About

Jordan DeVylder is an Associate Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work with a research focus on preventive mental health, particularly psychosis and suicide. His work emphasizes the clinical significance of early psychotic symptoms and the development of intervention strategies, including adapting Youth-Nominated Support Teams for suicide prevention among adolescents and young adults with emerging psychotic symptoms. Dr. DeVylder's research explores the epidemiology of psychosis, examining factors such as stress, urban upbringing, and crime victimization in the United States and internationally, especially in Japan. He has also studied the impact of police violence from a public health perspective, finding associations with elevated psychological distress, delusional thoughts, and suicidal behavior. With a background that includes faculty positions at Fordham University and the University of Maryland, as well as clinical supervision at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Dr. DeVylder has contributed extensively to the field through peer-reviewed publications and ongoing research projects. He earned his MSW and PhD in Social Work from Columbia University, his MS in Cognition & Brain Science from Georgia Institute of Technology, and his BA in Psychology from NYU.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Psychiatry
• Social Science
• Natural Language Processing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science
• Machine Learning
• Political Science
• Gender studies
• Geography
• Criminology
• Psychoanalysis
• Data science
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Examining glycation as a mediator linking bullying to psychotic experience and depressive symptom in adolescents

  Molecular Psychiatry · 2026-02-27

  articleOpen access

  Bullying is a critical social stressor with long-lasting adverse impacts on mental health throughout life. Identifying biological mediators between bullying and subsequent mental health problems could help mitigate the long-term negative impact of bullying. However, such biological mediators have yet to be identified. This study assessed the mediating role of pentosidine, a representative glycation biomarker (i.e., pro-inflammatory aging compounds), between bullying and mental health problems among adolescents. This prospective, population-based cohort study (Tokyo Teen Cohort) included 3,158 participants. Causal mediation analysis was performed to test whether pentosidine at age 14 mediates the association between bullying at age 12 and subsequent mental health problems including psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms at age 16. Among the 3,158 adolescents aged 12 years (female, 46.9%), 473 (15.0%) were classified as being bullied. Bullying was associated with higher pentosidine levels (adjusted β [95% confidence interval], 0.27 [0.14-0.41]: P < 0.001) at age 14, and pentosidine at age 14 was associated with psychotic experiences (adjusted β [95% confidence interval], 0.02 [0.001-0.03]: P < 0.01) and depressive symptoms (adjusted β [95% confidence interval], 0.21 [0.09-0.32]; P < 0.001) at age 16. Pentosidine mediated 28.0% and 19.2% of the association between bullying and psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms, respectively. The mediating role of pentosidine was consistent across sexes. Higher levels of pentosidine possibly caused by bullying suggest that accelerated aging may begin from adolescence partly due to social stress. Future research should explore whether reducing pentosidine mitigates the adverse impact of bullying on subsequent mental health problems.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of suicide-related outcomes in a nationally representative sample of young adults

  International journal of LGBTQ+ youth studies. · 2026-01-06

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Loneliness patterns across time and subsequent risk of psychotic experiences, depression, anxiety, and diminished well‐being in adolescents

  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · 2026-01-22

  article

  BACKGROUND: Evidence on the association between loneliness and psychotic experiences in adolescents remains limited. Moreover, loneliness has typically been assessed at a single time point, which fails to capture its dynamic nature. We hypothesized that persistent loneliness, assessed across repeated measures, would be associated with psychotic experiences and other mental health problems. METHODS: Using longitudinal data from 3,171 participants in the Tokyo Teen Cohort, we applied the g-formula. We analyzed how loneliness patterns at ages 12 and 14 were associated with psychotic experiences, depression, anxiety, and diminished well-being at age 16, accounting for time-fixed and time-varying confounders. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation by chained equations. RESULTS: Persistent loneliness was associated with increased risk and greater severity of psychotic experiences (RD 7.1%, 95% CI: 0.8-14.3; RR 2.44, 95% CI: 1.16-4.11; β 0.28, 95% CI: 0.10-0.48). Incident loneliness at age 14 showed similar associations. No association was found for adolescents whose loneliness had remitted by age 14 (RD -1.3%, 95% CI: -3.6 to 1.2; RR 0.73, 95% CI: 0.31-1.26; β 0.01, 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.08). Sensitivity analyses using marginal structural models yielded results that were largely unchanged. Findings were generally similar for other mental health problems. Associations were consistent across genders, although the association with well-being appeared particularly important for girls. CONCLUSIONS: The dynamics of loneliness are associated with a wide range of mental health problems in adolescents. The risk may not be permanent and could be mitigated if loneliness remits. Further research examining interventions that target loneliness is warranted.

