About

Dr. Jessica Hamilton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University, with a research focus on identifying modifiable risk factors for the onset and worsening of adolescent depression and suicidality, including ideation and behavior. Her work applies a developmentally-informed approach to understand the unique factors impacting depression and suicidality during adolescence, addressing questions about which adolescents are most at risk, when they are most vulnerable, and how technology impacts risk and can be used to capture and modify these risk processes in real time. She is currently the principal investigator on a NIMH-funded career development award examining social media and sleep disruption in relation to suicidality among adolescents, utilizing intensive monitoring designs. Dr. Hamilton's research aims to leverage advancing technology such as smartphone sensing, actigraphy, ecological momentary assessment, and ambulatory psychophysiology to better identify and detect suicide risk in real-world settings to inform prevention and early intervention programs among diverse youth. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Temple University in 2017, completed postdoctoral training in sleep medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, and has been recognized with multiple awards from national psychological organizations. Dr. Hamilton has authored over 50 publications, contributed to book chapters, and presented extensively at national and international conferences. She is actively involved in professional service, including editorial roles and peer review, and is committed to promoting social justice and equity through her research, teaching, and mentorship.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Social psychology
• Applied psychology
• Geography
• Developmental psychology
• Medical emergency
• Clinical psychology
• Epistemology
• Medical education

Selected publications

• Social Media Experiences and Mood Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth: A Double-Edged Sword

  Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · 2026-03-27

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVE: Adolescents who identify as a sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) are at sharply elevated risk for negative mental health outcomes, in part due to experiences of online victimization. However, little research has examined potential protective effects of positive social media experiences on SGM youth mental health alongside the known risk posed by negative experiences. METHOD: = 15.9; 51% sexual minority, 31% gender minority) who participated in an 8-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol assessing emotional experiences on social media and affect. Multilevel modeling examined within-person relationships between daily emotional responses to social media and affect, with SGM identity included as a moderator. RESULTS: SGM adolescents showed increased sensitivity to both positive and negative social media experiences relative to their non-SGM peers. Specifically, negative social media experiences predicted within-person elevations in negative affect and depression, with stronger associations in SGM participants. Conversely, positive social media experiences predicted stronger within-person elevations in positive affect (and reductions in depression and negative affect) for SGM youth, relative to non-SGM youth. These associations persisted even when controlling for baseline depression severity and emotion dysregulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that social media experiences may serve as a double-edged sword for SGM youth, affording the potential for both heightened risk and protection for mental health. The protective effects of positive emotional experiences on social media indicate their potential importance in fostering resilience toward minority stressors faced by SGM youth.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessing a Digital Intervention for Prevention of Sleep Problems among Young People with and without Structural Sleep Barriers

  2026-01-16

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Sleep problems rise in prevalence during adolescence and young adulthood and pose risk for a myriad of negative mental and physical health outcomes. Existing behavioral sleep interventions assumes existing moderate to severe sleep problems and that these problems are caused by behavioral habits, not structural/environmental factors. This study tested the proximal impacts of Project Sleep, a digital single-session intervention (SSI) for young people with mild sleep problems OR an interest in learning about sleep habits, with the aim of reducing and preventing sleep problems. This study specifically investigates whether there are differential effects of the intervention for those with structural sleep barriers, to lay the groundwork for future randomized controlled trial and long-term follow up studies assessing the effects of this intervention for this group. Participants were aged 13-25 with self-reported sleep problems (N=759, Mage=18.7; 48% white, 81% girls, 38% LGBTQ+). Structural sleep barriers were reported by 45%: uncomfortable temperature (20%), exceess noise (17%), shared rooms (13%), excess light (10%), nighttime workers in the home (7%), unstable living conditions (2%). Participants rated perceived importance of sleep and making a change to sleep, readiness for change, and perceived control over sleep pre- and post-SSI. Moderation models assessed whether structural factors influenced outcomes. T-tests and correlations tested whether participants’ feedback differed by structural barriers. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, those experiencing structural barriers improved similarly to peers on all pre/post-SSI change metrics (corrected ps > .05). There were also no differences in participants’ feedback about their experience of the SSI by structural barrier (ps > .05). This study thus provides preliminary evidence that Project Sleep may be an effective sleep health promotion tool among young people, including those with structural sleep barriers. However, given this study measured only proximal impacts, future research should continue to test these questions using a randomized controlled trial and long-term follow-up design.

