News
Prevention Research Center to study ways to reduce aggression in youth
March 28, 2008
University Park, Pa. - The Penn State Prevention Research Center has received a $3.9 million state grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to study interventions to build resilience and reduce aggression in young children.
The Penn State project continues long-term partnerships with The Harrisburg School District and Hempfield Behavioral Health.
The project will focus on gaining a better understanding of factors related to aggressive behavior and social-emotional competence in children when they first enter school. Researchers will develop and evaluate a multi-component prevention program targeted to help parents and teachers support healthy social and academic development in children who show early signs of aggression. Five areas of development and functioning will be enhanced: parenting in the home; peer relations; child coping and problem-solving skills; classroom atmosphere and curriculum; and home-school relations.
Researchers also will assess various neurobiological factors may be related to aggressive behavior and how they are modified by this preventive program. This information can be used to better assess and support children to improve school readiness and mental health.
The leaders of the Penn State project include Dr. Mark Greenberg, PRC Director; Dr. Karen Bierman, distinguished professor of psychology, College of the Liberal Arts; Drs. Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, assistant professor of human development, Clancy Blair and Emilie Smith, both associate professor of human development and family studies, College of Health and Human Development; and Dr. Tom Farmer, associate professor of special education, College of Education.
The grant is one of five recently awarded by the state with funds from Pennsylvania's share of the national tobacco settlement. The 2007 grant priorities were regenerative medicine and violence prevention. Each research grant is also required to address the reduction of health disparities among underserved segments of the population, and to include research training programs for minority students and faculty in order to diversity the applicant pool for high-level training positions. These grants are awarded as part of the Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program, which supports clinical, health services and biomedical research.
State Health Secretary Dr. Calvin Johnson says, "This research involves collaborative 'Center of Excellence' efforts integrating research from several disciplines to address diseases and medical conditions, health disparities and health outcomes. These grants reaffirm Governor Rendell's commitment to using the tobacco settlement dollars to improve public health and increase the research infrastructure and capacity in Pennsylvania."
Greenberg Moderates Panel with The Dalai Lama at Historic Gathering to Celebrate Children and Compassion
Dr. Mark Greenberg, Director of the Penn State Prevention Research Center and Edna Bennett Chair and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, moderated a panel of international scholars with His Holiness The Dalai Lama at the “Exploring the Seeds of Compassion” event in Seattle, Washington, on April 11–15, 2008. The panel was part of a five-day discussion featuring The Dalai Lama on ways that parents and caregivers can show love and compassion that positively affect the social and emotional learning of children from birth to age five.
Dr. Greenberg’s panel, “From Knowledge to Compassion Action: What We All Can Do,” occurred on Friday, April 11, from 12:30–2 p.m. PST, and featured John Gottman, author of “How to Raise an Emotionally Secure Child”; Bob Marvin, Co-Originator of Circle of Security; Karen Gordon, Founding Executive Director of Whole Child International; Mary Gordon, Founder/President, Roots of Empathy; and Roger Weissberg, President, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.
The Seeds of Compassion event was organized to celebrate and explore the relationships, programs, and tools that nurture and empower children, families, and communities to be compassionate members of society. A fundamental part of the dialogue held at this gathering explored the scientific basis for the development and growth of compassion and foundational social and emotional skills beginning at birth.
The event was webcas and can be viewed at: www.seedsofcompassion.org/webcast/index.html
New Evaluation Report Demonstrates Effectiveness of Harrisburg Preschool Program
Harrisburg, PA – According to a recently completed evaluation of the Harrisburg Preschool Program (HPP), a five-year project funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation that focused on at-risk 3- and 4-year-old children in the Harrisburg School District, HPP students who now attend kindergarten in the District are demonstrating significantly higher academic skills in early literacy and mathematics than children who did not attend HPP.
HPP is a collaborative program involving the Harrisburg School District (HSD) and Capital Area Head Start (CAHS), commissioned by Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed in 2001 to provide comprehensive, high-quality preschool services to at-risk 3- and 4-year-old children in the District. [more]
Proven-effective Programs Reducing Youth Violence and Delinquency in Pennsylvania
A report recently completed by the Prevention Research Center at Penn State shows communities are beginning to experience the positive impact of violence prevention efforts supported by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Research-based Programs Initiative. The report confirms that the PCCD’s investment of more than $60 million since 1998 in the implementation of over 140 proven-effective prevention programs is making a significant difference in Pennsylvania communities by reducing youth drug use and antisocial behavior, preventing school bullying, and strengthening families. Each of the programs in this initiative has been selected based on strong evidence of effectiveness in well-controlled research studies. [more]
Penn State Receives $5.7 Million Grant to Help Youth Avoid Problems
Penn State University has received a $5.7 million federal grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to continue the development of community partnerships that strengthen families and help young people avoid substance abuse and behavioral problems. The new award will support PROSPER—PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience—for an additional five years. The total award to Penn State and its partner, Iowa State University, is $11.6 million.
