Some personal beliefs and morals may stem from genetics
A new baby is often welcomed with speculation about whether they got their eyes and nose from mom or dad, but researchers say it may be possible for children to inherit their parents’ moral characteristics, as well.
The researchers found that while parents can help encourage their children to…
Depression screening rates remain low among adolescents
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is increasing among U.S. adolescents, while screening rates for depression remain low and insufficient in addressing the rising mental health crisis, according to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
A research team lead by Deepa Sekhar, associate…
Researchers examine why health and social services go unused by new veterans
Returning to civilian life can be challenging for veterans. While there are many programs and services aimed at helping them readjust, some veterans do not take advantage of these supportive resources. A Penn State-led research team examined factors that are associated with program non-use among…
Why Social Science? - Because It Requires Confronting the Assumptions We Have About Others
By Lee Hoffer, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University
Social science comes in many varieties, is comprehensive in scope, and applied to an infinite number of real-world challenges, questions, and problems society faces. At its core, it concerns the human…
Sharkey shares impact of Penn State research across University and beyond
Since the University’s founding when Penn State’s first president Evan Pugh set forth the college’s research vision in 1859, innovation and knowledge creation have been a foundational element of the land-grant mission, according to Neil Sharkey, vice president for research.
Describing…
Project ECHO prepares doctors to manage addiction care closer to home
For patients suffering from opioid use disorder, and for the physicians in small towns across Pennsylvania who are their first level of care, Project ECHO offers hope. The effort aims to give primary care physicians the tools they need to treat the growing group of Pennsylvanians addicted to…
Funding agency investigations emphasize need for researcher disclosures
As international research collaboration continues to grow at Penn State and universities across the U.S., investigators are urged to carefully review the disclosure of their international affiliations. While the vast majority of international collaborations are acceptable — and encouraged — it is…
Morgan to serve on ECLS technical review panel
Paul Morgan, director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research and PRI affiliate, has been invited to serve on the Technical Review Panel for the new Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2022-23 (ECLS-K: 2023). As a panelist, Morgan will be advising the U.S.…
Disclosure of foreign affiliations
Investigators submitting proposals and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) to NIH should know it is critically important that they accurately identify any foreign collaborations associated with their research.
Question 6.a. on the “RESEARCH & RELATED Other Project Information” form…
Student shares story of opioid addiction to support others
Erin Bergner, a Penn State Abington junior, is motivated, to say the least: She carries extra courses so she can graduate early, works in a faculty research lab, and holds down another part-time job. And all the while she is managing her recovery from opioid addiction and telling her story on…
Sharing your research expertise with policymakers
Please consider joining the Rapid Response Network for the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC), which involves preparing and engaging researchers around policy efforts related to their expertise because doing so is thought to support policymakers' use of…
New Effective Date for the Revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide
Due to the recent lapse in appropriations, implementation of the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), (NSF 19-1) was postponed. We are pleased to announce that the revised PAPPG will now be effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after February 25,…
Biological responses to conflict differ in maltreated children
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…
New research project to analyze cognitive training programs for older adults
A new research project at Penn State aims to evaluate how cognitive training programs can maintain the brain and everyday functioning in older adults.
Funded by a $1.85 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the project will examine the mechanisms of effective cognitive training…
Researcher to study how adversity can lead to susceptibility to disease
How adversity early in life can lead to susceptibility to disease will be studied through a project initially funded through Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s "Bridges to Translation" pilot grant program.
Idan Shalev, Mark T. Greenberg Early Career Professor…
February's Headlines Webchat to Feature a Deep Dive on Evidence-Based Policymaking
COSSA members are encouraged to sign up for the monthly Headlines webchat on February 14 at 2:00 pm Eastern, in which COSSA staff will recap the most important social and behavioral science news from the past month and answer participants' questions. The February chat will…
Social Scientists Encouraged to Explore NSF's Ten Big Ideas Solicitations
Arthur Lupia, Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) of the National Science Foundation (NSF), is calling on social and behavioral scientists to learn more about, and consider applying for, the funding opportunities associated with the NSF Ten Big…
Prevention Research Center to chart course for social emotional learning
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…
PRI awarded stategic initiative grant
Led by PRI director and SSRI co-fund Jennifer Glick, a coalition from the Penn State Harrisburg State Data Center, PRI, and affiliated research centers and the demographic research training programs at Penn State, a new Penn State Strategic Initiative Grant was awarded to establish the Pennsylvania…
Sterner awarded $2.7M to help fight opioid crisis
A Penn State Abington faculty member was instrumental in securing three grants totaling more than $2.7 million to combat the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania and nationwide.
Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of criminal justice at Abington and an expert on the illicit use of opioids, said the…
Penn State Geography class wins regional competition
Penn State’s Geography 421 class was recently named a regional winner in the first Draw the Lines PA mapping competition.
The class is led by PRI affiliate, Christopher Fowler, assistant professor of geography. Fowler discovered the Draw the Lines after a Google search and took his findings to his…
Clearinghouse evaluates veterans’ use of transition programs
There are more than 20 million military veterans in the United States, and that number is projected to grow rapidly over the next several years. Some veterans take advantage of the many public and private programs and services created to help them reintegrate into civilian life. Yet, little is…
Keeping kids on task in school may start at home
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…
Introducing Data Science for Social Impact
By Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation
While private-sector businesses have been building and deploying data science capabilities for many years in the tech age, most organizations in the non-profit, civic, and public sectors are far behind. They have a strong appetite to use…
Resumption of Operations at the National Science Foundation
NSF is open for business! We thank you for your forbearance during this challenging time, and for your support of students, postdocs, faculty, technical and administrative support staff and researchers. It has not been easy for our continuing or new grantees, especially emerging scholars and…