  PublisherDOI

• Towards Next-Generation Stress Generation Research: Expert Consensus Methodological Guidelines

  2026-01-23

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The stress generation model posits that depression and other psychopathology elevates risk that individuals create or select into stressful life events. Although decades of research support stress generation theory, life stress is inherently challenging to assess and model as an outcome variable, and prior studies follow inconsistent methodological standards. Towards a vision of elevated “next generation” research, we present expert consensus methodological guidelines for conducting stress generation research. A panel of researchers with diverse expertise delineates best practice, acceptable, and non-recommended methods across six areas: stressor operationalizations, assessment, longitudinal study design (including intensive longitudinal design), statistical analysis, openness/ transparency, and avoiding stigmatizing language. For example, the review covers modeling stressors as formative variables, statistically comparing effect sizes for predicting independent and dependent stress, and using life stress interviews versus questionnaires, among other methodological concerns pertinent to stress generation research. Following these guidelines will allow future investigators to construct a research base with greater rigor, transparency, and reproducibility, providing a firmer foundation to improve understanding of stress generation.

  PublisherDOI

• Net negative carbon dioxide nickel mining examined through prospective technoeconomic assessment

  Research Square · 2026-01-09 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessing a Digital Intervention for Prevention of Sleep Problems among Young People with and without Structural Sleep Barriers

  PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · 2026-01-15

  preprintOpen access

  Sleep problems rise in prevalence during adolescence and young adulthood and pose risk for a myriad of negative mental and physical health outcomes. Existing behavioral sleep interventions assumes existing moderate to severe sleep problems and that these problems are caused by behavioral habits, not structural/environmental factors. This study tested the proximal impacts of Project Sleep, a digital single-session intervention (SSI) for young people with mild sleep problems OR an interest in learning about sleep habits, with the aim of reducing and preventing sleep problems. This study specifically investigates whether there are differential effects of the intervention for those with structural sleep barriers, to lay the groundwork for future randomized controlled trial and long-term follow up studies assessing the effects of this intervention for this group. Participants were aged 13-25 with self-reported sleep problems (N=759, Mage=18.7; 48% white, 81% girls, 38% LGBTQ+). Structural sleep barriers were reported by 45%: uncomfortable temperature (20%), exceess noise (17%), shared rooms (13%), excess light (10%), nighttime workers in the home (7%), unstable living conditions (2%). Participants rated perceived importance of sleep and making a change to sleep, readiness for change, and perceived control over sleep pre- and post-SSI. Moderation models assessed whether structural factors influenced outcomes. T-tests and correlations tested whether participants’ feedback differed by structural barriers. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, those experiencing structural barriers improved similarly to peers on all pre/post-SSI change metrics (corrected ps > .05). There were also no differences in participants’ feedback about their experience of the SSI by structural barrier (ps > .05). This study thus provides preliminary evidence that Project Sleep may be an effective sleep health promotion tool among young people, including those with structural sleep barriers. However, given this study measured only proximal impacts, future research should continue to test these questions using a randomized controlled trial and long-term follow-up design.

  Publisher

• Problematic social media use and relationship to mental health characteristics in youth from the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN)

  Journal of Affective Disorders · 2025-01-10 · 11 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• 1249 The Role of Social Media Usage in Sleep and Depression in Suicidal Adolescents

