When COVID-19 emerged in 2020, Christine Lee, PhD and her research team set out to study the pandemic’s effects on mental health and substance use among young adults. They found that people ages 18 to 29 in the Seattle area were reporting feelings of isolation and psychological distress, and generally lower substance use.
Dr. Lee wanted to provide this population with accurate, supportive information that could counter the potential perceptions that young adults were engaging in health-risk behaviors. So they launched, and subsequently expanded, an online tool called Check-In with Yourself.
The website invites participants to anonymously enter information about their mood, stress, coping mechanisms, substance use, and perceptions of peers’ behaviors. In return, participants receive personalized feedback and evidence-informed strategies to improve their emotional well-being and, if they choose, to pursue changes in their alcohol or cannabis use.
When Check-In premiered in 2020, “We wanted to give people skills to deal with stress so they felt like they could cope in a healthy way,” Lee said.
The site soon attracted funding from the Washington State Health Authority. These funds enabled Dr. Lee’s team to redesign the site and adapt content to be relevant post-pandemic. In 2024, the Health Care Authority gave additional funds to create Conéctate Contigo Mismo, a Spanish-language version that contains cultural adaptations for Latino and Latina young adults. This premiered in the spring.
“We’re very excited about Conéctate Contigo Mismo,” Lee said. “It’s not just a straight translation of Check-In, but an adaptation that we hope will resonate with the Latino communities in Washington.”
