News Archive
NIH Director Offers Prognosis for Budget Squeeze on Research Grants
Washington
The National Institutes of Health expects to receive more than twice as many grant applications in 2007 as in 1998, which helps to explain why many researchers are lamenting that the grants are harder to get. The number of people filing applications has also risen sharply during that time, while the agency's budget growth has fallen below inflation since 2003. (more)
Dr. Mary Ann Pentz Gives 2006 Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science
Dr. Mary Ann Pentz
Mary Ann Pentz, Ph.D., director of the Center for Prevention Policy Research and professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, gave the 2006 Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science on October 12, 2006.
For over 20 years, her research and program development have focused on community and policy approaches to preventing tobacco, alcohol, drug use, and violence in youth. Her findings contributed to the formulation of a U.S. Senate bill and use of evidence-based criteria for appropriating funds for prevention under the Safe and Drug Free Schools Act. (more)
Friends Have Greater Sway on College Students' Beliefs on Drinking Behavior
(From the Penn State Newswire, October 6, 2006)
College students' friends have a greater influence on the students' drinking behavior or beliefs about campus drinking than social norms campaigns, according to a Penn State study. Social norms campaigns are based on the rationale that binge drinkers will be more likely to reduce their drinking if they believe other students on campus drink less than they themselves do. A survey of 277 college students at a northeastern university found that nearly 73 percent did not believe the norms message. "Disbelief in the campaign message may have resulted from the behavior observed by students among their friends and acquaintances, which contrasted with the 0-4 message," said co-author Ann Major, professor of communications and director of the Jimirro Center for the Study of Media Influence at Penn State. "Also, some students may discount social norms campaigns as an attempt by university administrators to control their behavior."
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/index.php?sec=vs&story=19866
Positive parenting helps encourage healthy sun habits in children
(From the Penn State Newswire)
Monday, August 21, 2006
A program that helps parents talk to their children about skin cancer risks may promote sun-safe behaviors, especially when parents and children have a high-quality relationship, according to a team led by a Penn State researcher in the August issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the Journal of the American Medical Association/Archives journals.
Approximately one in six individuals will develop skin cancer during his or her lifetime, according to background information in the article. The recent increase in skin cancer incidence has been attributed to various forms of high-risk sun exposure among young people, including sunbathing, inadequate use of sunscreen and other protective measures and the use of tanning beds or lamps. Recent preventive interventions have targeted children in school or community settings, but widespread rates of dangerous behaviors persist in young people.
Rob Turrisi, professor of biohaviorial health in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development, and colleagues evaluated a parent-based intervention and assessed family characteristics that may contribute to the effectiveness of such a program in 469 parent-child pairs. (more)
Penn State researchers to develop training for state's personal-care workers
(From the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Newswire)
Friday, June 2, 2006
University Park, Pa. -- A broad-based collaboration between Penn State and community organizations will result in more effective training and assessment for the workers who provide personal-care services for the elderly and people with mental and physical disabilities.
Matthew Kaplan, associate professor of intergenerational programs and aging in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, and Richard Fiene, associate professor of human development and director of Penn State's Capital Area Health and Human Development Institute, have received a $250,000 grant to assist the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's Adult Residential Living Program in developing an innovative online training and testing system for front-line personal-care workers. (more)
Dr. David L. Olds
Dr. David L. Olds Gives 2005 Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science
Dr. David L. Olds, Professor of Pediatrics and Director, Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, gave the 2005 Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science on November 3, 2005 in the Living Center, 110 Henderson Building, from 4-5 p.m. The title of his presentation was "The Nurse-Family Partnership: From Trials to Practice." (more)
College Announces Creation of Capital Area Health and Human Development Institute
(from the College of Health and Human Development Office of College Relations)
The Penn State College of Health and Human Development announces the creation of the Capital Area Health and Human Development Institute (CAHHDI), the new urban research, training, technical assistance and outreach arm of the College in the Harrisburg area. The Institute will be directed by Dr. Richard Fiene, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies.
