Report: Fentanyl scares some opioid users, but others seek it
Rich Lord
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Along the wide spectrum of opioid users, there are those who fear fentanyl and those who are its fans, according to a recently published study led by Penn State University researchers. Understanding the mindsets of both kinds of users may be a key to reducing the…
Health behavior and social science data among projects winning strategic support
Initiatives that include studying the sustainable management of forests using Penn State forestland as a living laboratory; developing professional development and instructional tools for educators to teach difficult historical and social subjects; and a summer program designed to prepare…
Digging Deeper: Opioid Crisis
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…
$1.2 million NSF grant funds interdisciplinary Child Study Center project
“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. “…
Accomplishments of the Behavioral and Social Sciences
For a number of years, OBSSR has made available a fact sheet that lists some key accomplishments of health-related behavioral and social sciences research. That fact sheet, developed in 2013, is becoming dated and is a short list of only a few key accomplishments resulting from behavioral and…
Why Social Science? - Because It Helps to Address Graduate Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Joseph K. Assan, PhD, Assistant Professor of International Political Economy of Sustainable Development, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
Social scientists are actively involved in working with government officials, academics, the private sector, NGOs and…
Registration for 2019 Solutions Network Conference is open
Registration for the 2019 Child Maltreatment Solutions Network Conference is now open. The Future of Foster Care New Science to Address Old Problems will take place September 23-24 at The Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State’s University Park campus.
The conference will focus on identifying and…
LinkedIn Learning coming to Penn State
The online learning and professional development platform long used by Penn State students, faculty and staff will be upgraded in August when Lynda.com becomes LinkedIn Learning.
Despite the name change, LinkedIn Learning will retain features popular with Lynda.com users while adding new…
Understanding opioid users' views on fentanyl could help reduce overdoses
Opioid users fear accidental overdoses from street drugs laced with fentanyl, but unpredictable drug quality means they often lack reliable strategies to avoid it, according to a team of researchers who suggest that fentanyl test strips may reduce overdose deaths.
"The opioid crisis is one of the…
'Alexa, I’m in pain': Smart assistants could help combat opioid crisis
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…
Dionne shares his views on empathy and democracy in latest podcast
The “Democracy Works” podcast spoke with E.J. Dionne about his views on the relationship between partisan politics and democracy. The conversation covered various topics from Donald Trump, the future of the republican party, and the need for empathy in politics.
E.J Dionne is a columnist for The…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse Conference adds speakers
Still on the fence about coming to the conference? We just found out that Anne Herron, acting director in the Office of the Director at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) at SAMHSA will also be joining us! The activities of her office include working to close the gap between…
Panlilio authors new book on trauma-informed schools
The long term effects of child maltreatment on academic achievement is the focus of a new book authored by Carlomagno Panlilio, assistant professor of education and Child Maltreatment Solutions Network faculty member.
The book, Trauma-Informed Schools: Integrating Child Maltreatment Prevention,…
Bigger portions lead to preschoolers eating more over time
Preschoolers may not be as good at resisting large portions of everyday foods as was previously thought, according to Penn State researchers.
In a study, the researchers examined whether children between the ages of three and five were susceptible to the portion size effect — the tendency of people…
Opioid epidemic may have cost U.S. governments $37.8 billion in tax revenue
The opioid epidemic may have cost U.S. state and federal governments up to $37.8 billion in lost tax revenue due to opioid-related employment loss, according to Penn State researchers.
Additionally, the researchers found that Pennsylvania was one of the states with the most lost revenue, with…
Researchers to compare Twitter opinions on climate change with real-world views
How do regional opinions on Twitter represent real-world attitudes toward climate change? A team of researchers will work to find out, thanks to a recent seed grant from the Social Science Research Instituteat Penn State.
In their study, the researchers will construct a Twitter-driven regional…
Chi publishes first book on spatial regression methods
After taking ten years to complete research and writing, SSRI co-fund Guangqing Chi recently published his book, “Spatial Regression Models for the Social Sciences” with co-author Jun Zhu. The book serves as a primer type of textbook for social scientists who would like a quick start to learning…
Registration now open for seminar on generalizability of Twitter data
Guangqing Chi, associate professor of rural sociology and demography and public health sciences and SSRI co-funded faculty, will present “The Generalizability and Replicability of Twitter Data for Population (and Health) Research” at the next Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD)…
Forcing a smile for customers linked with more drinking after work
Employees who force themselves to smile and be happy in front of customers — or who try to hide feelings of annoyance — may be at risk for heavier drinking after work, according to researchers.
A team of researchers at Penn State and the University at Buffalo studied the drinking habits of people…
Register Today for the CCSA Conference
There is still time to register for the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse's first annual conference, Envisioning a Future Free from Addiction: Research, Programs, and Practice to Prevent Substance Abuse, to be held Monday, April 29, on Penn State’s University Park campus at the Hetzel Union…
Penn State represented at Congressional briefing addressing child maltreatment
Yo Jackson, associate director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and professor of psychology at Penn State, recently provided testimony on strengthening prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect to the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor’s subcommittee on Civil Rights…
Preventing Teen Substance Abuse
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…
National symposium to mark 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Center for Education and Civil Rights and the Africana Research Center at Penn State will convene Brown@65, a national symposium of education, law and policy scholars and practitioners, May 10 on…
Interparental aggression often co-occurs with aggression toward kids
Parents in the midst of a psychologically or physically aggressive argument tend to also be aggressive with their children, according to researchers at Penn State. The team found that this "spillover" of aggression toward children causes kids to exhibit greater fear during future incidents of…
PRI announces seed grant recipients
The Population Research Institute (PRI) announced its recent seed grant winners, Mary Shenk, Molly Martin and Sarah Damaske.
Shenk is an associate professor of anthropology and demography and is a faculty affiliate of PRI. She submitted her project “How objective and subjective environmental…