  PublisherDOI

• Police Violence Exposure Among Young Adults in a U.S. National Probability Sample

  Journal of Interpersonal Violence · 2026-04-21

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Police violence is a critical social determinant of health in the United States, but there is an absence of data on prevalence and sociodemographic disparities from national probability samples. This study aimed to determine the past-year prevalence of physical, sexual, psychological, and neglectful police violence exposure among young adults in the United States and to identify inequities in exposure. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the National Survey of Poly-Victimization and Suicide Risk, a population-based probability sample of noninstitutionalized young adults (18–29 years; N = 1,077) drawn from the nationally representative AmeriSpeak Panel. Logistic regression was used to test for associations between self-reported and census-based sociodemographic characteristics and past-year exposure to police violence (outcome), assessed using the previously validated Police Practices Inventory. Past-year police violence was widely reported among this general population sample (physical: 4.0%; sexual: 3.3%; psychological: 8.5%; neglect: 7.5%), equating to an estimated 2.1 million young adults exposed to physical violence and 1.7 million exposed to sexual violence. All police violence measures were associated with race/ethnicity in unadjusted analyses, with some outcomes also associated with gender identity, socioeconomic status, urbanicity, and region of residence. Black (non-Latine) race was the only consistent correlate of all four sub-types of police violence exposure in the adjusted analyses. Expanding upon prior studies that used nonprobability samples in select U.S. cities, we found that police violence is experienced by a substantial minority of the U.S. young adult population, and that ethnoracial disparities generalize beyond urban centers to a nationally representative sample.

  PublisherDOI

• Investigating the association between the number of interpersonal supporters during first-time pregnancy and postpartum depression symptoms

  Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · 2025-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  AIMS: First-year postpartum depression is a common mental health problem among first-time mothers. A younger age of pregnancy often compounds the challenge due to underlying factors such as poverty and limited educational achievement. This study aimed to examine the minimal number of interpersonal supporters during pregnancy associated with lower levels of postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. METHODS: We obtained data from the population-based Mother-Infant/Newborn Tokyo Cohort (MINT cohort) in four municipalities in Tokyo on 429 first-time mothers who responded to two waves of surveys (early pregnancy and one month postpartum). They completed self-report measures of interpersonal support using one item from the Social Support Questionnaire and depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Segmented regression analyses were conducted to determine the threshold at which the strength of the association changed between the number of interpersonal supporters and postpartum depressive symptoms, with adjustment for depressive symptoms in pregnancy. This analysis was also conducted with the sample stratified into young mothers (≤ 25 years) and older mothers (≥ 26 years). RESULTS: In the overall sample, postpartum depressive symptoms were found to be lower among individuals with more than 3.0 supportive individuals (prepartum). Among young mothers, this threshold was higher, with lower symptom levels observed among those with at least 5.3 supporters. Only 22.9% of young first-time mothers had this level of interpersonal support, compared to 54.8% of all first-time mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that having four or more interpersonal supporters in early pregnancy is associated with lower levels of postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. Additionally, among young mothers, having six or more supporters was associated with lower postpartum depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that tailored strategies to increase supporters around first-time pregnant women might be beneficial depending on their age.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Perceptions of anti-racism efforts and mental health among students in higher education in the United States

  Frontiers in Public Health · 2025-02-07 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Anti-racism efforts are imperative for campus communities, yet little is known about whether perceiving their presence on campuses relates to a range of mental health outcomes among students. Methods: = 110,203). Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined the associations between perceptions of anti-racism efforts and several mental health outcomes. Results: Individuals who disagreed that their schools combatted racism in their campus communities had significantly greater odds of mental health problems (depression, anxiety, psychotic experiences, suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt, perceived need for help, and loneliness), and lower odds of flourishing when compared with those who strongly agreed with the statement. For most outcomes, we observed an apparent dose-response association. Conclusion: Perceiving the presence of anti-racism efforts on campuses was inversely associated with mental health problems, calling for more research to test the effects of anti-racism efforts on mental health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Addressing injustices toward individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum conditions: a call to action for social work practice

  Social Work in Mental Health · 2025-12-02

  articleSenior author

  The field of social work has a lengthy history of training social workers for community mental health settings, and an ethical commitment to advance human rights and social justice. However, individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum conditions continue to suffer from myriad social injustices, including poverty, social isolation, and lower-life expectancy. This paper outlines these injustices, and reviews historical social work contributions and current training for supporting this population. Finally, the authors outline actions to 1) adopt national practice guidelines that formally acknowledge injustices, including anti-oppressive practice guidelines that are inclusive of lived experience, and 2) revitalize social work’s contributions to models of care for schizophrenia-spectrum populations.

