ANDREA WIGLESWORTH

Our Research Approach

In the SEEDS for Suicide Prevention Lab, we aim to advance the field’s understanding of when and why young people think about and attempt suicide to inform intervention approaches, reduce suffering, and save lives. Across this work, Dr. Wiglesworth leverages mixed-methods approaches (i.e., quantitative and qualitative data), large data sets, multiple levels of analysis (i.e., neuroimaging, psychophysiology, behavioral paradigms, self-report), repeated measures, and advanced statistical techniques to model the complex nature of risk and resilience pathways. Dr. Wiglesworth is invested in community-engaged and culturally grounded approaches to studying suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Overarching research aims:

Integrate developmental stress theories and Indigenous strengths-based frameworks to better understand the risk and protective factors that shape suicide risk over time for Native American young people.
Use developmental stress frameworks to characterize the protracted (e.g., long range developmental) and acute (e.g., momentary) pathways linking stress experiences to suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youth.
Contribute to the field’s understanding of youth suicidal thoughts and behaviors as a phenomenon through descriptive and meta-scientific research that highlights how suicide is studied and the implications of research methods for knowledge production and suicide prevention.

Dr. Wiglesworth has received extramural funding from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (PI: Wiglesworth) and the American Psychological Foundation (PI: Wiglesworth). She is currently a Native Children’s Research Exchange Fellow.

CONTACT DR. WIGLESWORTH

Research Program Highlights

Main Questions

What factors contribute to the disproportionate rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors experienced by Native American young people?
How can understanding the impact of stress on the developing brain and body inform youth suicide intervention approaches?
What are the best approaches for measuring suicidal thoughts and behaviors and related risk and protective factors for informing interventions for acute changes in suicidality?

Approach

Future Directions

We leverage highly dimensional data through the use of mixed-methods, multiple levels of analysis, repeat assessments, and large data sets to model individual and group-level differences in suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Generate developmentally, contextually, and culturally grounded suicide prevention approaches for Native American young people.

Scientific Background

Dr. Andrea Wiglesworth (she/her) is a dual-enrolled citizen of the Seneca Cayuga Nation (Deer Clan) and Shawnee Tribe. Dr. Wiglesworth completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2017 at Yale University, where she first discovered her interest in psychological research. At Yale, she trained in the Affect Regulation and Cognition Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Jutta Joormann. Dr. Wiglesworth then received a two-year training grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to support her post-baccalaureate research training on adolescent suicide at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the mentorship of Dr. Mitch Prinstein. Dr. Wiglesworth then went on to complete her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program in the Summer of 2025. At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Wiglesworth worked with Drs. Bonnie Klimes-Dougan and Kathryn Cullen in the Research on Adolescent Depression Laboratory. Dr. Wiglesworth completed her predoctoral clinical internship at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research/ Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma working closely with her supervisor and collaborator, Dr. Evan White.

Dr. Wiglesworth joined LIBR in 2025 following her graduation as an Associate Investigator and lead of the SEEDS for Suicide Prevention Lab.