCD) study. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2025;71:101497. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101497
  5. Nielsen MW, Gissi E, Heidari S, Horton R, Nadeau KC, Ngila D, et al. Intersectional analysis for science and technology. Nature. 2025;640(8058):329-337. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08774-w
  6. Huang BI. The inexorable zero. Harv L Rev. 2004;117(4):1215-1255. Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1371103
  7. Price MA, Weisz JR, McKetta S, Hollinsaid NL, Lattanner MR, Reid AE, Hatzenbuehler ML. Meta-analysis: are psychotherapies less effective for Black youth in communities with higher levels of anti-Black racism? J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022;61(6):754-763. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.07.808
  8. Taylor M, Hilario CT, Ben-David S, Dimitropoulos G. A social determinants perspective on adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID. 2024;4(10):1561-1577. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/covid4100108
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About the presenters

Dr. Lisa R. Fortuna, MD, MPH, MDiv

Dr. Fortuna is Deputy Editor for Clinical and Policy Content of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the University of California Riverside, School of Medicine. 

Lisa R

Dr. Robert R. Althoff, MD, PhD

University of Vermont

Dr. Althoff is Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at UVM Health and Professor of Psychiatry at University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. 

 Robert A. Althoff, MD, PhD

Diab A. Ali, MD

Boston Children’s Hospital

Dr. Ali is an American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Emerging Leaders Fellow and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital. 

Diab A. Ali, MD

Dr. Eraka Bath, MD

Dr. Bath is Assistant Editor for Health Equity and Antiracism of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Associate Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Vice Chair for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute in the David Geffen School of Medicine. 

Eraka Bath, MD

Dr. Douglas K. Novins, MD

University of Colorado

Dr. Novins is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. 

Douglas K. Novins, MD

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Making context visible: structural intersectionality as a component of scientific rigor in child mental health research