Behavioral and Momentary Assessment of Fear-based Mechanisms underlying Remission in Weight-restored Anorexia Nervosa
The F31 National Research Service Award Fellowship provides two years of funding for graduate training and research. Specifically, this award will support my dissertation project, which uses neurocognitive tasks and ecological momentary assessment to examine fear approach and avoidance as mechanisms influencing anorexia nervosa recovery. Anorexia nervosa is a costly, impairing, and persistent psychiatric disorder, associated with poor treatment outcomes and high rates of relapse. A large body of evidence suggests anorexia nervosa is characterized by fear and avoidance, yet research on these maintaining processes are critically lacking. The results of this study will help identify precision relapse prevention targets that can optimize treatments for this serious psychiatric disorder. This training grant will also provide opportunities, resources, and expert consultation to collect and analyze behavioral data, learn new analytic approaches with intensive longitudinal data, and gain experience working with clinical participants. I will be working with my primary mentor, Dr. Cheri Levinson, and two expert consultants, Dr. Aaron Fisher from the University of California - Berkeley and Dr. Ann Haynos from the University of Minnesota, to complete the proposed project and related training goals.
Caroline Christian, M.S. (she/her)
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Lab
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville, Louisville, KY