  SLEEP · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Introduction Social media use during adolescence may impact both sleep and depression. Social media usage could have impairing effects on mood and sleep duration and quality, and positive effects through obtaining support. Few studies have examined these relationships in clinical populations of adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders. Methods 143 adolescents (mean age 15.8 years, 76.9% Female) with suicidal ideation and major depression being treated in an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) completed social media and sleep questionnaires at baseline and monthly for up to 2 months. The social media questionnaire consisted of items regarding social media experiences, addiction, and frequency of use before bed. Monthly self-reports of sleep were measured with the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance and Sleep Related Impairment scales, and depression through the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ). Sleep and and social media were examined as predictors of depression severity through Pearson correlations. Results Nearly 72% of the sample reported social media use 2 hours before bed on most days, with 69% of adolescents using social media in bed and 44% using social media while intending to fall asleep. Negative, stressful interactions on social media were significantly associated with more depression (r=.30, p< 0.01) and sleep related impairment (r =.27, p< 0.01) within the same month. Social media addiction was significantly associated with depression (r=.30, p< 0.01) and sleep impairment (r=0.318, p< 0.01) within the same month. Duration of social media use after intent to fall asleep was significantly associated with depression (r=.214, p< 0.05), sleep disturbance (r=.20, p< 0.05), and sleep impairment (r=.25, p< 0.01) within the same month. Positive interactions on social media were notably only related to sleep impairment (r=.214, p< 0.05). No significant longitudinal associations between lagged social media use predictors and depression and sleep were found. Conclusion This study contributes to growing evidence regarding relationships between social media use, depression severity, and sleep-related issues in high-risk youth. Longitudinal studies further analyzing this relationship could reveal a specific pathway or mediation. Understanding social media’s impact on adolescents affect and sleep health may help inform interventions specifically catered to depressed and suicidal youth. Support (if any) R01 MH124907

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A collective review on some potential negative impacts of smartphone and social media use on adolescent mental health: Results from a Delphi process

  2025-05-15 · 6 citations

  preprintOpen access

  The literature on how smartphone and social media use affects adolescent mental health is highly fragmented. To synthesize the evidence, we convened over 120 researchers with diverse perspectives to evaluate 26 commonly cited claims using a Delphi process. A large majority agree that: Adolescent mental health has declined in several Western countries; heavy smartphone and social media use can cause sleep problems; such use correlates with attention problems and behavioural addiction; among girls, social media use may be associated with body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, exposure to mental disorders, harassment and predation. Most other claims were judged to have insufficient evidence due to limited, inconsistent, or non-causal data. Researchers also raised broader concerns, including challenges in measuring mental health and establishing causality, geographic bias in existing evidence, and the need for policies that account for diverse risks and avoid unintended harms. This collective review offers a foundation for future research and policy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Project Sleep: A Digital Sleep Single Session Intervention to Improve Sleep Problems in Young People

  2025-08-28 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This project investigates initial feasibilty, acceptability, and proximal outcomes for Project Sleep, a single-session intervention designed to mitigate sleep problems among young people.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Operational and Exploration Requirements and Research Capabilities for SEP Environment Monitoring and Forecasting

  2025-07-13 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Mitigating risks posed by solar energetic particles (SEPs) to operations and exploration in space and Earth's atmosphere motivates the development of advanced, synergistic approaches for monitoring, modeling, and analyzing space weather conditions. The consequences of SEPs and their interactions with the near-Earth space environment are numerous, including elevated radiation levels at aviation altitudes during major events, satellite damage, and health risks to astronauts, resulting in economic impacts and potential hazards for space exploration. This contribution will present a high-level overview of the operational requirements and research capabilities for SEP event environment monitoring and forecasting that were highlighted during a workshop at Georgia State University, held on October 16-19, 2024. Specifically, it summarizes the presented activities concerning the following: (1) Identifying needs for SEP event forecasting and nowcasting, including practical forecast timeframes; (2) Reviewing availability and coverage of the current observational data and identifying tangible data resources for research, operations and the R2O2R loop; (3) Mapping existing forecast capabilities and identifying meaningful modeling advances for research and operations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant F31MH106184

  NIH · $64k · 2016

• The impact of social media use on precursors of adolescent suicide risk: Aprospective study

  NIH · $804k · 2020–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Lauren B. Alloy

  Temple University

  92 shared

• Jonathan P. Stange

  67 shared

• Lyn Y. Abramson

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  59 shared

• Taylor A. Burke

  48 shared

• Elissa J. Hamlat

  University of California, San Francisco

  39 shared

• Samantha L. Connolly

  34 shared

• Marı́a J. Portella

  26 shared

• Fei Yu

  Wenzhou Medical University

  25 shared

Labs

• Hamilton LabPI

Education

• BA, Psychology and History

  Swarthmore College

• Clinical Internship, Psychiatry

  Western Psychiatric Institute and CLinic

• Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry

  University of Pittsburgh

• PhD, Clinical Psychology

  Temple University

  2017

Awards & honors

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) career developmen…
• loan repayment award (LRP)
• predoctoral National Research Service award (F31)
• recognition from the American Psychological Association
• recognition from Society for Science of Clinical Psychology…