Joseph Sexton
@josephfsexton.bsky.social
Research tech at Vanderbilt. Critical approaches to measurement, suicide, and mental health, somewhere between statistics, psychology, and science studies (he/him) 🏳️🌈
Have they spoken to a psychologist ever
🚨Breaking🚨: NIH is terminating health disparities research grants again. This time, they may successfully avoid legal challenges by giving specific reasons for their decisions. One grant so far, more to come. Exclusive @science.org by me and @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...
Excited to share a paper recently accepted at Nature Mental Health! 😄 For decades, we've assumed that covariance among psychopathology informs comorbidity. What if we’ve been wrong?
Covariation among higher-order psychopathology dimensions is driven by nomorbidity, not comorbidity: https://osf.io/3t2cm
When you share a scathing critique of current psychology and someone sends you a paper by Paul Meehl
The concept of a bisexual lighting mega Gaudi drone show at the Sagrada Família
I’m not a particularly fashionable person, but nowhere do I feel so dismally unfashionable as I do in Copenhagen
Very excited for #aps26bcn... the schedule is stacked! Any factor analysis nerds or skeptics wanna meet up at my poster? 🗣️ "Accounting for Zero Inflation Worsens the Structural Validity of the DSM-5 Substance Use Disorder Criterion Set" (w/ @ashleylwatts.bsky.social) 📍 Poster 122, 8-9pm Friday
My favorite thing about Love’s truck stops is their consistently niche selection of Pokémon plushies. Zero recent starters but ten Togetics from Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999)
Don't be shy to take on a little two-week side project. These five months will be the most precious three years of your academic journey.
What are good papers squaring high suicidal ideation with low suicide rates during COVID?
Very stoked to share that I'm joining Temple University's Clinical Psych PhD program this fall! I'll be doing critically minded and methods-heavy work on measurement, depression, and suicide in adolescents with @olinotom.bsky.social. Feeling super grateful! If you're in Philly, say hi :)
If Metro Nashville wants to build dedicated transit lanes on state-controlled corridors, it needs the sign-off of the TN General Assembly. This week, the legislature is nearing approval of the city’s plans for dedicated lanes downtown and along Gallatin and Nolensville pikes. @stelliott.bsky.social
Dedicated transit lanes in Nashville nearing state approval - Nashville Banner
The Tennessee General Assembly is close to approving dedicated transit lanes in Nashville, paving the way for transportation improvements.
nashvillebanner.com
“how precarious is research funding in the US these days?“ well there’s a subreddit where students are making ggplots to predict whether GRFP comes out on a Tuesday
I'm telling you right now, do not trust that cutoff CFI > .95. he is not worth your time. he will give you trust issues and then some
NSF updated the GRFP website with FAQs, mostly to do with outcry about (many) applications being returned without review. "The number of applications RWR has not changed substantially" they say. Translated: the proportion RWR likely ~doubled.
INVESTIGATION: Over the last 5 months, the Banner and a coalition of partners analyzed 52 hours of footage and thousands of pages of documents from a joint THP/ICE operation targeting Nashville’s predominantly immigrant neighborhoods. Here’s what we found: (1/11) ✍️ @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social
How ICE, THP targeted Nashville immigrants, inflated safety claims - Nashville Banner
Analysis shows Tennessee state troopers and ICE agents profiled and disparaged immigrants during Nashville enforcement operation in May 2025.
nashvillebanner.com
I’m reading Susan Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others, about the development of wartime photography. Sontag is so arresting, always: “To catch a death actually happening and embalm it for all time is something only cameras can do”. If only she were still around.
New preprint! We investigate the risk of algorithmic bias (across race/ethnicity, gender, and their intersection) in machine learning models predicting suicide attempts across 3 clinical settings in over 1.2 million patients. osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
STOP putting AI in everything!!!!!!!! I don't need it!!!!!!!! What I NEED is for my computer to not run out of RAM!!!!!!!!
going to start supplementing everyone’s sterile academic bluesky feeds with important insights from gay Twitter
At the point on the dunning kruger curve where I realize I know very little but am also unimpressed by bifactor models
As NSF GRFP is in the news, PLEASE spread the word about the new EGFP program they have for past GRFP honorable mentions. Universities in eligible states can apply to get funding for HMs in the same amount as GRFP. My impression is that many depts don't know this exists and so don't apply.
The United States of precarious research conditions and abandoned longitudinal studies. I am 24 years old and want to be a scientist. Why would I stay here?
BREAKING: The Supreme Court lets the Trump administration cut nearly $800 million in health research funding in anti-DEI push.
Sorry, but if you're in a top-tier PhD program, with a stipend of $40k+, and/or you otherwise have the material resources and clout to afford conferences -- the student travel award is 99.9% chance not for you
Anyhow, I'm listening to AG Cook and my code is working. That's all! Thank you