Understanding risk. Creating a way forward.

Three questions guide our research: what drives suicide risk, who is most vulnerable, and how we can help.

Our work connects the science of self-harm with the everyday lives of young people and their families.

Understanding the processes Seeing the whole person Turning evidence into help

What makes a difficult moment become a dangerous one?

We study how emotions, problem solving, and stressful experiences shape self-harm and suicide risk over time.

Our research examines emotional clarity, difficulties regulating emotions, hopelessness, and responses to social rejection. Following these processes in daily life can help us understand when risk changes and where prevention might make a difference.

From our work

A longitudinal study examines the relationship between life stress, emotional clarity, and suicidal ideation among adolescents.

Read the emotional clarity study

How do our relationships and environments shape risk?

Understanding a person means understanding the world around them.

We examine family communication, parenting, discrimination, social support, and the experiences of sexual and gender minority young people. We also study how assessment can better capture the experiences of adolescents at risk.

From our work

Research on family communication explores how difficulties at home relate to suicidal ideation in adolescents receiving clinical care.

Read the family communication study

What helps people find a safer way forward?

We work toward practical, accessible approaches to self-harm intervention and prevention.

This work includes evaluating treatments, improving assessment, and studying how tools such as safety planning and measurement-based care can be used in real service settings. Our aim is to connect what research teaches us with help that people can use.

From our work

A study of virtual safety planning training examines clinicians’ knowledge, confidence, and use of safety plans in community mental health clinics.

Read the training study

Different methods. A fuller picture.

Daily-life research: Repeated, real-time assessments of emotions, experiences, and risk.
Longitudinal studies: Following people over time to understand patterns and change.
Clinical research: Studying interventions and their use in care settings.
Measurement: Examining the reliability and usefulness of assessment tools.

Supporting first-generation students.

Funded for 2026–2027, a Texas State Student Success Innovation Grant supports work on a single-session intervention for first-generation student mental health and service use.

Robert López Jr. and Megan Rogers
Co-principal investigators

Texas State University

View the grant record Ask about research participation