Research Assistant

Schedule to be determined between employee and supervisor

The School of Education is an academic unit reporting to the Provost. The School is a major center of research, teaching, and public service within the State of North Carolina, the nation, and the world. The School offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs. The mission of the School of Education is to conduct research, and generate basic and applied knowledge about human development, educational technology and entrepreneurship, teaching and learning, school counseling, school psychology, administration, as well as educational policy and leadership; prepare leaders in the profession of education by conducting outstanding research, teaching, and service; and assist in the development of strong and effective public schools in North Carolina. In order to fulfill its mission, the School is organized into three academic divisions: (1) Culture, Curriculum, & Teacher Education ( CCATE), (2) Learning, Development & Psychological Sciences ( LDPS), and (3) Educational Policy, Organization, & Leadership ( EPOL).

A research assistant (RA) will work with the supervisor to support implementation of an investigation involving data collection from adolescents currently or previously hospitalized for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Specific duties will involve overseeing and conducting participant recruitment, data collection, and data organization; and conducting in-depth interviews/focus groups, qualitative/quantitative data analysis, and literature reviews. Duties are subject to change based on the needs of the project. Additional details of the project include:

Study Title: Co-Designing a Virtual Reality Intervention to Enhance Skill Development with Adolescents Hospitalized for Suicide-Related Crises

We are conducting a research study to partner with ethnic, racial, gender and sexual minoritized adolescents with a history of suicide-related crises to: (1) co-explore how best to teach and practice CBT skills in the virtual environment; and (2) conduct a pilot trial to explore feasibility and acceptability of the revised intervention with a sample of hospitalized adolescents.

The work builds from our previous project, which aimed to enhance psychiatric hospital interventions using virtual reality (VR) experiences: the Practice Experiences for School Reintegration (PrESR). The PrESR was designed to provide hospitalized adolescents with VR practice experiences in which they can learn and apply cognitive behavioral therapy ( CBT) skills. For this project, we draw on established co-design methods to refine PrESR's VR experience to address the specific needs of ethnic, racial, gender, and sexual minoritized youth. Based on adolescent insight, the PrESR environment will be expanded and tested to better represent their identities, schools' physical and psychological environment, and triggering experiences.

Bachelor's degree; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Bachelor's degree in psychology, family development and human sciences, or related discipline; comfort with working with youth and families with suicide-related risk.

Experience in psychology-related research.