Sarah Borowski, an assistant psychology professor, is leading new research at Lehigh that examines how teenagers’ friendships shape their emotional health.
She is studying this through a process called co-rumination, which is when one repeatedly dwells on problems they have with friends. Her work investigates why some teenagers who engage in co-rumination develop symptoms of depression while others don’t.
Borowski’s lab studies adolescents’ physiological responses, such as monitoring heart rate and sweat levels, to better understand how emotional regulation may protect against the negative effects of having stressful conversations with peers.
She said she’s always been interested in how emotions affect the way people express themselves, and how people modulate and control their feelings. Borowski didn’t always plan to pursue research though.
As an undergraduate at Elon University, she originally intended to become a clinical psychologist. While completing her thesis on how emotions shape self-editing in writing, she grew increasingly interested in emotional expression and developmental psychology.
After earning a research-based master’s degree at the College of William and Mary, Borowski shifted toward pursuing doctoral programs.
She said she worked with a professor who studied parental emotion socialization, which is the methods by which parents teach children when and how to express emotions.
Borowski said this sparked her interest in studying adolescence, which is a time period when there’s a notable change of where young people seek encouragement.
In adolescence, Borowski said people look more toward their friends before their parents. While parents give more guidance and emotional coaching, she said friends tend to provide more give and take, which is why adolescents look to friends as people they relate to.
“During adolescence, there’s this shift from parents to peers as the source of primary support, and adolescents really prefer to talk to their close friends about their problems,” Borowski said.
Borowski then went on to complete her doctorate at the University of Missouri under professor Amanda Rose, who developed the construct of co-rumination. She now uses that framework in her research at Lehigh, which she’s been working on since 2022.
Her recent study, presented at the Society for Research on Child Development in Minneapolis, examined teenagers’ physiological responses to a series of questions. Heart-rate and sweat responses were key indicators of how teenagers regulate emotions during stressful conversations.
Borowski found that adolescents with strong physiological emotional regulation didn’t show high levels of depression, even when they co-ruminate with friends.
However, she said individuals with poor regulation reported more depressive symptoms. She said this suggests regulation skills may lessen the harmful effects of repeated negative discussions.
For example, she said teaching adolescents to notice signs of stress, such as sweating or a rapid heartbeat, may help them redirect a conversation or activity in the moment.
Gabe Perez, ‘26, has worked with Borowski since his sophomore year at Lehigh and said his experience researching with her has shaped his career interests. He is also working on a separate research project he developed under her guidance about the impacts of social media on adolescence.
He said her study has reinforced his desire to pursue a career as a therapist and that she has had a meaningful impact on the students that work under her guidance.
Perez also said the opportunity to be well-versed in innovative and original research has been rewarding for him.
“(Borowski) is very diligent about the work that she does, so she takes it very seriously, and I think that shows and also transfers to her research assistants,” Perez said.
Gabriela Gonzalez, ‘26G, also works with Borowski as both a teaching assistant and researcher.
She said she views Borowski as a supportive mentor.
“She’s very collaborative and helpful,” Gonzalez said. “In both positions it’s absolutely a collaborative mentorship relationship.”
Gonzalez helps administer surveys and guide participants through studies. She said one of the most significant things she’s learned from the research is that while talking through problems with friends may feel helpful, it may not actually resolve the issue — especially when conversations become repetitive.
With her interest in emotional expression, Borowski said her work has been exciting, especially because it’s something many people can relate to.
“From a personal standpoint, I always love talking about my research because I think most people have friendships or relationship partners that you go to in times of support,” Borowski said. “I think it’s really interesting to study it.”