New Zealand Statistical Association 2024 Conference

Priya Parmar

University of Auckland

Identifying influential factors impacting trajectories of anxiety in adolescents experiencing adverse events

This is joint work with Avinesh Pillai, Ben Fletcher, Denise Neumann

A two-fold presentation exploring the learnings from (1) real-time real-world teaching applications of longitudinal analyses to (2) examine the longitudinal trajectories of anxiety in adolescents using self-reported data from ages 8 to 13, focusing on the impact of adverse events such as COVID-19 and extreme weather events from the Growing Up in New Zealand study.

We reflect upon the outcome of both applied analyst [student] and “client” [clinical researcher] from providing a concurrent collaborative analytic experience with an embedded “soft skills communication” framework. Students were tasked with comparing sub-group analyses and assessment of key modifiable factors that influence mental health outcomes for different repeated measures analyses. We then present results that would provide evidence-based recommendations for parents, schools, and policymakers as well as targets for interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of adverse events on adolescent mental health and support mental health resilience.