STREET lab
Stress and Environmental Experiences in Teen Mental Health
EXAMINING THE INTERPLAY OF STRESS, NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS, COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, AND MENTAL HEALTH ACROSS DEVELOPMENT
TERESA G. VARGAS, PH.D.
LAB DIRECTOR
INCOMING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL SCIENCE AT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
google scholar profile
NEWS
The STREET Lab will open January 2027 at Colorado State University
Lab director Teresa Vargas is reviewing graduate student applications for the upcoming 2027-2028 cycle- reach out if you are interested!
We were invited to discuss our recent findings in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) podcast
Teresa Vargas & Randi Schuster join the JAACAP podcast along with journal editor Narpinder Kaur Malhi to discuss latest study on mental health staff as a protective factor for community disadvantage in youth
🔗 Listen to the podcast episode
Video summary of latest study on neighborhood educational resources and youth cognitive performance
Watch our video summarizing the findings of our most recent study published in Developmental Science, showing that community education supports could be particularly beneficial for learning for youth from highly disadvantaged communities:
Our study was featured in local newspaper the Bay State Banner
I led a study of nearly 30,000 Massachusetts students using data from Dr. Randi Schuster’s team at the Mass General Center for School Behavioral Health. Students in schools with more mental health staff reported fewer mental health challenges—especially in communities facing greater disadvantage. The study was featured in the Bay State Banner’s coverage of Boston’s youth mental health efforts.
Stress and Environmental Experiences in Teen Mental Health (STREET) Lab
The STREET Lab (launching January 2027) investigates how stress and everyday environments shape the emergence of mental health difficulties from adolescence and young adulthood. We focus on the multiple contexts in which youth grow up—families, schools, neighborhoods, and broader social environments—and how these contexts inform risk, resilience, and developmental pathways to mental illness.
Millions of children in the United States and around the world live in communities where they do not feel safe. Many families struggle to meet basic needs, and numerous neighborhoods lack the resources that promote healthy development. Other environments foster chronic exclusion, marginalization, or a lack of belonging, contributing to rising rates of loneliness and mental health concerns. Our work aims to understand how these forms of stress and context could inform our understanding of mental health across development, with the long-term goal of informing targets for prevention and intervention efforts that are grounded in young people’s real-world experiences.
METHODS AND APPROACH
The STREET Lab uses a multi-method, ecologically grounded approach. Our studies integrate:
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Ambulatory and real-time methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment) to capture stress, emotions, and social experiences as they unfold in everyday life
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Population and intensive longitudinal datasets to examine population-level patterns, moderators of risk, and modifiable prevention and intervention targets, including cardiovascular risk markers and neuroimaging data
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Improved measurement of context (e.g., neighborhood characteristics, objective and perceived safety, social connectedness, resource access) to better reflect the environments youth actually inhabit
Across projects, we aim to center the lived experiences of young people and to generate knowledge that can meaningfully inform youth development and mental health. See below for further information on the lab research focus.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
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Vargas TG, Conley RE, Mittal VA. Chronic stress, structural exposures and neurobiological mechanisms: A stimulation, discrepancy and deprivation model of psychosis. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2020;152:41-69. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2019.11.004. Epub 2019 Dec 5. PMID: 32451000; PMCID: PMC7703800.
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Vargas TG, Costello M, Tiemeier H, Lam P, Bollmann-Dodd T, Kaur J, Schuster RM. Neighborhood Deprivation and Adolescent Mental Health: The Protective Role of School Staffing Patterns. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2026 Jul;65(7):902-916. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2025.06.003. Epub 2025 Jun 25. PMID: 40578756; PMCID: PMC12244467.
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Vargas TG, Rakesh D, McLaughlin KA. Associations of neighborhood threat and deprivation with psychopathology: Uncovering neural mechanisms. Dev Psychopathol. 2025 Jun 30:1-15. doi: 10.1017/S095457942510031X. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40583442; PMCID: PMC12888767.
JOIN THE LAB
We will be considering applications for graduate students for the upcoming 2027-2028 year and recruiting undergraduate research assistants
The STREET Lab will begin recruiting students and trainees for the 2027-2028 academic year. I welcome inquiries from students who are interested in stress, environment, and the development of mental health difficulties, and who are excited about methods such as ecological momentary assessment, longitudinal and multilevel approaches applied to intensive longitudinal data and large-scale datasets, and improving measurement of real-world context.
If you are interested in applying as a graduate student for the Clinical Science PhD program, please email me at teresa.vargas@colostate.edu with (1) a brief description of your research interests and how they overlap with the lab, (2) your CV or résumé, and (3) any relevant research or clinical experience. Please include “STREET Lab Inquiry” in the subject line.
If you are interested in applying as an undergraduate research assistant, please email me with a brief statement (1–2 paragraphs) describing your interests, relevant coursework or experience, and your availability (semesters and approximate hours/week), along with a CV or résumé. Please include “STREET Lab Inquiry” in the subject line.
CLINICAL FOCUS
Clinically, I work with adolescents and adults experiencing anxiety, depression, and complex or severe mental health difficulties. My approach is grounded in third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies, with particular emphasis on:
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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Contextually sensitive, behaviorally oriented approaches that prioritize the fit between a person’s goals, values, and real-world environments
My training background includes full-protocol DBT, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In my clinical work, I aim to integrate these evidence-based approaches with a strong focus on context, recognizing that symptoms and behaviors are shaped by the environments in which people live, learn, and work. I am especially interested in working with individuals experiencing complex psychopathology, high-risk presentations, and difficulties that span multiple domains of functioning (e.g., mood, anxiety, psychosis-spectrum experiences, and interpersonal challenges).
CONTACT
For inquiries about professional consultations, academic collaborations, or research opportunities, please reach out.
I look forward to hearing from you!