Lucía Magis-Weinberg

Image of Lucía Magis-Weinberg

Lucía Magis-Weinberg, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Kincaid 352
Advising: Accepting new graduate students in 2025-2026.
Interests: Cross-cultural approaches to adolescent development in the context of accelerated change in digital technologies

Research

I lead the interACTlab (International Adolescent Connection and Technology Laboratory). Our research focuses on how the social and affective developmental tasks of adolescence have been transformed by the digital era—particularly in understudied populations in international settings.

We collaborate with schools in Latin America to advance knowledge on adolescent development and technology use, and also apply developmental science to design school-based interventions to promote digital citizenship and healthy digital habits. This research-practitioner partnership allows us to better expand our understanding of, and respond to the needs of, young people in these key formational years in an increasingly digitalized world.

My long-term goal is to leverage my background in developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and cross-cultural contexts to advance our understanding of how adolescent development is shaped by the risks and opportunities afforded by digital technologies.

Education

University College London (2017)

  • PSYCH 413 - Adolescent Development
  • PSYCH 535 - Scientific Writing
  • PSYCH 560 - Social Development in Adolescence

  • Magis-Weinberg, L. Muñoz Lopez, D., Gys, C., Berger, E.L & Dahl, R.E. (2023) Promoting Digital Citizenship through a school-based intervention in early adolescence in Perú (a pilot quasi experimental study). Children and Adolescent Mental Health.
  • Barendse, M., Flannery, J. E., Cavanagh, C., Aristizabal, M., Becker, S. P., Berger, E., … Magis-Weinberg, L., … Pfeifer, J. H. (2022). Longitudinal change in adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international collaborative of 12 samples. Journal of Research in Adolescence. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jora.12781
  • Ghai, S., Magis-Weinberg, L., Stoilova, M., Livingstone, S., & Orben, A. (2022). Social Media and Adolescent Well-being in the Global South. Current Opinion in Psychology, 101318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101318
  • Guazzelli Williamson, V., Berger, E. L., Barendse, M. E. A., Pfeifer, J. H., Dahl, R. E., & Magis-Weinberg, L. (2022). Socio-ecological Resilience Relates to Lower Internalizing Symptoms among Adolescents during the Strictest Period of COVID-19 Lockdown in Perú. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. 50(11):1429-1444. doi: 10.1007/s10802-022-00928-y
  • McNeilly E.*, Saragosa-Harris, N.*, Mills, K., Dahl, R., & Magis-Weinberg, L. (2022). Reward processes during early stages of pubertal development and the association with internalizing symptoms in 9- and 10-year olds in the ABCD Study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 31;58:101172. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101172. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36368089; PMCID: PMC9649995
  • Cheng, T., Magis-Weinberg, L., Guazzelli Williamson, V., Ladouceur, C.D., Whittle, S., Herting, M., Uban, K., Byrne, M.L., Barendse, M.E.A., Shirtcliff, E.A., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2021) A researcher’s guide to the measurement and modeling of puberty in the ABCD StudyⓇ at baseline. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 12:608575. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.608575
  • Magis-Weinberg, L. (2021) Digital citizenship under lockdown: promoting the healthy use of technology for adolescents growing-up in Perú during COVID-19. Journal of Children and Media.
  • Magis-Weinberg, L., Berger, E., Gys, C., & Dahl, R. (2021, February 15). Study Protocol: Transitions, a school based intervention to promote digital citizenship in low- and middle income secondary school students in Perú. doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/gzc82
  • Magis-Weinberg, L., Gys, C., Berger, E., Domoff, S., & Dahl, R. (2021). Positive and Negative Online Experiences and Loneliness in Peruvian Adolescents During The COVID-19 Lockdown. Journal of Research in Adolescence. Special issue on The Impact of the COVID‐19 Pandemic on Adolescent Emotional, Social, and Academic Adjustment. 31: 717-733. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12666
  • Magis-Weinberg, L., Suleiman A.B., & Dahl, R., (2021). Context, development and digital media: implications for very young adolescents in LMICs. Frontiers in Psychology. Special issue on Digital Media and Social Connection in the Lives of Children, Adolescents and Families. 12:632713. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.632713
  • Magis-Weinberg, L. & Berger E. (2020) Mind Games: Technology and the Developing Teenage Brain. Frontiers for Young Minds. 8:76. doi: 10.3389/frym.2020.00076.