Duration: 03/31/2026 to 09/30/2028

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

FOCUS AND PRIORITIES

1.a. Nature and Significance of the Issues 

Adolescence is a period of development defined by rapid biological, psychological, and social change. It is also a critical period for the onset of mental health disorders and the established behavioral health patterns (e.g., substance use, healthy eating, exercise) that persist across the life course (NASEM, 2019, Solmi et al., 2022). Although the U.S. is currently grappling with rising rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among adolescents overall (CDC, 2024; Sappenfield et al., 2024), these concerns are especially pronounced among youth living in rural communities. Rural adolescents experience disproportionately high rates of poor mental health and suicidality (Kegler et al., 2017; VanWormer et al., 2024), alongside elevated levels of substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and prescription opioids (NSDUH, 2024; Erath et al., 2025), which increases risk for injury, chronic disease, and downstream economic hardship related to disrupted educational and employment trajectories and reduced lifetime earnings (Chang & Kuhlman, 2022; Lui et al., 2017; Philipson et al., 2020; Schaefer et al., 2021). Compounding these risks, rural youth are significantly less likely to access mental health, substance use, and social services due to persistent health professional shortages (Gunlicks-Stoessel et al., 2025; Hoffmann et al., 2021, 2023). 

This North Central Development Committee (NCDC) seeks to build a collaborative network of faculty to advance research that deepens understanding of adolescent health and resilience across contexts, with an emphasis on rural communities. Using existing state-level surveillance data, local outreach, and community needs assessments, this project will identify priority areas and inform the development of place-based, positive youth development-oriented health promotion strategies to guide future research and intervention efforts. 

1.b. Alignment with National and/or Regional Priorities

This NCDC project aligns closely with the USDA Secretary’s priority of putting farmers first by recognizing that farmer success depends on a foundation of strong, resilient families and thriving rural communities. This project addresses Grand Challenge 7: Strengthening Individual, Family, and Community Development and Resilience. Rural communities and farming and ranching families face unique interconnected economic, demographic, and contextual stressors that contribute to youth’s health. By focusing on how local factors shape youth mental, behavioral, and relational health and informing place-based health promotion strategies, this work advances priorities related to family resilience, community viability, and the interconnected economic and social conditions that support strong, resilient rural communities. This project also aligns with Grand Challenge 5: Improving Human Health, Nutrition, and Wellness by examining and intervening in adolescent behavioral health patterns that contribute to chronic disease, which disproportionately affect rural populations throughout the lifespan. This work is consistent with Hatch Act priorities focused on improving rural life, family resilience, and community development, and addresses North Central Regional priorities through a multistate approach responsive to shared rural youth holistic health, providing foundational research to support sustainable state and local interventions. Development committee work also directly addresses NIFA science priorities, namely Youth Development Science (KA806) and Family and Consumer Sciences (KA724, KA802, KA805). Our focus on the positive development and holistic health of rural youth and their families, and engagement through Extension, align uniquely with USDA NIFA priorities and, at the time of writing, does not duplicate priorities of other federal agencies.

ANTICIPATED STAKEHOLDERS AND CONSUMERS

We anticipate that our work will specifically engage and benefit youth (aged 13-18/19), adults who work with youth (e.g., educators, faith leaders, social workers, doctors), extension and 4-H staff, and families/caregivers.  

EXPECTED PROJECT MEMBERS AND PARTICIPATING STATIONS

Based on our experience with other multistate projects and our current network of collaborators with relevant expertise, we have secured interest from the following faculty for the proposed NCDC (see Table 1). We will continue to build our membership network during the development phase to ensure adequate regional and national representation. 

DC Leads: Drs. Jessica Fish and Courtney Cuthbertson (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

AES Letters of Support: Drs. Rodney Johnson (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Frank Casey (North Dakota State University)

Designated AA: Dr. Ramona Oswald (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Table 1. Expected Project Members and Participating Stations List
Faculty	Role	University
Jessica Fish, PhD	Professor, Human Development and Family Studies	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Courtney Cuthbertson, PhD	Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Human Development and Family Studies	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Kevin Carey, EdD	Assistant Dean/Director, 4-H Positive Youth Development	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jenifer McGuire, PhD	Professor and Extension Specialist, Family Social Science	University of Minnesota
Michael Wilcox, PhD	Associate Director, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development; Assistant Director and Program Leader for Community Development, Purdue Extension; Community and Regional Economics Specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University	NCRCRD, Purdue University
Christi McGeorge, PhD, LMFT	Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences	North Dakota State University
Douglas Knutson, PhD	Associate Professor, Counseling Psychology	Oklahoma State University
Jeff Howard, PhD	University of Maryland Extensions Assistant Director & Maryland 4-H Program Leader	University of Maryland
Erika Grafsky, PhD	Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Human Development and Family Science	Virginia Tech University
Kristen Benson, PhD, LMFT	Associate Professor, Marriage and Family Therapy Program Director	Virginia Tech University
Clint Whitten, PhD	Associate Director for the Center for Rural Education	Virginia Tech University
Jody Russon, PhD	Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies	Virginia Tech University
Russell Toomey, PhD	Professor, Family Studies and Human Development	University of Arizona

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

Organization/Governance

Literature Cited

REFERENCES

Chang, K., & Kuhlman, K. R. (2022). Adolescent-onset depression is associated with altered social functioning into middle adulthood. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 17320. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22131-1

Gunlicks-Stoessel, M., Rydberg, K., Parikh, R. R., Hackman, D. E., Marsalis, S. E., Henning-Smith, C., & Butler, M. E. (2025). Scoping review: Perceived needs, barriers, facilitators, and satisfaction with access and utilization of mental health services among rural adolescents and parents in the United States. JAACAP Open, 3(4), 825–838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaacop.2025.06.008

Hoffmann, J. A., Attridge, M. M., Carroll, M. S., Simon, N.-J. E., Beck, A. F., & Alpern, E. R. (2023). Association of youth suicides and county-level mental health professional shortage areas in the United States. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4419

Hoffmann, J. A., Hall, M., Lorenz, D., & Berry, J. G. (2021). Emergency department visits for suicidal ideation and self-harm in rural and urban youths. The Journal of Pediatrics, 238, 282–289.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.07.013

Lui, C. K., Sterling, S. A., Chi, F. W., Lu, Y., & Campbell, C. I. (2017). Socioeconomic differences in adolescent substance abuse treatment participation and long-term outcomes. Addictive Behaviors, 68, 45–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.01.010

Philipson, A., Alaie, I., Ssegonja, R., Imberg, H., Copeland, W., Möller, M., Hagberg, L., & Jonsson, U. (2020). Adolescent depression and subsequent earnings across early to middle adulthood: A 25-year longitudinal cohort study. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29, Article e123. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796020000360

Schaefer, J. D., Hamdi, N. R., Malone, S. M., Vrieze, S., Wilson, S., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (2021). Associations between adolescent cannabis use and young-adult functioning in three longitudinal twin studies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(14), Article e2013180118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2013180118

 

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

IL

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions