Amanda Guyer

Education

• Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Yale University, 2003
• M.Phil., Developmental Psychology, Yale University, 2001
• M.S., Developmental Psychology, Yale University, 2000
• B.A., Psychology, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, 1995 (Honors)

About

Developmental psychologist Amanda Guyer is a Professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Unit of the Department of Human Ecology and the Associate Dean of Human and Social Sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She is also the former Associate Director and Co-Director of the Center for Mind and Brain. She has expertise in the biological, cognitive and social-emotional aspects of human development during adolescence — notably, the behavioral and neural processes that may underlie the way that adolescents think and feel and increase risk for mental health problems. She is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and serves as an associate editor at the journals Developmental Psychology and Emotion. She is affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Poverty and Inequality Research, the Center for Neuroscience, and the MIND Institute.

Research Focus

Dr. Guyer investigates neural and behavioral underpinnings of adolescent psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use) via social, emotional and cognitive processes. She studies how adolescents process facial emotions, social threats, and peer evaluation, and how adolescents regulate their behavior in response to incentives or when making decisions in risk-taking contexts. She examines age-, temperament-, pubertal- and gender-related differences in these processes as well as variability in adolescent development as a function of stressful life events, poverty, and peer and family factors. Dr. Guyer conducts longitudinal studies of neurobiological, psychophysiological and environmental influences in relation to depression, anxiety, substance use, ADHD, autism, and schizophrenia in adolescence.

Lab

Teen Experiences, Emotions, and Neurodevelopment Lab (Guyer)

Publications (Selected)

Click here for Amanda Guyer's Full List of Publications 

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Social Media and Adolescent Health (2024), The National Academies Press, Washington, DC.

Journal Articles:

Hayes, B. K.*, Qian, Y.*, Arrington, M. N.*, Swartz, J. R., Ferrer, E., Robins, R. W., Hastings, P. D., Guyer, A. E. (2026). Examination of poverty trajectories and brain volume as predictors of adolescent depression. Journal of Research on Adolescence.

Arrington, M. N.*, Swartz, J. R., Fine, J. R., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Contextualizing the adolescent social brain: links to social health using data from the ABCDⓇ study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

Gonzalves, L., Weissman, D. G., Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2026). Autonomic correlates of past and prospective suicidal thoughts and behaviors in Mexican-origin youth. Development and Psychopathology.

Yoon, L.*, Magee, K. E., Stepp, S. D., Forbes, E. E., Keenan, K. E., Hipwell, A. E., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Within-person longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and problematic interpersonal behaviors in adolescent girls. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Nti, H., Hastings, P. D., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Adjetey, E., Amponsah, B., Arnold, C. D., Aryee, L. M. D., Labi, F., B. A., Bentil, H. J., Dewey, K., Guyer, A. E., Manu, A., Mensah, M. O., Prado, E. L., Shirtcliff, E., Tan, X., & Oaks, B. M. (2026). Effect of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation on children's cortisol concentration. Maternal and Child Nutrition. doi: 10.1111/mcn.70197

Qian, Y.*, Swartz, J. R., Barendse, M. E. A., Taylor, S. L., Fine, J. R., Ruttle, P. L, Shirtcliff, E. A., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Effects of sex, pubertal stage, and pubertal hormones on frontal and limbic responses to fearful and happy faces during early adolescence. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107866

Frazier, M. R., Guyer, A. E., Hastings, P. D., Robins, R. W., & Swartz, J. R. (2026). Associations between adolescent adversity and young adult depression symptoms and allostatic load in Mexican-origin individuals. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107832

Mensah, M. O., Adjetey, E., Aryee, L. M. D., Arnold, C. D., Prado, E. L., Hastings, P. D., Guyer, A. E., Oaks, B. M., Nti, H., Bentil, H. J., Fajardo, J., & Adu-Afarwuah, S. (2026). Economic, socio-emotional, and food security conditions during COVID-19 pandemic among caregivers of young adolescents aged 10-12 yrs in a semi-urban setting in Ghana. BMC Public Health, 26(1):1136. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26873-9

