Faculty
Meg
Small
Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1992
Research Associate, Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development
Contact Information
S108A Henderson Building
Phone:
814-865-5207
Fax: 814-865-2530
http://www.prevention.psu.edu/
Research Interests
Understanding the factors that allow organizations to successfully adopt and sustain evidence-based interventions; developing and testing methods that allow organizations to use data when making programmatic decisions; determining the role of the private sector in prevention science.
Examples of Current Prevention Projects
Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative
OJJDP/DOE/CMHS
Start Date: 2002
This project is implementing a comprehensive safe schools model
for the Harrisburg School District.
The
Safe Schools/Healthy Students Sustainability Study (SS/HS)
U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Development
The PRC is conducting a study to describe how 1999 SS/HS sites
function when their Federal grant ends. Under the initiative school
districts, public mental health authorities, and juvenile justice
agencies embark on a collaborative systems-level change process
that will garner efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of
services and programs for children and their families. Currently,
there is little information about how large collaborative initiatives
function following grant funding. The information collected as
part of this study will be used to develop training guidelines
and case studies to help current and future grantees sustain their
initiatives beyond initial government funding.
Innovative
School Processes for Intelligent Re-Engineering (INSPIRE)
Prevention Research Center and Department of Industrial and Manufacturing
Engineering, Penn State
The aim of this project is to determine the feasibility and specific
value of an Integrated Data System that will provide relevant
actionable information (academic, social/
emotional skills, and attendance) to school personnel so they
can manage limited resources optimally.
Start Date: 2006
The University Life Study is designed to examine links between alcohol use and sexual behavior in college students. Using web-based surveys, the study will use a measurement burst design to examine developmental changes and situational fluctuations in links between risks behaviors in different domains, as well as the extent to which such associations vary by intrapersonal (e.g., affect), interpersonal (e.g., relationship status), and environmental (e.g., holidays, sports events) predictors. Students will complete 14 days of web-based surveys each semester from the fall of freshman year through fall of their senior year of college. The team for this project includes Jennifer Maggs (PI), Eva Lefkowitz (Co-Investigator), Meg Small (Managing Investigator), Megan Patrick (Graduate Assistant), Andrea Finlay (Graduate Assistant), Sara Vasilenko (Graduate Assistant), and Nicole Freeman (Project Manager, Survey Research Center).
Recent Publications
Small, M. L., Stokes, A., & Bodes, K. (in press). Results from wave one of the safe schools/healthy students sustainability study. Published in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Monograph. The Education Development Center. Newton, MA.
Brener, N. D., Simon, T. R., Anderson, M., Barrios, L. C., & Small, M. L. (2002). Effect of the incident at Columbine on students’ violence-and suicide-related behaviors. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 22(3), 146–149.
Small, M. L., & Tetrick, K. (2001). School violence: An overview. Juvenile Justice, 8(1), 3–12.
Small, M. L., Everet, S., Crosset, L., & Modzeleski, W. (2001). School policy and environment: Results from the school health policies and programs study 2000. Journal of School Health, 71(7), 325–335.