  PublisherDOI

• Mental Health Disparities Perspective on the 988 Lifeline

  Health & Social Work · 2025-12-16

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Neighborhood Social Vulnerability and Racial Disparities in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder Prevalence

  American Journal of Psychiatry · 2025-09-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: The study aim was to identify ethnoracial disparities in the prevalence of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) and positive psychotic symptoms in the United States and examine the role of social neighborhood inequities. METHODS: Participants in the Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study, a national household sample of nonelderly adults (N=4,764), were assessed by clinicians with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) for SSDs (past year and lifetime), including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder, and for psychotic symptoms. Weighted logistic regression models estimated ethnoracial differences in the prevalence of SSDs and psychotic symptoms in unadjusted models, age- and sex-adjusted models, and models further adjusted for a neighborhood Social Vulnerability Metric (SVM) score, a composite index of five social determinants of health domains. RESULTS: Compared to non-Hispanic White individuals, non-Hispanic Black individuals had a significantly higher prevalence of SSDs (4.1% vs. 1.2%; adjusted odds ratio=3.49, 95% CI=1.37, 8.91) and psychotic symptoms (9.3% vs. 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio=2.04, 95% CI=1.15, 3.63), and non-Hispanic multiracial individuals had a significantly higher prevalence of SSDs (5.6%; adjusted odds ratio=4.59, 95% CI=1.53, 13.76). Further adjustment for SVM score lowered the Black-White group difference for SSDs (adjusted odds ratio=2.49, 95% CI=0.63, 9.90) and psychotic symptoms (adjusted odds ratio=1.69, 95% CI=0.83, 3.44), and the associations were no longer statistically significant. The difference in SSDs between the non-Hispanic multiracial and White groups was attenuated after SVM score adjustment (adjusted odds ratio=3.95, 95% CI=1.30, 12.00) but remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: This national U.S. household study found ethnoracial differences in the prevalence of clinician-assessed SCID-based schizophrenia spectrum disorders and positive psychotic symptoms. The higher prevalence among minoritized groups, particularly Black individuals, was connected to social inequities and community-level vulnerabilities embedded in neighborhoods and associated with structural racism.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Youth‐Nominated Support Teams for Youth at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis ( <scp>YST</scp> ‐ <scp>CHR</scp> ): A Novel Approach to Suicide Prevention in Early Psychosis

  Early Intervention in Psychiatry · 2025-10-01

  articleOpen access1st author

  AIM: Individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) constitute a very high-risk group for suicide and suicidal behaviour, yet they are typically excluded from trials of suicide prevention interventions. As such, there are no evidence-based suicide prevention approaches tailored to the unique needs of this population. This study aimed to adapt the Youth-Nominated Support Team (YST), a suicide prevention strategy with demonstrated efficacy, for use with CHR youth (YST-CHR). METHODS: YST-CHR was designed as an adjunctive intervention, offered alongside ongoing clinical care to mobilise informed support from trusted adults in a youths' life. Using a formative adaptation approach, we conducted focus group interviews with key informants and convened expert consensus meetings to guide the adaptation process. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Modifications were made to (1) pre-intervention preparatory activities, (2) availability of resources for clinicians, (3) the support person nomination and orientation process and (4) the format and schedule of contacts between support persons and clients. Additional recommendations that could not be incorporated into our preliminary test of YST-CHR, but may be considered in future studies, included an expanded role for peer providers and the incorporation of virtual reality to educate support persons about psychotic symptoms. CONCLUSION: A small feasibility study currently underway will inform further development of YST-CHR. The modifications described here lay the groundwork for a scalable, key-informant-informed model of suicide prevention tailored to the unique needs of youth at CHR.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Ai Koyanagi

  Instituto de Salud Carlos III

  126 shared

• Hans Oh

  University of Southern California

  91 shared

• Cheryl M. Corcoran

  James J. Peters VA Medical Center

  81 shared

• Jason Schiffman

  University of California, Irvine

  77 shared

• Ellen P. Lukens

  Columbia University

  56 shared

• Deidre M. Anglin

  Temple University

  48 shared

• Shelly Ben‐David

  University of British Columbia

  45 shared

• Lisa Fedina

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  44 shared

Awards & honors

• 2021-2022 Fulbright Fellow to study emerging psychotic sympt…