Ayete Labi, F. B. A.*, Midrigan-Ciochina, L.*, Prado, E. L., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Dewey, K. G., Arnold, C. D., Manu, A., Angmorterh, S. K., Arko-Mensah, J., Mensah, M. O., Nti, H., Aryee, L. M. D., Mensah, Y. B., Appiah, B. A., Atawone, D., Azantilow, N., Oaks, B. M., Amponsah, B., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Randomized prenatal and postnatal nutrient supplementation shows no long-term impact on cortical gray matter in Ghanian children. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1672317

Arrington, M. N.*, Nishina, A., Hostinar, C. E. & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Identifying patterns and predictors of social health in adolescence using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Developmental Psychology. doi: 10.1037/dev0002139 

Venticinque, J. S.*, Arrington, M.*, & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Implicit peer versus maternal influence on adolescents’ preferences: Differences by age and gender. Developmental Psychology, 62, 365-379. doi: 10.1037/dev0002052

Shin, G. J., Hinckley, J. D., Guyer, A. E., & Singh, M. K. (2026). Prospective volumetric changes in the thalamus in adolescent first episode of mania and cannabis use: A preliminary study. Bipolar Disorders.

Barendse, M. E. A.*, Fine, J. R., Taylor, S. L., Swartz, J. R., Shirtcliff, E. A., Yoon, L., Farnsworth, I., Tully, L. M., & Guyer, A. E. (2025). Frontal-limbic mediated implicit cognitive control of emotion in the transition to adolescence. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 26, 89-103. doi: 10.3758/s13415-025-01363-4.

Carranza, A. F., McMillan, S. J.*, Guyer, A. E., Hastings, P. D., Robins, R. W., & Swartz, J. R. (2025). Identifying neural mediators and cultural moderators of the association between discrimination and depression among Mexican American youth. Scientific Reports, 15. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-22900-8.

Fajardo, J., Arnold, C. D., Mensah, M. O., Adjetey, E., Demuyakor, M. E., Tan, X., Oaks, B. M., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Guyer, A. E., Dewey, K. G., Hastings, P. D., Prado, E. L., & Stewart, C. P. (2025). The effects of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements on adolescent physical activity and sedentary behavior: a follow-up of the iLiNS-DYAD Ghana trial. British Journal of Nutrition, 134, 508-517. doi: 10.1017/S0007114525105126

Partington, L. C., Yuan, H., Demuyakor, M. E., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Guyer, A. E., Dewey, K. G., Kumordzie, S. M., Oaks, B. M., Arnold, C. D., Prado, E. L., & Hastings, P. D. (2025). Early-life nutritional supplementation protects against home environmental risks in Ghanaian children’s social-emotional development. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1571677. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1571677

Her, H., Ugarte, E., Weissman, D. G., Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2025). Warm parenting throughout adolescence predicts basal parasympathetic activity among Mexican-origin youths. Developmental Psychobiology. 67(1), e70012. doi: 10.1002/dev.70012

Aryee, L. M. D., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Prado, E. L.⟊, Guyer, A. E., Arnold, C. D., Dewey, K. G., Amponsah, B., Manu, A., Oaks, B. M., Bentil, H. J., Nti, H., Labi, F. B. A, Mensah, M. O., Adjetey, E., & Hastings, P. D. (2025). Effect of early-life lipid-based nutrient supplement and home environment on autonomic nervous system regulation at 9-11 years: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Maternal & Child Nutrition,21(2), e13789. doi:10.1111/mcn.13789

