What does it mean to thrive in a world where technology shapes nearly every aspect of young people’s lives?
Dr. Rachel Hanebutt’s research seeks to answer this question by advancing adolescent digital wellbeing and designing equitable digital health solutions that support adolescents and families. A developmental and community psychologist, she leads participatory, mixed-methods research on how teens use—and are shaped by—technology, with projects spanning school-based interventions, digital mental health innovations, and family-centered design approaches.
At the Thrive Center, Dr. Hanebutt serves as the Holt Family Rising Professor and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, where her research focuses on the behavioral mechanisms linking digital habits—such as social media use, sleep hygiene, and digital self-regulation—to adolescent mental health outcomes. Her broader research agenda aims to build evidence for adolescent flourishing in the digital age and to co-design developmentally informed technologies and interventions that promote mental health, self-control, and equitable access to digital wellbeing.
Dr. Hanebutt's work bridges research and practice, emphasizing not only what is studied but how research is conducted and shared. Her community-engaged approach brings teens and families into every stage of the research process as co-designers, advisors, and interpreters, ensuring that programs and digital tools reflect the realities of their lived experience. She also highlights the social and structural conditions that shape healthy digital habits—especially for rural, low-income, and historically underserved youth—and leverages equity-focused dissemination strategies to promote scalable, strengths-based behavior change.
Prior to joining Georgetown, Dr. Hanebutt completed her Ph.D. in Community Research and Action at Vanderbilt University, where her dissertation examined teen-centric methods of studying adolescent digital wellbeing in partnership with #HalfTheStory, a leading digital wellness nonprofit. She also trained in civic media and technology development at Emerson College (M.A.), earned her Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a proud alum of DePauw University (B.A.).
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Appointment Pending - Assistant Professor, SOM - Pediatrics Academic Department