Future Directions in Youth Irritability Research

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research on irritability in children and adolescents has proliferated over the last 20 years. The evidence shows the clinical and developmental significance of irritable mood and behavior in youth, and it has led to significant changes in mental health classification, diagnosis, and services. At the same time, this research (including our own) has led to relatively little new in terms of practical, empirically based guidance to improve interventions and outcomes. In this article, we briefly summarize some of these developments and current evidence-based practices. We then put forth two key substantive challenges (the “whats”) for future research to address: (a) the need for more effective treatments, especially evaluating and adapting evidence-based treatments that are already well-established for problems related to irritability (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapies for internalizing and externalizing problems); and (b) the need for a better mechanistic understanding of irritability’s phenomenology (e.g., phasic vs. tonic irritability, how frustration unfolds) and putative underlying mechanisms (e.g., cognitive control, threat and reward dysfunction). Lastly, we suggest three methodological approaches (the “hows”) that may expedite progress in such areas: (a) ecological momentary assessment, (b) digital health applications, and (c) leveraging existing datasets. We hope this article will be useful for students and early-career researchers interested in tackling some of these important questions to better meet the needs of severely irritable youth.