Nti, H., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Oaks, B. M., Prado, E. L., Arnold, C. D., Hastings, P. D., Guyer, A. E., Dewey, K., Amponsah, B., Bentil, H. J., Mensah, M. O., Adjetey, E., Tan, X., Aryee, L. M. D., Labi, F., B. A.*, & Manu, A. (2024). Impact of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements on pubertal status of 9–13-year-olds: A follow-up study of the iLiNS-DYAD Ghana trial. Current Developments in Nutrition, 8, 104458. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104458

Yoo, A., Li, F., Youn, J., Guyer, A. E., Hostinar, C. E., & Tagkopoulos, I. (2024). Prediction of adolescent depression from prenatal and childhood data from ALSPAC using machine learning. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 23282. doi; 10.1038/s41598-024-72158-9

Risbud, R. D., Guyer, A. E., Robins, R. W., & Hastings, P. D. (2024). Development of comorbid alcohol use and depression symptoms during late adolescence: Examining the roles of emotion regulation and gender differences. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s10802-024-01251-4

Bentil, H., Daang, E. M., Guyer, A. E., Yuan, H., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Amponsah, B., Manu, A., Mensah, M., Demuyakor, M. E., Arnold, C. D., Oaks, B., Prado, E. & Hastings, P. D. (2024). Assessing children’s autonomic nervous system activity during structured tasks: A feasibility and reliability study in Ghana. Developmental Psychobiology, Sep;66(6):e22535. doi: 10.1002/dev.22535

Venticinque, J. S.*, McMillan, S. J.* & Guyer, A. E. (2024). Expanding understanding of adolescent neural sensitivity to peers: Using social information processing theory to generate new lines of research. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 67. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101395

Hastings, P. D., Miller, J. G., Weissman, D. G., Hodge, R. T., Robins, R. W., Carlo, G., & Guyer, A. E. (2024). Parasympathetic regulation and support from family and friends predict prosocial development in U.S. Mexican-origin adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 60, 1384–1400. doi: 10.1037/dev0001780

Barendse, M. E. A.*, Swartz, J. R., Taylor, S. L., Fine, J. R., Shirtcliff, E. A., Yoon, L.*, McMillan, S. J.*, Tully, L. M., & Guyer, A. E. (2024). Sex and pubertal variation in reward-related behavior and neural activation in early adolescents. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 66, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101358

Bentil, H., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Prado, E. L., Arnold, C. D., Hastings, P. D., Guyer, A. E., Mensah, M. O., Manu, A., Tan, X., Adjetey, E., Amponsah, B., Demuyakor, M. E., Dewey, K. G., & Oaks, B. M. (2024). Sustained effects of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements provided during the first 1000 days on child growth at 9-11 years in a randomized controlled trial in Ghana. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 119, 425-432. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.10.033

Hang, S., Jost, G. M., Guyer, A. E., Robins, R. W., Hastings, P. D. & Hostinar, C. E. (2023). Understanding the development of chronic loneliness in youth. Child Development Perspectives, 18, 44-53. doi:10.1111/cdep.12496

Yoon, L.*, Keenan, K., Hipwell, A. E., Forbes, E. E., & Guyer, A. E. (2023). Hooked on a thought: Associations between rumination and neural responses to social rejection in adolescent girls. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 64, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101320

Johnson, L. E., Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2023). Ethnic pride and cultural values promote positive youth development in a conceptual replication of the Five Cs model. Developmental Psychology, 59, 1543-1558. doi: 10.1037/dev0001570

Guyer, A. E. (2023). Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the developing adolescent mind and brain. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 3, 592-593. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.09.002.

Prado, E. L., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Arnold, C. D., Adjetey, E., Amponsah, B., Bentil, H., Dewey, K. G., Guyer, A. E., Manu, A., Mensah, M., Oaks, B. M., Ocansey, M., Tan, X., & Hastings, P. D. (2023). Pre- and postnatal small quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements and children’s social-emotional difficulties at age 9-11 years in Ghana: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 118, 433-442. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.025.

