Training scientists in substance use prevention the focus of $3.2 million grant
Jun 13, 2021
A $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will fund the continuation of Penn State's Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program, which focuses on training the next generation of scientists in preventing substance use and addiction. Effective strategies to prevent…News Topics: Substance UsePrevention Research Center
'A permission slip to be human': Grad student aims to help students and schools
Sep 11, 2020
One day, while standing in front of a classroom, high school teacher Blake Colaianne said he realized that, every day, he was suppressing some of his humanity — his joys, stress, worries — in order to do his job. He also realized that his students were doing something similar to get through their…News Topics: Prevention Research Center
Parental warmth on high-conflict days helps teens to feel loved
Aug 7, 2020
While parent-teen conflict is inevitable, parents expressing warmth and support on high-conflict days can bolster how much their teen feels loved, according to a study conducted by Gregory Fosco, Penn State associate professor of human development and family studies and associate director of the…
PRC funding available for graduate student research related to anti-racism
Jul 28, 2020
The Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC) announced today a call for proposals for funding Penn State graduate student research that focuses on health and challenges faced by diverse and oppressed populations, with preference given to projects that develop or adapt an intervention to…News Topics: RacismPrevention Research Center
Researchers to study impact of COVID-19 and social distancing on families
Apr 23, 2020
Since social distancing has been implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19, many families are experiencing high levels of stress and conflict — arguments and conflict between parents, between parents and children, and between siblings. And though social distancing is a frequently used intervention…
2019 Bennett Lecture discusses how mindfulness can help treat people living with addiction
Oct 27, 2019
Mindfulness was the topic at hand for this year’s Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science, held on Oct. 15 in 110 Henderson Building. The Bennett Lecture is an annual fall eventhosted by the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center. This year’s speaker, Katie Witkiewitz, professor of psychology…
Professor to moderate congressional briefing on opioid dependence, addiction
Oct 16, 2019
Diana Fishbein, professor of human development and family studies and director of the Program of Translational Research on Adversity Neurodevelopment in the Prevention Research Center at Penn State, is co-organizing and moderating the congressional briefing, “The Real Dangers of Equating Opioid…
2019 Bennett Lecture to focus on mindfulness-based Interventions for addiction
Oct 10, 2019
On Oct. 15, at 4 p.m., Katie Witkiewitz, psychology professor at the University of New Mexico, will present the 2019 Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science, "Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Addiction: Making a Better Band-Aid," in 110 Henderson Building. The event is free and open to the public…
Professor contributes to federal report on child and youth mental health
Sep 24, 2019
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for a comprehensive national agenda to improve mental, emotional and behavioral health in children and youth. Jennifer Frank, assistant professor of education, senior research associate with the Edna Bennett…
Communities that Care prevention system helps to protect youth, study finds
Sep 13, 2019
Students in Pennsylvania school districts that participated in Communities that Care (CTC) coalitions were significantly less likely to use alcohol or marijuana, or to engage in delinquent behavior than those in non-CTC districts, according to a recent study published in Prevention Science. Penn…
Marijuana may boost risky effects of drinking alcohol
Aug 19, 2019
As the legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana use are both on the rise in the United States, people are not necessarily using alcohol less and may be unaware of the risks of combining alcohol and marijuana, according to researchers. A new study from Penn State found that compared to people…
Penn State-led national coalition bringing prevention science to life
Jun 21, 2019
Over the past four decades, prevention science has grown steadily, producing evidence-based practices and policies that prevent negative medical, social and emotional impacts before they occur. Increasingly, the Penn State-led National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives(NPSC) is being…
Penn State participates in Social Science Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.
May 22, 2019
Penn State researchers recently attended the Consortium of Social Science Association’s (COSSA) 2019 Social Science Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., taking part in a full schedule of events to bring awareness to social and behavioral sciences. During the advocacy day, COSSA members met with…
PROSPER conference convenes experts and youth to help prevent substance abuse
May 20, 2019
“We are now addressing a generation that could become addicted if they take a pill a few times. Prevention is critical,” said Steve Forzato, deputy chief of statewide drug initiatives for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, to the audience assembled May 14 at the Ruth Pike Auditorium for…
Sleep and exercise affect new moms differently than new dads
May 2, 2019
Sleep and exercise are vital to the wellbeing of new parents, but these essentials affect new moms differently than new dads, according to researchers. In a study looking at the daily lives of new parents, a team led by Penn State researchers found that in general, getting more physical activity…
Digging Deeper: Opioid Crisis
Apr 25, 2019
The opioid crisis has affected every state in some way, but Pennsylvania has been one of the hardest hit. In 2017 alone, overdose death reached almost 5600 people. Unlike previous drug epidemics, the opioid crisis has affected rural and urban areas alike and may parts of the state are unprepared…
$1.2 million NSF grant funds interdisciplinary Child Study Center project
Apr 24, 2019
“STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] skills have not been a priority in early childhood education,” said Evan Pugh University Professor Karen Bierman, director of the Penn State Child Study Center housed in the Department of Psychology in the College of the Liberal Arts. “…
'Alexa, I’m in pain': Smart assistants could help combat opioid crisis
Apr 23, 2019
For patients suffering with chronic pain, relief could soon be found as close as their nearest smart assistant. Researchers at Penn State are developing a way to deliver on-demand, guided mindfulness practices via Amazon Alexa to patients experiencing chronic pain. Through their method, a smart…
Preventing Teen Substance Abuse
Apr 9, 2019
While legislators and researchers work together to develop treatment options and solutions for the nationwide opioid crisis, community members, schools and caregivers have turned their focus to developing ways to protect future generations from substance abuse. To help build resilient families in…
Prevention Research Center to chart course for social emotional learning
Feb 6, 2019
Experts agree that social and emotional skills are necessary for children to grow up healthy and successful as students and later, in all aspects of life. Over the past two years, the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have…
Penn State is represented at congressional briefing addressing opioid epidemic
May 4, 2018
Penn State researcher Stephanie Bradley, director of the Evidence-Based Prevention & Intervention Support Center (EPISCenter), was one of five experts on a panel who recently briefed Congress on the rising opioid epidemic and efforts to combat the problem through evidence-based prevention…