Qinxin Shi
Program Affiliations
Education
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX — Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, 2020
Areas of Focus
- Digital mental health
- Dynamic system and passive sensing
- Neural marker of Self-regulation and executive functioning
- Individual differences and heterogeneity in psychological well-being
As a developmental psychologist, my research focuses on the mental health development of youth and young adults from a developmental and dynamic systems perspective. My overarching goal is to generate actionable knowledge and solutions (e.g., just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) that reduce mental health disparities and improve overall well-being.
The Mental Health Dynamics and Resilience Lab (MH-D&R) integrates cutting-edge tools (e.g., electroencephalogram, biometrics, e-health technologies), innovative research designs (e.g., intensive longitudinal studies), and advanced statistical techniques (e.g., mixture modeling, dynamic systems modeling) to examine risk and resilience factors that shape the emergence, maintenance, and offset of mental health problems through various self-regulatory processes.
Currently, two active projects in my lab include:
- Leveraging intensive passive sensing methods (e.g., heart rate, actigraphy, screenomics) to better understand the dynamic associations between daily functioning and mental health outcomes, with a focus on heterogeneity and the reciprocal pathways linking digital engagement (e.g., social media use) and psychological well-being.
- Examining the longitudinal associations between neural markers of self-regulation/executive functioning in early childhood and subsequent trajectories of mental health and academic engagement across development. We are particularly interested in elucidating the coordination of co-development between neural markers of self-regulation and mental health and academic performance across K-12 years.
Dr. Shi will accept graduate students and please reach out to her if you are interested.
Shi, Q., Thornton, L. M., Kilshaw, R; Flatt, R.E., Butner, J.E., Adamo, C., Deboeck, P., Baucom, B. R.W., Tregarthen, J., Argue, S., Bulik, C.M. (2025). Relationship Between Intensive Passive Data Signals and Patterns of Binge-Eating Behaviors: From a Dynamical System Approach. Clinical Psychological Science. 13(3), 558–81. doi: 10.1177/21677026241280728
Featured in APS’s “Under the Cortex” podcast episode: “Heart Rates and Step Counts: A Novel Approach to Eating Disorder Care.”
Shi, Q., Yu, D., Butner, J. E., Berg, C. A., Campbell, M. S., Wiebe, D. J. (2023). Visualizing Holistic Person-specific Dynamic Systems: A Case Example with Self-Efficacy and Self-care Behavior in Emerging Adults with type 1 Diabetes. Applied Developmental Science. 1-19. doi: 10.1080/10888691.2023.2254696
Shi, Q., Butner, J. E., Kilshaw, R., Munion, A., Deboeck, P., Oh, Y., & Berg, C. A. (2023). A comparison of models for inferring longitudinal reciprocal relationships between constructs: A case example with internalizing and externalizing problems. Social Development, 32(1), 47-72. doi: 10.1111/sode.12628
Shi, Q., Ettekal, I., Deutz, M., & Woltering, S. (2020). Trajectories of pure and co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems from early childhood to adolescence: associations with early childhood individual and contextual antecedents. Developmental Psychology, 56(10). 1906-1918. doi: 10.1037/dev0001095
Last Updated: November 03, 2025