SSRI cofund aims to protect farmworkers from hazards in the field
An estimated 73% of farmworkers in the United States were born outside the country, and nearly half have no legal immigration status, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Amy Snipes, associate professor of biobehavioral health and SSRI cofunded faculty member, has spent years…
Study finds that experiences of daily stress decrease as people age
Stories about how daily stress can negatively impact people’s lives, from physical health to mental and emotional well-being, are frequently in the media. But there is good news about the experience of daily stress as people age. Results from a recent research study led by David Almeida, professor…
Ensuring fair distribution of the $1 billion+ opioid settlement in Pennsylvania
To ensure fair and impartial distribution of the $1.07 billion that was awarded to Pennsylvania as part of 2021’s massive settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors, a team of interdisciplinary researchers from Penn State worked with counties across the commonwealth to develop the…
HJF Leadership Forum Seeks to Ease Service Member-to-Veteran Transition Experience
Government and Private Industry Executives Convene to Consider Optimal Support for Veterans in this Crucial Period
The HJF Leadership Forum, hosted by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), convened more than 80 leaders from federal government, academia and…
Obesity prevention in military families the focus of new $3.5M NIH grant
Pregnancy is the highest risk period in a woman's life for developing obesity, and the first year of life is a sensitive period for the development of regulatory patterns in children that affect lifelong weight and health status. A new $3.5 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of…
New project to study impacts of eviction on health
Prior to the pandemic, many poor renter households in the U.S. spent over half their income on rent, leading to an epidemic of evictions and negative impacts on physical and mental health. A Penn State researcher will participate in a new project that will evaluate the effects of pandemic eviction-…
New center promotes health and healing from early-life trauma and adversity
Each year, millions of children in the United States experience significant trauma and adversities that can impact their health and well-being, including child abuse, racism, family violence, family separation or extreme poverty. Research over the last few decades has demonstrated strong…
Sociology professor and former student earn Gould Prize for bullying research
Bullying is unfortunately a timeless and universal phenomenon, and more pervasive than ever in the age of social media. Research remains critical to understanding the subject, and Diane Felmlee, distinguished professor of sociology and demography in the College of the Liberal Arts, is right at the…
SSRI Open House
SSRI will be hosting an Open House on December 5, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., in SSRI offices, 114 Henderson Building. Guest speakers will be Associate Directors Kate Totino and Jara Dorsey-Lash, Office of Foundations Relations.
Totino and Dorsey-Lash will be sharing information on the resources available…
SSRI funded project results in award
A project supported by Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute recently won the “Distinguished Article Award” from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
The paper, "Religion at the frontline: How religion influenced the response of local government officials to the COVID-19…
Sociology professor awarded NSF grant to study local church-state issues
The separation of church and state is a concept many Americans have held dear since the nation’s founding. The actual relationship between religion and government, though, has been noticeably blurring in recent years, and a team led by Associate Professor of Sociology Gary Adler Jr., will examine…
Penn State’s $1.034B in research expenditures has broad, wide-ranging impact
Penn State reached a record $1.034 billion in research expenditures during fiscal year 2021-22, an overall 4.1% increase from the previous year. The funding, which comes from federal and state agencies, industry sponsors, private donors, the University and other sources, advances research…
New SSRI Seminar Series kicks off Nov. 17
SSRI is excited to announce a new seminar series highlighting the value and impact of social science at Penn State. The first lecture will be presented by SSRI cofund and PRI Director Jennifer Van Hook, Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography, on November 17, 12 p.m., at The Bennett…
Reduced-nicotine cigarettes result in less smoking in anxious, depressed smokers
Lowering the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels may reduce smoking without worsening mental health in smokers with mood or anxiety disorders, according to Penn State College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School researchers. They said reducing nicotine content in cigarettes…
New EIC podcast on mental health screenings for adolescents in schools
This month's Evidence-to-Impact Podcast episode discusses mental health screenings for adolescents in the K-12 school system.
We spoke to Deepa Sekhar, MD, associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the College of Medicine and executive director of Penn State PRO Wellness; Perri Rosen,…
Backlash to racial justice movements may boost risk of high BMI, obesity
Since its inception in 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement has helped raise awareness and mobilize efforts against racial inequality. It also has spurred controversy, and new research found that experiencing backlash to the movement may have negative health consequences for Black Americans.
The…
Connell named director of Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network
Christian Connell has been appointed director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN), part of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State.
Connell, who is also an associate professor of human development and family studies and SSRI cofunded faculty member, previously…
SAFE-T Center awarded prestigious Hillman Innovations in Care grant
The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth Center has been awarded $600,000 from The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation through their Hillman Innovations in Care program.
Aiming to “help innovators, design, develop and deliver better, more equitable models of care,” the HIC program focuses on…
Bills with research language more likely to advance through legislative process
Science can play a key role in whether a bill will ultimately reach its intended outcome, according to a new study from researchers at Penn State. The team found that the inclusion of scientific research language within bills, specifically language referring to the type of study or how a study was…
Researchers study adolescent recovery from post-traumatic stress symptoms
Children in the United States may be exposed to a high rate of adverse experiences that result in post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), which can appear as feelings of stress, fear and helplessness that result from re-experiencing trauma or actively avoiding reminders of the trauma. Adolescents…
Beaty recipient of early career professorship award
Roger Beaty, assistant professor of psychology, was recently named recipient of the Dr. Frances Keesler Graham Early Career Professorship by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State.
Beaty was awarded the professorship to continue his work studying the psychology and neuroscience…
Sociology professor awarded $1.8 million NIH grant for education-dementia study
Education plays a key role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and Liying Luo, assistant professor of sociology and demography and associate director of the Center for Social Data Analytics, has made it one of the primary focuses of her research. Now her work in that area is…
Lower than normal rainfall linked with a higher chance of food insecurity
Food insecurity is a growing problem in certain parts of the world, especially as climate change affects weather conditions around the globe. New research led by Penn State found that a lack of rainfall was associated with the highest risk of food insecurity in Tanzania.
Specifically, the…
Bringing Awareness to New NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
In October of 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a new Data Management and Sharing Policy that goes into effect on Jan. 25, 2023. Penn State has assembled a committee to provide guidance and training on this new policy.
The new Data Management and Sharing Policy offers a more…
Chow to serve as SMEP President
Sy-Miin Chow, QuantDev director and professor of human development and family studies, was recently elected to be the new president of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP).
SMEP is an an organization of researchers interested in multivariate quantitative methods and their…