CAHHDI is a leader in higher education-based infant and toddler program quality activities and prevention research interventions in the United States. This new, integrated center, which includes the Capital Area Early Childhood Training Institute, Harrisburg Center for Healthy Child Development, and the Urban Community Partnership under the CAHHDI umbrella, has been established to coordinate research, training and technical assistance activities underway in the Harrisburg and South Central Pennsylvania areas. It will serve as the hub for faculty and students in the College of Health and Human Development who seek to take advantage of internships and other research and training opportunities in the Harrisburg area. (more)
When Parents Say 'Don't Drink,' Students Actually Listen, Scholar Reports
(from the Chronicle of Higher Education, 8/22/05)
In tens of thousands of households this month, parents will have one last anxious conversation with their 18-year-old children before sending them off to college. Don't take foolish risks, they will say, with drugs, alcohol, or sex. At the end of the talk, the parents might wipe their brows and wonder if their advice has had any effect.
The answer appears to be yes -- at least if parents are encouraged to use certain communication strategies. Recent experimental evidence suggests that parental conversations can have powerful effects on students' drinking behavior, a scholar said here on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Rob Turrisi, a professor of biobehavioral health at Pennsylvania State University at University Park, has been working for more than six years on a simple idea: Colleges might mail pamphlets to the parents of every newly admitted student, encouraging them to talk about alcohol abuse and suggesting specific methods for navigating the conversation.(more)
Greenberg is Co-Editor of New Book on Enhancing Early Attachments
Enhancing Early Attachments: Theory, Research, Intervention, and Policy, is a new co-edited volume by Lisa J. Berlin, Ph.D., Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University; Yair Ziv, Ph.D., Child and Family Studies Group, Westat; Lisa Amaya-Jackson, MD, MPH, UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress; and Mark T. Greenberg, Ph.D., Prevention Research Center, Penn State University. The book was published by Guilford Press and is a volume in the Duke Series in Child Development and Public Policy.
Synthesizing the latest theory, research, and practices related to supporting early child-parent attachments, this volume provides a unique window into the major treatment and prevention approaches available today. Chapters address the theoretical and empirical bases of attachment interventions; explore the effects of attachment-related trauma and how they can be ameliorated; and describe a range of exemplary programs operating at the individual, family, and community levels. Throughout, expert authors consider cross-cutting issues such as the core components of effective services and appropriate outcome measures for attachment interventions. Also discussed are policy implications, including how programs to enhance early child-caregiver relationships fit into broader health, social service, and early education systems.
Click here for a flyer about this book.
Educating Against AIDS
(from Research/Penn State, July 2005)
Penn State researchers Edward Smith and Linda Caldwell are collaborating with South African colleagues to promote HealthWise in the sub-Saharan region. Read the story on the Research/Penn State web site.
Penn State Prevention Research Center Announces 2005-2006 Bennett Faculty Scholars
(from the College of Health and Human Development Office of College Relations)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (May 2, 2005) – Three members of the Penn State faculty – Dr. Linda Caldwell, professor of recreation, park and tourism management; Dr. John Graham, professor of biobehavioral health; and Dr. Patricia Koch, associate professor of biobehavioral health – have been named 2005-2006 Bennett Faculty Scholars by the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. (more)
Greenberg Appointed to the NIDA National Advisory Council
(from the College of Health and Human Development Office of College Relations)
Dr. Mark T. Greenberg, holder of the Edna Peterson Bennett Chair in Prevention Research and director of the Penn State Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development, has been appointed to serve a four-year term on the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. (more)
Carl to Receive Award for Distinguished Service
Barb Carl, Associate Director of the Harrisburg Center on Healthy Child Development, will be receiving the Award for Distinguished Service in Community Psychology and Social Change from the Penn State Capital College in mid-April 2005.
Recent Work by Turrisi and Colleagues Featured in Society for Prevention Research Press Release
(from the Society for Prevention Research)
Click here to read the press release on "Strategies to Stop Drinking Problems on Campus: Colleges Consider Changes to Dorm Life, Campus Concerts". This work is part of Dr. Turrisi's "Campuses Selling Alcohol" project.
