Social Reward Processing and Suicide Prevention in Older Adults (2026-2027)

Background

Suicide disproportionately affects older adults, yet research on late-life suicide risk has only recently gained attention. Loneliness — or a sense of social isolation that persists even when social contact is available — is a particularly important risk factor among adults ages 65 and older. Nearly one third of people in this age group report significant loneliness. Existing interventions, such as social skills training, show only modest benefits, suggesting a need for new approaches that target the underlying processes that contribute to loneliness.

One promising but understudied factor is social reward processing, or the ability to anticipate pleasure from social interactions and to enjoy social contact when it happens. This ability may diminish with age and may be especially harmful when older adults prioritize emotionally meaningful relationships. Difficulty deriving pleasure from social connection may deepen loneliness and elevate suicide risk. However, there are currently no validated tools to measure social reward processing in older adults, creating a critical gap in research and intervention development.

Project Description

This project team will develop new behavioral tools and use real–time data collection methods to understand how social reward processing relates to loneliness and suicide vulnerability among older adults.

The team will pursue three aims:

Aim 1: Develop new behavioral tasks to assess social reward
Students will function as the “laboratory,” brainstorming and evaluating ideas for standardized interactive activities that measure different aspects of social reward — including anticipation, enjoyment and positive reminiscence. Students will consult community advisors, learn principles of inclusive research design and test activities within the team to reflect on their own sense of social connection.

Aim 2: Examine social reward in daily life using ecological momentary assessment (EMA)
Students will help implement a 14-day EMA study with 10 adults ages 65+ who have recently experienced suicidal ideation. Participants will receive prompts three times each day to report on loneliness, suicidal thoughts, motivation for social contact, enjoyment during interactions and contextual factors. Passive GPS monitoring will provide additional data about real–world social engagement.

Aim 3: Assess how resilience — psychological and physiological — shapes the relationship between loneliness and suicidal ideation
A feasibility sample of 20 older adults who frequently feel lonely will complete behavioral tasks, questionnaires and a resting-state heart rate variability assessment. Students will assist with recruitment, conduct in-person sessions, and analyze preliminary relationships among social reward processing, resilience and suicide risk.

Across all aims, students will participate in mixed-methods research, data analysis, and the development of preliminary findings that can support a future R01 grant application.

Anticipated Outputs

Manualized social interaction task for use with older adults
Dataset supporting future grant submissions on social reward and suicide prevention
Poster abstracts with opportunities for student first authorship
A protocol development paper and initial empirical findings

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project will include 3 graduate students and 8 undergraduate students. Students from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, lifespan development, social science, mental health fields, ethics or related areas are encouraged to apply. Students exploring careers in geriatrics, psychiatry, family medicine or clinical psychology may find the hands–on experience especially valuable.

Students will gain experience in:

Task design and human-centered research methods
Intergenerational and community-partner communication
EMA study design, setup and data analysis
Psychophysiological data collection (heart rate variability)
Suicide risk assessment and diagnostic considerations
Mixed-methods data interpretation
Poster and manuscript development with opportunities for authorship

The team will meet weekly and will be structured into two subgroups — one focused on protocol development and community engagement, and one focused on data management and analysis. Each subgroup will be co-led by a graduate student.

In Fall 2026, this team will meet on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Timing

Summer 2026 – Spring 2027

Summer 2026 (optional):

Develop IRB protocol
Finalize recruitment of undergraduate team members

Fall 2026:

Begin weekly meetings
Brainstorm and prototype behavioral tasks
Consult community advisors
Set up EMA software and begin recruitment

Spring 2027:

Recruit participants
Conduct EMA and in-person data collection
Complete preliminary analyses for poster submissions

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters