ADEPTly Boosting Young Adult Health

July 2024

Growing up in a military family, Emily Dana moved a lot, so keeping friends and making new ones was extremely difficult for her. She often felt lonely and rejected. Maintaining her mental health was a struggle, but true friends made a huge difference. “She wants to return the favor.”

Dana first started college with a major in psychology, but she quickly switched to human development studies. Then she took a break from her studies to work through some personal trials. When she transferred to BYU for a fresh start, she wasn’t exactly sure what to major in.

Dana considered statistics but opted to stay in human development. “When I got involved in research, I realized that all my interests could fit together,” she says. “I can study human development, apply statistics, and help people. It is a perfect fit for me, and I’m so glad to be here at BYU.” Dana is now a junior in the human development and family studies program.

Multiracial Like Me

When Dana was telling a friend about her scholarly interests, her friend suggested that she talk to Professor Adam Rogers. “So, I emailed him out of nowhere,” Dana says. “After we spoke, he invited me to join his research team.”

Rogers leads Project ADEPT (Advancing the Development of Emotional Proficiencies in Teens). The purpose of this national research study is to identify best practices for parents in supporting the mental and emotional health of their teenage children. Working with the Project ADEPT research team has been life-changing for Dana. “I’m being trained in a very real-world way how to interview and help participants share their stories.”

Using the data that they gathered last year as a starting point, the student researchers created their own research projects. “I’m really interested in understanding sources of social support, especially siblings and friends, and I want to know how social support affects multiracial teens,” says Dana. “I’m multiracial, and I feel that we’re not well represented in research—especially teens.” Researching people with backgrounds and experiences like hers has helped Dana find peace.

“Living where there are not a lot of people like me, I can feel uncertain of myself and embarrassed for being different,” Dana says. “But when I realized that Heavenly Father made me and knows me, I embraced being multiracial. He knows my childhood. He knows my future. He knows what makes me, me.”

While demographic information is an important part of her research and identity, Dana takes a holistic approach in her personal life. “I choose not to let the different aspects of me conflict with each other. I choose to be one cohesive whole,” she says. “When our first identity is Heavenly Father’s child, then everything can fit together.”

Conducting research as a student has given Dana confidence. “I want to keep doing research that can help teens become successful, healthy young adults,” Dana says. She is working toward graduate school and plans to earn a PhD.