Since 2002, in collaboration with Iowa State and through partnerships established with local communities and assisted by Penn State Extension, the Penn State Prevention Research Center (PRC) has been conducting research to promote capable and healthy youths, adults and families. PROSPER seeks to strengthen families and communities, promote positive youth development, and reduce youth substance use and other problem behaviors––literally helping families and their communities "prosper" through various intervention methods recommended by Penn State researchers. [more]
New study identifies four major motivators to drink alcohol
Most high school seniors drink because they want to experiment with alcohol, some drink for the thrill of it, and others because it helps them relax. A new study finds that a fourth group of high school students share all those reasons for drinking, but they also drink to get away from problems and to deal with anger or frustration issues. Kids with multiple reasons to drink, including reasons related to coping with life, show the heaviest and most problematic drinking behaviors, according to the study by Penn State researchers and published in the December issue of Prevention Science, a peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Prevention Research. The data for the study came from 1,877 students from the national Monitoring the Future survey conducted annually.
Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/27677?nw=1
Thomas Dishion, Ph.D.
Dr. Thomas Dishion to give the 2007 Bennett Lecture in Prevention Science
Thomas Dishion, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Director of Research, Child and Family Center, University of Oregon, will be the 2007 Bennett Lecturer in Prevention Science. Dr. Dishion will visit Penn State on October 24-26, 2007. Watch this site for more details.
Some kids more sensitive to bad parenting
By Megan Rauscher
(From the Archives of General Psychiatry, April 2007)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Faced with harsh and cold parenting, some children are more likely than others to develop antisocial behavior, such as delinquency and aggression, researchers found, based on in-depth studies of 720 families with at least 2 children between 9 and 18 years of age.
The difference in children's sensitivity to problematic parenting is due to genetic factors, according to the team's report published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
"We don't know all the specific genes involved, but we can expect that those children whose blood relatives have a history of antisocial behavior will be most sensitive to harsh and cold parenting," Dr. Mark E. Feinberg of the Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University in University Park told Reuters Health.
The same cannot be said for the influence of poor parenting on depression, according to the study. "Children whose blood relatives are depressed would not be more liable to depression than other children faced with harsh or cold parenting," Feinberg said.
The current study suggests that harsh or cold parenting does not affect all children the same way. Some children are more resilient and other children more sensitive to problematic parenting.
It's important to know which children are most vulnerable for developing emotional and behavior problems, such as depression and antisocial behavior, so they can receive help, Feinberg noted.
"The bottom line," he said, "is that if we have limited resources for parenting support programs, we will get the most 'bang for the buck' by focusing intervention on the families of children whose biological relatives show antisocial behavior."
Smith and Caldwell Receive Awards from the Society for Prevention Research
Ed Smith and Linda Caldwell The SPR International Collaborative Prevention Science Award for their work in South Africa. Congratulations Ed and Linda!
Head Start REDI Program Teaches Preschoolers Tools for School-Readiness
(From the Penn State Newswire, 1/5/07)
If you're observing a preschool class in York, Pa., you may see the following behavior: two children are playing and a disagreement ensues. Suddenly one of the children stops arguing, and hunches over with her arms crossed over her chest, as if protecting herself. Chances are, the other child will watch and do the same. What are they doing? They're acting like Twiggle the turtle. "The theory behind Twiggle is, when you're feeling upset, you go into your shell," explains Karen Bierman. "It stops the behavior, and keeps you from acting impulsively. Then you take a deep breath and say the problem and how it makes you feel. That's the beginning of effective self-control and problem-solving." Twiggle is just one tool preschool children are learning through Bierman's project, Head Start REDI, which has grown out of the School Readiness Initiative, a collaborative effort supported by Penn State's Child Study Center (in the College of the Liberal Arts), the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development (in the College of Health and Human Development), and Head Start Programs in three Pennsylvania counties. The initiative blends an interdisciplinary group of researchers who are interested in developmental research and early elementary educational programs. Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/21530
News Archive
An archived list of past news from the Prevention Research Center.