Gonzalves, L. C, Ferrer, E. Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2023). Psychosocial predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in Mexican-origin youth: An 8-year prospective cohort study. Clinical Psychological Science, 11, 425-443. doi: 10.1177/21677026221102924.

Hostinar, C., Swartz, J. R., Alen, N. V., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2023). The role of stress phenotypes in understanding childhood adversity as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 132, 277-286. doi: 10.1037/abn0000619.

Barendse, M. E. A.*, Lara, G. A., Guyer, A. E., Swartz, J. R., Taylor, S. L., Shirtcliff, E.A., Lamb, S.T., Miller, C., Ng, J., Yu, G., & Tully, L. M. (2023). Sex and pubertal influences on the neurodevelopmental underpinnings of schizophrenia: a case for longitudinal research on adolescents. Schizophrenia Research, 252, 231-241. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.12.011.

Beard, S. J.*, Yoon, L.*, Venticinque, J. S.*, Shepherd, N. E.*, & Guyer, A. E. (2022). The brain in social context: A systematic review of substance use and social processing from adolescence to young adulthood. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 57. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101147.

Hastings, P. D., Guyer, A. E., & Parra, L. (2022). Conceptualizing the influence of social and structural determinants of neurobiology and mental health. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 7, 1215-1224. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.06.004.

Ugarte, E., Johnson, L. E., Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2022). The impact of social disadvantage on autonomic physiology of Latinx adolescents: The role of environmental risks. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 181-182, 91-124. doi: 10.1002/cad.20462.

Mukherjee, P., Vilgis V.*, Rhoads, S.*, Chahal, R.*, Fassbender, C., Leibenluft, E., Dixon, J.F., Pakyurek, M., van den Bos, W., Hinshaw, S.P., Guyer, A.E., & Schweitzer, J.B. (2022). Associations of irritability with functional connectivity of amygdala and nucleus accumbens in adolescents and young adults with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 26, 1040-1050. doi: 10.1177/10870547211057074.

Beard, S. J.*, Hastings, P. D., Ferrer, E., Robins, R. W., & Guyer, A. E. (2022). Neural response to social exclusion moderates the link between adolescent anxiety symptoms and substance use. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and NeuroImaging, 7, 180-191. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.06.006.

Shields, G. S.*, Hostinar, C. E., Vilgis, V.*, Forbes, E. E., Hipwell, A. E., Keenan, K., & Guyer, A. E. (2021). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in childhood predicts emotional memory effects and related neural circuitry in adolescent girls. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 33, 872-886. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_01687.

Venticinque, J. S.*, Chahal, R.*, Beard, S. J.*, Schriber, R. A.*, Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2021). Neural responses to implicit forms of peer influence in young adults. Social Neuroscience,16, 327-340, doi: 10.1080/17470919.2021.1911843.

Chahal, R.*, Weissman, D. G.*, Hallquist, M. N., Robins, R.W., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2021). Neural connectivity biotypes: Associations with internalizing problems throughout adolescence. Psychological Medicine, 51, 2835-2845. doi: 10.1017/S003329172000149X.

Chahal, R.*, Gotlib, I. H., & Guyer, A. E. (2020). Research review: Brain network connectivity and the heterogeneity of depression in adolescence – a precision mental health perspective. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 1282-1298. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13250.

Guyer, A. E. (2020). Adolescent psychopathology: The role of brain-based diatheses, sensitivities, and susceptibilities. Child Development Perspectives, 14, 104-109. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12365.

Chahal, R.*, Weissman, D. G.*, Marek, S., Rhoads, S. A.*, Hipwell, A. E., Forbes, E. E., Keenan, K. & Guyer, A. E. (2020). Girls’ brain structural connectivity in late adolescence relates to history of depression symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 1224-1233. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13184.