Mental Health Service Costs Offset by Savings in Other Public Sectors
(from the Penn State Newswire)
Penn State researchers have found that reduced expenditures for inpatient hospitalization, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system and the special education system offset the costs of the improved mental health services delivered to youth through the system of care approach now being tried in communities in every state in the U.S. Mental health services for youth delivered via system of care have been criticized as too expensive compared to communities that don't adopt the approach. However, the Penn State study, the first of its type, shows that including spending in other service sectors in the analysis reduced the between-community cost difference from 81 percent to only 18 percent more for system of care. E. Michael Foster, professor of health policy administration and demography who led the study, says, "Mental health services that keep youth out of the juvenile justice system, for example, not only save tax dollars that would have to be spent on that sector but also reduce the suffering of the youth and their families. In addition, by not having a juvenile justice record, youth improve their chances of finishing high school and making a successful transition to adulthood and becoming future taxpayers." (more)
Dialogue & Personal Example Work Best for Parents in Drug Talks with Teens
(from the Penn State Newswire)
Parents can more effectively advise teens about alcohol and drug use if, first, they try dialogue instead of lecture and, second, they set an everyday example, rather than give the one-time drug sermon, according to a Penn State researcher. Drug talks can work best when parents and teens routinely share insights on the benefits and risks of drug use, says Dr. Michelle Miller-Day, associate professor of communication arts and sciences. One tactic would be for parents to ask teens what they hope to gain from use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco (e.g. relaxation, especially around the opposite sex; greater peer acceptance). The parent can then suggest wholesome alternatives to achieve the same end. (more)
New Parent-Child After-School Program Increases Literacy
(from the Penn State Newswire)
A collaborative after-school literacy program, piloted last fall in Somerset County, has sparked the interest of early elementary students and parents alike. The program proved to be highly successful in its first pilot. For the second pilot, the program will be repeated in Somerset for a longer period of time with a new group of students and will be expanded to another location.
Drucie Weirauch, project assistant in Penn State's Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy and Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy and doctoral candidate in the College of Education, copiloted the project with Claudia Mincemoyer, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The project is a collaboration among the two colleges and local family literacy programs, cooperative extension educators and Title 1 elementary schools. (more)
Penn State Study Verifies Positive Impact of Early Head Start on Children, Families
(from the Penn State Newswire)
Results from a five-year study conducted by Penn State researchers on the Lehigh Valley Early Head Start program indicate that the cognitive development of children from birth to age three improved profoundly as the result of their participation in the Early Head Start program relative to a comparison group. Cognitive development is one of the significant indicators for school readiness. Results of this study support the importance of early intervention for children at risk and also identified numerous factors that can place families and children at risk, including depression. Research over the last few decades indicating the importance of early intervention for children at risk compelled the Administration on Children, Youth and Families to introduce the Early Head Start program. (more)
Penn State Specialist Offers Tips on Dealing with School Bullies
(from Penn State Ag. Sciences News)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- They've got new clothes and backpacks, and they can find the right school bus. But children returning to a new school year may need adult help facing an old problem: the school bully. A family and youth specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences offers techniques and tips to help kids and their parents manage bullying in schools.
Even though violent acts in schools are declining, bullying remains a major issue that can affect your child's scholastic performance and social well-being, says Daniel Perkins, associate professor of family and youth resiliency. The first challenge for kids, he says, is to get adults to take it -- and them -- seriously. (more)
Prevention Research Center Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary
(from the College of Health and Human Development Office of College Relations)
(University Park, Pa) Approximately 120 educators, policy makers and childcare advocates from Pennsylvania and beyond gathered at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center on October 30 to help the Penn State Prevention Research Center celebrate its fifth anniversary. (more)
Faculty
making life better for families in state, nation
Monday, June 14, 2004
(from the Penn State Newswire)
Former Pennsylvania First Lady Michelle Ridge and Dr. Mark Greenberg prepare to kick off the Prevention Research Center's five-year anniversary celebration.
University
Park, Pa. -- As the youngest child of seven, Daniel
Perkins learned the lessons of family life early on. "I experienced
family in such a great way and always really enjoyed being around
people," says Perkins.
Those formative experiences led Perkins to his work with children,
youth and families. Now at Penn State as an associate professor
in the department of Agricultural and Extension Education and a
Cooperative Extension faculty member, Perkins' work, along with
that of Penn State Cooperative Extension professors James E. Van
Horn (whose focus is rural sociology) and Matt Kaplan (focusing
on intergenerational programs and aging), are helping to transform
lives in Pennsylvania and across the nation through initiatives
aimed at strengthening family bonds. (more)