Personal connections matter to families taking care of kin during opioid crisis
Mar 7, 2023
For family members unexpectedly taking care of a relative’s child during the opioid crisis, it can be difficult to navigate the legal waters of assuming custody. The process may be easier — and come with more support — if these caregivers have personal connections to local resource institutions,…
Program helps new parents build strong, loving bonds and teamwork skills
Jun 28, 2022
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, a scientific organization dedicated to evaluating programs designed to promote the well-being of youth, has recently designated Family Foundations as a "Certified Model Program." Family Foundations is an evidence-based program developed by Mark Feinberg,…
Depression in fathers and children linked, regardless of genetic relatedness
Jun 27, 2022
Adolescent depression and behavior problems are on the rise due to many factors, but parental depression is contributing to the increase in their children regardless of whether they are genetically related, say researchers from Penn State and Michigan State. The work appears in the Cambridge…
Why Social Science? - Because It Shows Us How Families Can Thrive
May 17, 2022
This week's Why Social Science? post comes from Norma J. Bond Burgess, President of the National Council on Family Relations, who writes about the importance and role of family science in understanding and improving family relationships. By Norma J. Bond Burgess, Ph.D., President, National Council…News Topics: Why Social Science?Family
'Family Foundations' parenting program helps families weather the pandemic
Feb 7, 2022
For nearly 20 years, Penn State Research Professor Mark Feinberg has been developing and sharing Family Foundations, a course for couples expecting their first child that focuses on how to work as a team, communicate, and solve problems. New research shows that couples who took Family Foundations…News Topics: Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research CenterFamily
COVID-19 pandemic may have increased mental health issues within families
Apr 14, 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, many families found themselves suddenly isolated together at home. A year later, new research has linked this period with a variety of large, detrimental effects on individuals’ and families’ well-being and functioning. The study — led by Penn State…
When COVID-19 hits home: Understanding the fight with fear
Feb 24, 2021
When the first U.S. case of COVID-19 due to community spread was diagnosed in late February 2020, it set off a rapid series of events. As cases surged, many states issued stay-at-home orders, and schools and childcare centers shut down. With such rapid, widespread disruption, it’s no wonder that…
Validation may be best way to support stressed out friends and family
Mar 27, 2020
In uncertain times, supporting your friends and family can help them make it through. But your comforting words can have different effects based on how you phrase them, according to new Penn State research. The researchers studied how people responded to a variety of different messages offering…
For many, friends and family, not doctors, serve as a gateway to opioid misuse
Jun 4, 2019
In a common narrative of the path to opioid misuse, people become addicted to painkillers after a doctor prescribed them pills to treat an injury and then, later, switch to harder drugs, such as heroin. However, nonmedical opioid users were more likely to say they began abusing opioids after…
Study: Friends, family are most common gateway to addiction, not doctors
May 15, 2019
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The often-told story of the prescription for an opioid that launches the patient down the road to ruin is not the typical tale of heroin addiction, according to a new report by researchers from Penn State and other universities. More common, according to the…
Families and schools may play key roles in promoting adolescent self-confidence
Mar 14, 2019
Self-confidence is critical for teens as they prepare for the challenges of adulthood, and both families and schools may together play a vital role in boosting adolescents’ confidence even in the face of difficulties with family, according to researchers. The researchers examined how a variety of…
Biological responses to conflict differ in maltreated children
Feb 12, 2019
Parent-child conflict is inevitable as children grow, become more independent, and explore the limits of their behavior. However, in families where child maltreatment is present, biological responses to conflict may be altered in both parents and children. A team of Penn State researchers measured…
Keeping kids on task in school may start at home
Jan 31, 2019
The transition to kindergarten can be a challenge for children who have trouble paying attention, and can result in behavioral problems and poor academic achievement. A team led by researchers at Penn State is analyzing task persistence and how parents can influence it in early childhood. Task…
Harvard professor to present De Jong Lecture in Social Demography Nov. 15
Nov 9, 2018
Penn State’s 13th Annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography will be presented from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus. "The impact of workplace policies/practices and family composition: Can they explain inequalities in health,"…
$6.3 million grant will fund video library of moms and babies at play
Sep 11, 2018
When toddlers play, there’s more going on than meets the eye. Play and other natural activities parents engage in help developing children build social, emotional and locomotor skills, among others. To help tease apart these processes, a team of researchers led by Penn State and New York University…
Family-Focused Approaches to Opioid Addiction Improve the Effectiveness of Treatment
Jul 24, 2018
- Written by Helena J.V. Rutherford, Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine, Declan T. Barry, Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine, and Linda C. Mayes, MD, Yale School of Medicine- Edited by Rebekah Levine Coley, Ph.D., Boston College- For more information, contact Martha Zaslow, Ph.D. Director for Policy,…
Penn State researchers hope website humanizes, helps others affected by opioids
Jun 24, 2018
Stories can speak as loudly as statistics. That is the purpose behind “Share Your Opioid Story,” an initiative designed to raise public awareness of the impact of the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania and empower Pennsylvanians affected by the epidemic to talk openly about the effects of opioid…
Barriers prevent family-centered services for children with speech disabilities
Apr 9, 2018
While speech-language pathologists support the concept of family-centered services when working with children who cannot meet their communication needs through their own speech due to autism or other disorders, a Penn State study shows that there are barriers to meeting this goal. Specifically, the…
Students who think their parents approve of drinking may drink more
Mar 19, 2018
Teens may act like they’re not listening, but students who think their parents are more accepting of drinking tend to drink more in college, according to researchers. The researchers asked students about their drinking habits and how much they believed their parents were accepting of them drinking…