Swartz, J. R., Weissman, D. G.*, Ferrer, E., Beard, S. J.*, Fassbender, C., Robins, R. W., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer A. E. (2020). Reward-related brain activity prospectively predicts increases in alcohol use in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59, 391-400. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.05.022

Vilgis, V.*, Rhoads, S. A.*, Weissman, D. G.*, Gelardi, K. L.*, Forbes, E. E., Hipwell, A. E., Keenan, K., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2020). Direct replication of task-dependent neural activation patterns during sadness introspection in two independent adolescent samples. Human Brain Mapping, 41, 739-754. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24836

Weissman, D. G.*, Guyer, A. E., Ferrer, E., Robins, R. W., & Hastings, P. D. (2018). Adolescents’ brain-autonomic coupling during emotion processing. NeuroImage, 183, 818-827. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.08.069

Chahal, R.*, Vilgis, V.*, Grimm, K. J., Hipwell, A. E., Forbes, E. E., Keenan, K., & Guyer, A. E. (2018). Girls’ pubertal development is associated with white matter microstructure in late adolescence. NeuroImage, 181, 659-669. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.07.050

Guyer, A. E., Pérez-Edgar, K., & Crone, E. A. (2018). Opportunities for neurodevelopmental plasticity from infancy through early adulthood. Child Development, 89, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13073

Schriber, R. A.*, Rogers, C. R.*, Ferrer, E., Conger, R. D., Robins, R. W., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2018). Do hostile school environments promote social deviance by shaping neural responses to social exclusion? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 28, 103-120. doi: 10.1111/jora.12340

Weissman, D. G.*, Conger, R. D., Robins, R. W., Hastings, P.D., & Guyer, A. E. (2018). Income change alters default mode network connectivity for adolescents in poverty. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 30, 93-99. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.01.008

Vilgis, V.*, Gelardi, K. L.*, Helm, J. L.*, Forbes, E. E., Hipwell, A. E., Keenan, K. & Guyer, A. E. (2018). Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity predicts later emotion suppression and depression in adolescent girls. Child Development, 89, 758-772. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13023

Schriber, R. A.*, Anbari, Z.*, Robins, R. W., Conger, R. D., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2017). Hippocampal volume as an amplifier of the effect of social context on adolescent depression. Clinical Psychological Science, 5, 632–649. doi: 10.1177/2167702617699277

Guyer, A. E., Nelson, E. E., & Silk, J. S. (2016). The neurobiology of the emotional adolescent: From the inside out. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 74-85. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.07.037

Nelson, E. E., Jarcho, J. M., & Guyer, A. E. (2016). Social re-orientation and brain development: an expanded and updated view. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 118-27 doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.008

Schriber, R. A.* & Guyer, A. E. (2016). Adolescent neurobiological susceptibility to social context. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 1-18. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.009

Teaching

Amanda Guyer teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Middle Childhood and Adolescent Development, Developmental Psychopathology, The Developing Brain, Developmental Neuroscience and Adolescent Psychopathology, and Field Studies with Children and Adolescents. 

Awards

Educator Award - David Cottrell Education of CAMH Professionals, Longlist Nominee, The Academy of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2026 https://www.acamh.org/blog/acamh-awards-longlist-spotlight-on-excellence/

Elected Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, 2019

Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award, University of California, Davis, 2018

Faculty Leadership Academy, Office of the Provost, University of California, Davis, 2018

Chancellor’s Fellow, University of California, Davis, 2014-2019

Faculty of the Year Award, Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, 2013

William T. Grant Scholar, William T. Grant Foundation, 2011-2016

Social Sciences Dean's Innovation Award, Division of Social Sciences, College of Letters and Science, University of California, Davis, 2011

Seymour S. Kety Memorial Fellowship Award for Excellence in Clinical Research, National Institute of Mental Health, 2006-2008

NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, 2005-2007

Robert M. Leylan Dissertation Fellowship, Yale University, 2002-2003

Postdoctoral Training Fellowship, Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Mood and Anxiety Program, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 2003–07