USD’s CAST Lab Examines Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Recovery
The CAST Lab—which was created by BreAnne Danzi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and her team of student researchers—examines how some children may recover quickly after a natural disasters, medical traumatic stress or other devastating events, while others may carry the emotional impact for years.
The lab also researches how communities can better support children before long-term mental health challenges emerge. Additionally, it provides high-quality research training to undergraduate and graduate students while advancing USD’s mission through research excellence and community impact.
Drawn to the rigor and uniqueness of the research being conducted within the CAST Lab, Knowles—now enrolled in the program—knew she wanted to dedicate her studies to understanding adversity and trauma in youth.
“The CAST Lab looked like a clear next step in my academic journey,” said Knowles. “I believe that clinical work and research guide one another, and I feel fortunate to be part of a lab that pursues research that supports the evaluation and treatment of trauma exposure in young, vulnerable populations.”
That research varies day to day, as the CAST Lab manages a wide range of projects at any given time. Student researchers conduct behavioral observation coding of mother-infant interactions shortly after birth, lead focus groups with local first responders to learn how to support first responder families, travel to local schools to work with youth and contact community partners in disaster-affected areas. They have also worked with local schools and the Boys & Girls Club, and they recently started a collaboration with the Department of Social Services on an upcoming project.
“USD has specialty centers which have been an invaluable resource for the lab, like the Disaster Mental Health Institute, the Center for Brain and Behavior Research and the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment,” said Danzi. “These groups at USD have the expertise, connections and financial resources that enhance the research we can do.”
Other studies within the CAST Lab focus on how stressful experiences that parents have had, such as traumatic births or working as first responders, can impact children. They also try to understand and analyze how trauma impacts very young children, including infants and toddlers.
According to Danzi, one of the biggest challenges in researching trauma in young children is that they often do not yet have the language skills to explain what they’re feeling internally, even when clear behavioral changes are present.
“To better understand those children and their experiences, our student researchers are using alternative methods such as behavioral observations and parent reports to help identify emotional responses and gather meaningful data,” said Danzi.
Another goal of the lab is to identify which children are “at risk” and may need mental health services after experiencing trauma, particularly in rural areas or after traumatic incidents, when there are not enough resources to provide mental health services to every affected child. The lab studies which factors are predictive of children who will be resilient and recover on their own, versus which children are at heightened risk for adverse mental health outcomes and need to be prioritized for services.
In one study, Danzi and her team observed children affected by a traumatic incident and then gathered data on them for two years, which allowed them to identify several factors associated with worse outcomes in disaster-exposed children. That emphasis on preparedness was paired with a commitment to directly supporting the individuals and communities involved in the research.
“Knowing these factors for those who are at the greatest risk is crucial for disaster preparedness training,” she said. “We always try to give back to the people we conduct research with. For example, families affected by disasters were given workbooks that guide parents in how to help their children cope with the disaster. If we work with schools, we provide training on promoting mental health for youth, teachers and staff, while also equipping the schools with reports on the data we collect from within to help identify student needs.”
Hands-On Learning, Lasting Impact
The team of USD student researchers plays a crucial role in the lab, where there’s a mix of grant-funded projects and student-led initiatives—an area that, according to Danzi, has produced some of the best project outcomes.
“Many students are learning more about mental health through the lab, whether working directly in the lab or indirectly through the courses I teach, which use information that we learn from the labs’ research,” she said.
Students can also benefit from the lab through interdisciplinary collaboration on projects involving students and faculty from several departments, including the Department of Physical Therapy, the Department of Occupational Therapy and the Department of Public Health and Health Sciences.
For students like Knowles, who is in the final stage of her clinical psychology Ph.D. at USD, that exposure is helping turn classroom concepts into meaningful, real-world understanding.
"My career goals have been deeply shaped by my time in the CAST Lab. Over the next year, I’ll be completing my clinical internship in stress, trauma and resilience clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles, where I’ll be delivering psychological services to children and families affected by trauma and adversity,” said Knowles. “My experiences in the CAST Lab directly influenced my desire to pursue a clinical and academic career in child and adolescent trauma to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth and families. I am grateful to be part of this field and more specifically, the CAST Lab, as it prioritizes conducting research to make a difference in the lives of our community members.”
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